Dollhouse Champloo with Dichen Lachman
Posted by sarah on March 4, 2009 @ 1:35 am | media
Has anyone been watching Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse? I have been trying to follow it since it’s free to watch on Hulu, but also because I’ve heard good things about Whedon’s female characters. Also, having never followed any of his other series I felt like I had to see what all the fuss is about.
The premise of the show is that there is an underground business that wipes clean the personalities and memories of people so that they can be used at the disposal of high-paying clients. This leads to questions of ethics and human nature. Already there have been a few twists, and the show – if kept on air – seems like it may lead to an increasingly complex storyline.
While I was looking forward to seeing better representation of women on TV (which at this point in the series is questionable – but that’s neither here nor there), a friend on Twitter pointed out that Whedon often misrepresents Asian characters. That’s why I am keeping a close eye on Sierra, one of the side characters who acts as a friend to Caucasian main character Echo, played by Eliza Dushku. Sierra is played by mixed-Asian Dichen Lachman, who is half Australian and half Tibetan.
There have only been three episodes to date so it’s hard to really see what Whedon’s intentions are for Sierra, but so far she has been “imprinted” with two personalities: badass killing machine in episode 2 and nerdy fangirl in episode 3. To compare, Echo has been “imprinted” with the personalities of a kidnapping expert, a “perfect date” (read: sex object) for a psycho hunter and a backup singer that doubled as a bodyguard.
Not to say that any of Echo’s imprinted personalities are spectacularly complex, but if there are two roles that are typical for Asian characters, they are 1.) badass killing machines* and 2.) nerds. At this rate we can expect her to whip out an “Asian” accent, discover that in her past life she was a kung fu ninja karate master, or have extensive ties to the yakuza. (But that’s just me being cynical.)
In any case, I aim to keep an open mind and look forward to other interpretations of Sierra as the show moves along. I remain hopeful that Whedon – in light of all the misrepresentation going on with Asians in the media – will reform his ways and give us a solid character that we can be proud of rather than disappointed in.
* To be fair, it seems that most “dolls” are by default equipped to be badass killing machines. But as it is a common role for Asian actors and actresses, I can’t rule it out.
My name is Sarah. Half Japanese, half Irish-Polish-Lithuanian. I majored in East Asian Studies and yet somehow am working as a web and graphic designer. Go figure.
well put, sarah! i’ve been a whedon fan for quite a while, but i didn’t consider that his representations were particularly problematic until i started thinking more critically about his work, and feminism/racism in media. i haven’t watched dollhouse yet, and i might hold off until season one is complete…
Thanks dire! And thank you for pointing out that Racialicious article to me on Twitter – it made me think of the show past its face value.
The show itself isn’t entirely bad considering other garbage that’s out there, and I actually look forward to it a lot. It seems to have a lot of potential, but I know there have been complaints about the roles of the women on the show because the main character is basically molded every week to meet some guy’s fantasy. But then again, the way the show is played out makes me think that Whedon is doing this intentionally to lead up to some kind of turning point. Just have to wait and see, I guess.
I dunno, the whole premise of the show irks me for some reason. Although it may have something to do with the fact that Wheadon has a pension for sexualising every female character to the point of them becoming living blow-up dolls.
Hopefully this won’t be another disappointment.
Yeah - like I said, I have never really followed his stuff so Dollhouse is pretty much my first look at his work. I guess I feel like the show’s sexualization is so blatant that it must be on purpose - maybe to prove a point - but perhaps I am giving him too much credit because of all his fans.
Lol..or maybe that’s just what he wants you to think! DUN DUN DUUUN. No, really I couldn’t say. Though I can however tell you that it is a pattern seen in his work before.