Golden Age film actor Anna May Wong it deserves better than he got from Ryan Murphy's Netflix series, Hollywood. The Chinese-American actor was present on the screen at a time when the actors of color had declined. He has appeared in many pre-Hays Code movies and mystery crimes, such as the 1931 & # 39; s Daughter of the Dragon and 1937 The daughter of Shanghai, receiving particular praise for his role in 1932 Shanghai Express, in relation to Marlene Dietrich. Decades before discussions on entertainment diversity became mainstream, Wong was the first Asian-American to appear on the television show, as a tithe character in 1951 Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsong.
The second episode of Murphy's new piece of history introduces film director Raymond Ainsley (Darren Criss) as he visits Wong (Michelle Krusiec) in his home. He was not offered many jobs during World War II, and is still upset at being replaced by a white-white actor in the Oscar-winning role in the transformation of Pearl S. Buck & # 39; s. The Beautiful Earth.
Living with her, Ainsley reveals that she is also Asian-American. Although her mother is a Filipino (like Criss's mother), she manages to pass as a white in Hollywood. He wants to use his privilege to get a foot in the door at the fictional Ace Studios, and make a movie that gives Wong some confidence that he will renew his career.
The unique history in which Ainsley made Wong into a star, as they both went through American racism through an Asian-American lens, may be interesting, is a story worth telling. The problem is that, like many of Ryan Murphy's projects, this strong idea is just one piece of the story at its most comprehensive. By the time Hollywood got to the Wong subplot, of course HollywoodThe third big interesting idea. And even young men you have seven-hour episodes to work with, it's not a great final idea, either.
HollywoodThe pilot introduces Jack Castello (a newcomer to David Corenswet), a aspiring actress who gets a job at a gas station who happens to be the frontrunner of a high-profile Hollywood prostitute. It is run by Ernie West (Dylan McDermott), a working exx fox player who coughs out fake coughs. Jack's most trusted client is Avis Amberg (Patti LuPone), the wife of Ace Studios head Ace Amberg (Rob Reiner). Also included in Archie (Jeremy Pope) is a mysterious dark reminder who sent Ace Studios a blind text submission about Peg Entwistle – a biopic about a young actress who was killed by suicide after jumping on the Hollywood symbol of Hollywood (the world) after being cut from the film. Archie is one of Ernie's travelers, but unlike Jack, Archie prefers male customers – which leads him into a serious relationship with a young actor named Roy Scherer, who will soon be known as Rock Hudson.
And we haven't got it that Archie & # 39; s Peg The Entwistle flick finally comes from a very different line – the "race picture" now starring Beinsley & # 39; s Beau, Camille Washington (Laura Harrier, who proved her ability to BlackKklansman), an intellectual. Like the introduction of Ana May Wong, this story about a black studio contractor finally getting her big Lena Horne-esque break would feature seven exciting episodes. However Hollywood reveals nothing about Camille, except that she's talented and handsome. She has no history or history, other than being Ainsley's girlfriend. Surprisingly, given the time, the decorative color is not enhanced – The obstacle is with darker skins than Horne, and that would have been a direct obstacle to film entry in the 1940s. His open relationship with the man is therefore seen as white. Finally it is he has spoken a few times about the passing of fashion, but the series doesn't fit into any of this. Racism has stopped HollywoodPriority, but it is not required by any particular attention or recognition.
It lays collaborator Janet Mock has written two Hollywood episodes, and the flexibility of her writings focusing on rational portrayals of racism is evident., while not hearing the imbalance of the show. Murphy and Ian Brennan have written everything for the show, and one thing that encapsulates all the threads they eagerly put forward is their desire for transparency mend Hollywood, and write down the evils that everyone was dealing with in the business of not a straight white man. To the pilot, Jack openly reveals the vision of the show: "Movies don't show us how the world is, they show us how the world is. it is possible be. ”Everything is all right and all right, but fixing the problems of the Hollywood Age of Hollywood unfortunately requires that the same things Hollywood fixes may require today; that is, eliminating prejudice, sexism, and female genital mutilation.
No worries, though – Murphy and Brennan upon you. In Hollywood, the only thing despised by people in need is the support of a few white rebels who are willing to confirm their voices and opinions, as well as their race and gender. But when white characters completely solve every problem presented, the agency of non-white characters disappears. They are thin, actually reduced to pawns that move around the board by people of great power. Murphy is well-intentioned but has a love for both anointing and a symbol of white salvation in the foreground. His beat for high school music Glee
Watching Lupone swan cunningly after scene after scene is great, but it's taken by the way his character spends most of his time on the back part of this staff that is commended and admired by people of color beneath him. Avis and his co-workers Ace Studios, Dick Samuels (Joe Mantello) and Ellen Kinkaid (Holland Taylor), are white assistant traffic, but Murphy, Brennan, and their characters don't seem to understand this. And with so many funny stories about the most discriminating looks in the entertainment industry, tone-deaf becomes one. Hollywood & # 39;severe failure.
And ironically, even though the show focuses on racism, anti-Semitism is not mentioned – even though Avis, Ace, and their daughter Claire (Samara Weaving) are revealed as Jews by witchcraft and will miss Fashion by the end of the season, and even though the series actually took place months later the end of World War II and the Holocaust. Avis and Claire are symbolized by adversity simply because they are women. (And in Claire's case, because she's the daughter of a studio head, it's a poor thing.) Given the Ku Klux Klan's location in the Hollywood story, even the group's disappointing mention Anti-Semetism could have given both characters more depth.
Nobody wants to watch a show about former spies who are only chosen for the dimensions of their social lives. The track of suffering was not new even though it is depicted in melodramas of Hollywood & # 39;
And when a startup is startled and it looks like the players are in the lead you will not find what they are looking for easily, the cliffhanger of one episode is miraculously cleared in the next few minutes. You will never see the Ku Klux Klan road burn get such a response, or forget it immediately, as it is Hollywood.
There are ways to accept the reality of unity as nothing more than the complexities of the lives of previously disadvantaged characters. Murphy and his team did exactly that It lays, which is probably why Mock's episodes Hollywood feel more grounded in reality than the rest of the series. On Show, Mock revealed that because the show's lead is for trans women, they do not have to "defend their identity" or go even further to teach cisgender people a lesson. "They're just women living their lives in a healthy, dirty, dirty life in 1980's New York City." This means that while It lays it certainly deals well with topics such as the AIDS crisis, difficulties do not define the existence of characters. With all the Hollywood references pointing to real-world events ( The Beautiful Earth controversy, Peg Entwistle, Volian Leigh episodes of inspiration, successes of films like The Wizard of Oz, and more), Murphy and the company apparently aren't making a clean movieland dream.
If they did, Hollywood& # 39; Mishmash of linelines and characters may be more interesting. It is possible that the old white man in 1946 took his decision to save the race film from being destroyed, and to help him be released from the theater. The off-script moments can be overlooked, such as when Camille has to fight to get in her left chair at the Oscars event (taking advice from Hattie McDaniel, who plays surprisingly well), though Archie and Rock Hudson, who were anointed while walking the red carpet in hand, had no problems getting to their seats. .
But it's unclear whose story this latest Netflix offer is trying to tell, and it suffers from Murphy and a company that puts too many ideas in too little space. That problem bothers Murphy most of his time. His projects tend to be young adult when his involvement is small, and various creators in the room are allowed to focus many of his ideas. Perhaps the greatest example of his strong, straightforward staff, People v. OJ Simpson, you didn't produce it successfully without writing an episode. His hands are gone Hollywood – his writing credit is present in every episode – and he brought all his usual mistakes with him.