Judge, 1922-12-09 · page 16 of 36
Judge — December 9, 1922 — page 16: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page promotes the silent film "East is West" starring Constance Talmadge, directed by Sidney Franklin. The content reflects early 1920s racial stereotypes: it depicts Chinese characters through the "yellow peril" trope—a period fear of Asian immigration and influence. The plot summary reveals the film's assimilationist message: a Chinese woman (Ming Toy) is "rewarded" by becoming "all-American" through romance with a white character (Billy Benson), suggesting that Asian identity should be abandoned for American acceptance. The caption's pun about laundries—a stereotypical Chinese-American occupation—and the phrase "Chinamen grow forlorn" reinforce dehumanizing caricatures common in early cinema. The film essentially celebrated cultural erasure as romantic resolution.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Constance Talmadge in “East is West”’ Sidney Franklin, the Director. But Billy Benson braves the yellow peril, and is rewarded by finding Ming Toy an all-American. Thus East becomes West. To little Ming Toy life is just one laundry after another. Without her, Chinamen grow forlorn and forlaundrier.