About Face: Performing Race in Fashion and TheaterFrom the runways of Paris to the casting controversies over BMiss Saigon, from a local demonstration at the Claremont Colleges in California to the gender-blending of BM. Butterfly, BAbout Face examines representations of Asia and their reverberations in both Asia and Asian American lives. Japanese high fashion and Asian American theater become points of entry into the politics of pleasure, the performance of racial identities, and the possibility of political intervention in commodity capitalism. Based on Kondo's fieldwork, this interdisciplinary work brings together essays, interviews with designer Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garcons and playwright David Henry Hwang, and "personal" vignettes in its exploration of counter-Orientalisms. |
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actors aesthetic argue articulated artists Asian American theater audience avant-garde Bali become binary Black body Bourdieu Butterfly capitalist challenge collection color Comme des Garçons complex construction consumer contestation contestatory contradictions conventions create critical critique cultural David Henry Hwang deployed discourses dominant Doughball dress East West Players example fabric fashion world feminine feminist film Gallimard Garçons garments gender gender binary geopolitical global Hanae Mori historical Hwang inevitably interventions Issey Miyake issues Japan Japanese American Japanese designers Japanese fashion Japanese identity Japanese Suit Kawakubo Kyoto Madama Butterfly mainstream male masculine Meiji Mikado Miss Saigon Miyake models multiple narrative Oriental Orientalist Paris performance Pinkerton play pleasure political position power relations problematic production race racially marked racism Rei Kawakubo reinscribe reinscription representation sexuality Song specific stereotypes strategies style subversion Thailand tion Transcending transnational tropes West Western clothing woman women writing Yohji Yamamoto