"Thumbs Down!": Protestors at the Film Debut of Rising Sun

"Thumbs Down!": Protestors at the Film Debut of Rising Sun

A large group of demonstrators are pictured marching in front of the Criterion theater in Times Square to protest the film debut of Rising Sun on July 30, 1993. In the foreground a person holds a sign that reads “Thumbs Down!” while in the background multiple people are holding a CAAAV sign. The theater promotes the film in large, capitalized letters along with the names of the two main actors, Sean Connery and Wesley Snipes.

The film was widely scrutinized by CAAAV and other political organizations for its xenophobic and racist portrayal of Asians. Activist groups wanted the studio to hire an Asian-American consultant who could have “influenced the film’s content" [1]. The groups also lobbied for a disclaimer at the beginning of the film stating, “no slight to Asians or Asian Americans was intended" [2] and a private viewing before the film’s release [3]. The studio denied all three requests; therefore, CAAAV, the Asian American Legal Defense and Education, and other political organizations took to the streets to “educate moviegoers about the film’s insidious stereotyping and the potential for anti-Asian violence its xenophobic messaging promotes" [4].

1. Ferrell, David. “‘Rising Sun’ Opens to Charges of Racism.” ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Los Angeles Times, Jul 31, 1993, page B3.
2. Iverem, Esther. “‘Rising Sun’ Protests: Asian Americans Object to Depictions.” ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Washington Post, Jul 29, 1993, page C7.
3. Hajari, Nisid. ““Rising Sun” Stirs Controversy.” Entertainment Weekly, Aug 6, 1993, https://ew.com/article/1993/08/06/rising-sun-stirs-controversy/.
4. “Rising Sun! Raising Hate!”. CAAAV Voice, Vol 5, no. 2 (Fall 1993): Newsletter of the Committee Against Anti-Asian Violence.

July 30, 1993

Digitized by: Frank Chiang, Van Anh Tran
Cataloged by: Sam Marsh

Copyright is held by CAAAV Organizing Asian Communities.

Photograph

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