sax rohmer

if you had a turn of mind towards this kind of thing, you would know who arthur henry ward was. (big fucking clue? look at the subject line!) i got a chance to browse through some of the books at the LA public library (segue...if you are ever in the area, check out the jewelry district and the moca); and i came across "the drums of fu manchu". nayland smith and kerrigan, hot on the heels of "the insiduous chinaman" yet again. took me back a few years it did, back to when i first read, "the bride of fu manchu".

so what if his books were sinophobic, pulpy, and repetitive? they were entertaining as hell. the portrayal of chinese as a scheming and cruel race was widely accepted during the late 19th century...those were the days of "the yellow peril." why, even the movie adaptations had fu manchu being portrayed by the legendary boris karloff, the frightening christopher lee and the hugely talented peter sellers (check some of the awesome posters here)...let me draw you a picture, none of them were asian.

it's easy to see the parallels drawn by rohmer's flawed perception of asians versus today's society's perception of arabs and muslims. would rohmer's books be welcomed today? perhaps not, but during the '20s and the '30s, rohmer was one of the world's most successful magazine writers. there's also another curious parallel that can be drawn between fu manchu and another mastermind of terror, osama bin laden.

and just for curiosity's sake, check out this california-based stoner rock band.

picture courtesy: http://www.pjfarmer.com/woldnewton