The Guests at the Nam Kok Hotel
Navigating Exoticism in “The World of Suzie Wong”
‘The Exotic’ isn’t tangible; yet it presents itself in many forms across time and culture. It’s Suzie Wong, a poor Chinese sex worker who falls in love with a struggling artist from the West. It’s Cio Cio San, a young Japanese girl who falls in love with an American naval officer, leading to tragic heartbreak and betrayal. It’s the allure and mystery of an Orientalized East. It's a giant theme park on the other side of the world that promises adventures in foreign lands, enticing tourists with the thrill of the ‘other’ while being safely grounded in the familiar.
Directed by Richard Quine in 1960, set in the bustling Nam Kok Hotel of Hong Kong and featuring an interracial relationship between Robert Lomax, an American artist, and Suzie Wong, a young local woman, “The World of Suzie Wong” shows these romantic and ‘exotic’ fantasies of the 1950s and 60s. It serves as a medium through which we can explore historical attitudes towards race, gender, and cross-cultural dynamics.
The socio-political landscape of 1950s Hong Kong as a British colony on the brink of transformation, is the backdrop for the movie. This era was depicted in the movie by the push-and-pull between traditional values and the pressures of modernization. It also shows the adaptation of the sex work industry in response to legal changes, such as the prohibition of sex work and the subsequent closure of brothels. Despite these changes, sex workers and brothel-owners discreetly continued their trade, which is portrayed by Ah Tong’s hotel that he insists is a “very respectable place” and “not a brothel.” The ballrooms, the gentlemen’s club and other “fancy” establishments that Robert and other Westerners frequent highlight the the historical transformation of the area into a social and economic hub post-war. The presence of characters such as Ben Marlowe, the O'Neils and other Western sailors and businessmen in Hong
Kong, highlights the post-War commodification of the ‘Orient’ as a site of leisure and economic opportunity for Westerners
Robert Lomax embodies the archetype of Western masculinity—confident, independent, with his privileges underscored by his ease of access to exclusive clubs and dining establishments, facilitated by his letters of recommendation that tells “whom[ever] it may concern” that he, indeed, deserves to be there. His interactions with the local environment and Suzie Wong herself are tinged with a blend of curiosity, entitlement, and benevolence, reflective of the colonial mindset.
Suzie, on the other hand, is the complicated Eastern feminine hand-drawn for Western consumption. She is symbolic of a broader long-standing trope where the exotic East awaits rescue by a noble Western knight in shining armor.
This dynamic is evident in many parts of the film such as when her savior Robert orders plain vinaigrette with her to prevent her embarrassment from not being able to read the menu. He punches the man who beats her up. She is the irrational and impulsive feminine who doesn’t know what’s best for her while Robert is the rational, masculine hero who keeps her under control.
From the moment Robert starts to sketch her on the boat (without her permission, even when she is clearly uncomfortable), Suzie is fetishized. The focus on Suzie primarily revolves around her sexual allure, her virginity status, and her aggressive sexual advances towards Robert, who, in
turn, endeavors to ‘tame’ her. Robert’s request for Suzie to pose for him, not for sexual services, but as a muse for his art, introduces a romanticized dynamic often explored in literature and film. This dynamic is complicated by the power imbalances it implies, including the commodification of Suzie's body and the assumption that her value is enhanced through association with a Western man’s artistic vision. From the very get-go, Suzie Wong, under the guise of Mee-Ling, is the embodiment of innocence and a claim to virginity, which becomes juxtaposed against her true profession as a sex worker. This highlights the duality of the ‘Oriental woman’ in Western imagination: simultaneously pure and corrupt, naive and knowing.
This portrayal is not isolated to Suzie alone but extends to her friends, who are depicted as deriving pleasure from being the ‘side pieces’ of Western men, who eventually abandon them to return home. This ties in with W. Anthony Sheppard’s argument in “Cinematic realism, reflexivity and the American ‘Madame Butterfly’ narratives” about Hollywood’s habit of reshaping non-Western characters to meet an exotic ideal. While the film presents Suzie as a complex individual, it also relies on her to fulfill certain Orientalist stereotypes such as subservience, exotic appeal, and sexual availability to Western men.
Building on that argument, Sheppard says that Hollywood has “repeatedly proved determined to teach the ‘other’ exactly how to look and sound exotic for its cinematic representations of Japan”. This tactic of defining authenticity on its terms is evident in the film’s portrayal of Hong Kong. The bustling streets, the vibrant nightlife of Wan Chai, and even Suzie's profession as a sex worker are presented through a lens that only highlights the exotic and the erotic. There is intention behind manipulating cultural elements to suit narrative and aesthetic preferences.
The scene depicting the bar girls in qipaos dancing the cha-cha with sailors highlights the film's cultural exoticism and the fetishization of Asian cultures. This scene encapsulates the Western fantasy of the mysterious, pleasure-filled East, serving both as a spectacle for the audience and a critique of the superficial engagement with Asian cultures by Western characters. The scene serves as a visual representation of the cultural appropriation that Sheppard discusses, where Asian elements are cherry-picked for their aesthetic appeal and divorced from their cultural context.
Moreover, the soundtrack and scenic design of “The World of Suzie Wong” blend traditional Chinese elements with Western orchestration, echoing, again, Sheppard's discussion on the selective incorporation of Asian music to maintain an image of authenticity while ensuring it remains palatable to Western audiences.
Shifting gears to this movie’s place in history, even though “The World of Suzie Wong” is set in Hong Kong, it was a part of a broader attempt to soften the image of East Asians post World War II. By focusing on individual stories of love and hardship, such films contributed to humanizing East Asians in the American imagination, moving beyond the wartime propaganda that depicted them monolithically as foes. Hollywood played a significant role in disseminating these images worldwide, influencing perceptions of Asia and Asians. Suzie's backstory, involving her expulsion by her uncle and descent into prostitution, alongside her secretive visits to her child, reveal the socio-economic desperation and familial breakdowns often hidden behind the glitz and glam of Hong Kong's nightlife. This narrative thread exposes the audience to the harsher realities
of life for many local women, challenging the superficial exotic allure of the East with a humanizing portrayal of struggle.
The Hiroshima Maidens project, which brought Japanese women disfigured by the atomic bombings to the United States in 1955 for reconstructive surgery, is an example of post-war humanitarian efforts that significantly impacted American perceptions of the Japanese. In the context of “The World of Suzie Wong,” the portrayal of Suzie and her friends reflects a similar shift towards a more compassionate and nuanced portrayal of East Asian characters. While the film indulges in Orientalist tropes, it also attempts to humanize its characters, presenting their struggles, aspirations, and dignity amidst adversity.
In conclusion, the film was oscillating between reinforcing and subverting Orientalist stereotypes. Through the lens of Suzie Wong and her repeated “Oh goodness’ sake”(s), we see a caricature drawn from Orientalist imaginations but also a human portrayal of resilience and complexity against the backdrop of a post-colonial Hong Kong.
As Sheppard critiqued, the film is an example of Hollywood’s struggle with “exotic realism,” attempting to present the ‘Orient’ as both alluring and authentic for Western audiences. There is a need for narratives that go beyond simplistic exoticization, offering instead a more nuanced understanding of cross-cultural encounters and dynamics.
