Managing orientalism: biography, performance, and the films of Sabu and Merle Oberon

Abstract

ABSTRACTConsidering biography in the case of actors of colour involves something other than resisting dominant narratives about film history and recuperating effaced performances. It requires reflection on the instability of the narratives and performances of self. This article considers Merle Oberon and Sabu, two actors of South Asian descent who gained international popularity in orientalist roles in 1930s Hollywood and British productions. These actors did not actively try to subvert the roles to which they were assigned, but this does not necessarily render them passive and complicit. Athleticism in the case of Sabu and restraint in the case of Oberon deviated from the normative performances of orientalism, often in ways that contradicted the biographies circulating about them.