Charlie Chan
Hawaiian police sleuth
Charlie Chan is a fictional Chinese-American detective created by Earl Derr Biggers, appearing in novels and dozens of films from the 1920s through the 1940s.
The character speaks in aphorisms and was typically played by white actors in yellowface.
Today Charlie Chan represents dated, stereotypical portrayals of Asian characters—excessively polite, inscrutable, speaking in fortune-cookie wisdom: That Charlie Chan accent is offensive.
Private investigator
- investigationFormal examination of facts
- cluesHints toward answers
- deductionConclusion from premises
- interrogationFormal, probing examination
Honolulu · Hawaii · police · inspector · murder · suspect · alibi · witness
Creator of written works
- 1920sPost-WWI American decade
- serializedReleased in sequential parts
- HonoluluHawaii's largest city
- fictionImagined narrative work
bestseller · publishing · literature · series
Stereotyped Asian portrayal
- caricatureExaggerated comic depiction
- orientalismInterest in Eastern aesthetics
- whitewashingConcealing unpleasant facts
- racialConcerning ethnic origin
ethnic · typecast · exoticism · representation · misrepresentation · controversy · problematic · dated
American film industry center
- 1930sFourth decade, twentieth century
- 1940sFourth decade, twentieth century
- black-and-whiteWithout color gradations
- talkiesMovies with audible dialogue
screenplay · box-office · sequel · franchise · B-movie · whodunit · cinematography · casting
Traditional saying expressing truth
- pithyConcise and forceful
- maximBrief moral principle
- humbleUnassuming about oneself
- patienceCalm during delays
wisdom · quotable · catchphrase · politeness · understatement · folksy
sleuth
Private investigator
- investigationFormal examination of facts
- cluesHints toward answers
- deductionConclusion from premises
interrogation · Honolulu · Hawaii · police · inspector · murder · suspect · alibi · witness · evidence
author
Creator of written works
- 1920sPost-WWI American decade
- serializedReleased in sequential parts
- HonoluluHawaii's largest city
fiction · bestseller · publishing · literature · series
yellowface
Stereotyped Asian portrayal
- caricatureExaggerated comic depiction
- orientalismInterest in Eastern aesthetics
- whitewashingConcealing unpleasant facts
racial · ethnic · typecast · exoticism · representation · misrepresentation · controversy · problematic · dated · offensive
Hollywood
American film industry center
- 1930sFourth decade, twentieth century
- 1940sFourth decade, twentieth century
- black-and-whiteWithout color gradations
talkies · screenplay · box-office · sequel · franchise · B-movie · whodunit · cinematography · casting · yellowface
proverb
Traditional saying expressing truth
patience · wisdom · quotable · catchphrase · politeness · understatement · folksy
- comicscomic books, comic book, comic strip, comic art, comic panel
- Film FranchisesStar Wars, James Bond, Jurassic Park, Toy Story, Indiana Jones
Charlie ChanSam Spade
hardboiled detective · noir detective · Dirty Harry · private eye · Miss Marple
Charlie ChanBruce Lee
Charlie Chanhardboiled fiction
Cynical crime writing genre
Dashiell Hammett · Raymond Chandler · mean streets · gritty realism · streetwise