Stereotypes of East Asians in the United States forms of racial discrimination or social issues in American society at large, and that their community is thriving, having "gained" socioeconomic success through their own merit. Fu Manchu and Charlie Chan are two important and well-known fictional East Asian characters in America's cultural history. Created by Sax Rohmer and Earl Derr Biggers in the early part of the 20th century, Fu Manchu is the embodiment of America's imagination of a threatening mysterious East Asian people while Charlie Chan is an apologetic submissive Chinese-Hawaiian detective who represents America's archetypal "good" East Asian. Both characters found widespread popularity in numerous novels and
Charlie Chan Lon Chaney cook-waiter … because Chaney can't stoop that low." In 1929, the Fox Film Corporation optioned Charlie Chan properties and produced "Behind That Curtain", starring Korean actor E.L. Park. Again, Chan's role was minimal, with Chan appearing only in the last ten minutes of the film. Not until a white actor was cast in the title role in 1931 did a Chan film meet with success. In "Charlie Chan Carries On" Chan was played by Swedish actor Warner Oland, who had also played Fu Manchu in an earlier film. Oland, who claimed some Mongolian ancestry, played the character as