“Mr. Derbyshire—I must protest. I am white and 23, and I have a Chinese
girlfriend/soon-to-be-fiancee. I do not find Zhang Ziyi attractive. I think
she looks juvenile (the precocious and petulant roles she plays do not
help). I think that Michelle Yeoh is a much prettier Chinese actress than
Zhang. When Crouching Tiger came out during the time I was in college, all
of my friends captured pictues of Zhang for their computer backgrounds, so I
understand you have the majority opinion on your side. I, for one, however,
do not see it. Also, I loved Hero. I will concede to most everything you
said about the movie (including the commie/nationalist message), and yet I
still loved it. I am as big a supporter of Taiwanese statehood as I know,
and yet it wasn’t enough to turn me off of this movie. Take that for what
it’s worth.”
[My reply] “Well, the fact that Hero was a box-office smash in Taiwan tells
us something, I suppose. But you are still WRONG! WRONG! WRONG! about Ziyi.
Go wash out your mouth with soap and water.”