Star Power Saturday Movie Matinee

Merle Oberon rose to the highest echelons of fame in Golden Age Hollywood while keeping a secret that threatened to destroy her career: her South Asian identity. Mayukh Sen, a James Beard Award-winning author, brings the story of this often-forgotten star to life in his new book “Love, Queenie: Merle Oberon, Hollywood’s First South Asian Star.” Sen will join Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center educator Andrea Kim Neighbors for a conversation about Oberon’s complex legacy and the history of Asian American representation on screen.

A special Star Power screening of “Wuthering Heights” will follow. Merle Oberon dazzles opposite Laurence Olivier as they portray star-crossed lovers Cathy and Heathcliff in this 1939 romantic period drama based on Emily Brontë’s classic novel. Free – Registration required.