Who's your Asian friend, Mastermind?

[imomus]

Hisae and I have been playing Mastermind a lot recently; there's a copy of the game in Olive, a Spanish-style restaurant near our house in Neukolln. Hisae loves games and puzzles; a Sudoku wizard, she picked up the rules of Mastermind very quickly and tends to guess the solution in fewer rows than I do (I still win at chess most of the time, though).



The Mastermind packaging hasn't changed since I used to play the game at boarding school, aged 13. (I spent more time using the board itself as graphic design than playing by the rules; I was fascinated by the problem of using the small grid of slotted dots as a kind of low-res matrix drawing system.) Looking at the box cover now, it strikes me that this -- along with images of John and Yoko -- must have been one of my first visual exposures to the idea of the mixed-race couple configuration I would later spend so much time in: the white male and East Asian female.

The Mastermind cover is a powerful -- and quite strange -- one. A middle-aged bearded man, rather well-dressed, with large cufflinks, sits behind a shiny jade table, flanked by a much younger East Asian woman in a white dress, throwing sex-as-power curves with her hips. The man connotes power by resting his fingertips against each other in the "cathedral gesture", which seems to say "I am immeasurably rich and have a vast organisation behind me, an organisation which has spun the conspiracy in which you now find yourself enmeshed. Over to you, Mr Bond."

The imagery is certainly Flemingesque: the man is in the Bond tradition of evil masterminds like Goldfinger and Dr No. Never mind that, in the context, his "power" is restricted to keeping the order of four plastic beads secret from you (wisely, the company has left the image of the game itself off the cover; to see the little plastic pieces on the black jade table would be comically bathetic). The Asian woman may or may not be his lover, but she's certainly in the "beautiful assistant" tradition which Fleming seems to have borrowed from the stage shows of theatrical magicians.

Actually, if you take a headcount of the Asian women in the Bond films, they tend to appear at Bond's side rather than flanking the "evil mastermind". There's Japanese Aki (Akiko Wakabayashi), who saves Bond's life in "You Only Live Twice". Aki's smutty double entendre quote ("I think I will enjoy very much serving under you") is the perfect summation of the post-war relationship between Japan and the West. Like client state Japan, Aki's greatest enemies are Asian ones; she dies in Bond's bed, poisoned by a ninja assassin. Also in "You Only Live Twice" we get Kissy Suzuki (played by Mie Hama), the first girl Bond marries. Kissy is a clam diver and secret agent. Much later, in 1997's "Tomorrow Never Dies" Michelle Yeoh plays Wai Lin, Bond's opposite number in the People's Republic of China's version of MI6.

Since Asian women tend to appear in the Bond films at the side of the good rather than bad guys, perhaps we need to re-construe the Mastermind cover. Rather than an evil mastermind with a wicked plan for the world, the man on the box is a puzzlemeister who's been to the far east to study Chinese puzzles. He's "fiendish" only in his love of the "fiendishly difficult". This makes more sense; now his "finger cathedral" gesture means "I've got a really tough challenge for you" rather than "I plan to dominate the world from inside a hollowed-out volcano".

I like to think the white-dressed Asian woman is there to trigger a Freudian "pleasure principle" motivation for playing what might otherwise appear a somewhat dry and mathematical game, though. Not only does she represent the "Chinese" puzzle itself, her body is also the physical reward for the cerebral feat of cracking the code. The puzzlemeister has had her, I'm sure of it.

I must have filed the image of this mixed-race couple away in my teen brain alongside the image of John and Yoko. In both cases, an Oriental-Asian partner was the reward for great achievements in music or mathematics; evidence that nerdy skills could lead to surprisingly sensual gratification. A far eastern end, perhaps, to Western body-mind dualism.

Comments

[sonjaaa.livejournal.com]

I love that board game!

I don't know why white men fetishize or "other" east Asian women so much.

[chickensnack.livejournal.com]

I have that same box somewhere in a cabinet back at home. I had completely forgotten about it until now.

I was looking at some recent board game boxes and most of them seem to feature game pieces exploding out from the middle. How thought-provoking.

and (http://supak.com/robin/Pokemon/pokemon_monopoly_box.gif) here's (http://www.productwiki.com/upload/images/trivial_pursuit_know_it_all_box_cover.jpg) some (http://www.areyougame.com/images/items/HB00390.jpg) more (http://giochinscatola.it/catalog/images/Yahtzee-deluxe_box.gif)

[bonsai-human.livejournal.com]

That's very ugly.

The original is far superior, though I have completely forgotten how to play it.

[(Anonymous)]

I very much enjoyed this entry because I have had very similar thoughts about the Mastermind box and the beginnings of my proclivity towards Asian women. But I also managed to track it down to Yvonne Elliman in Jesus Christ Superstar (the movie) that I watched when I was 8 or 9. I think I was an atheist even then, but I was clearly impressed by her presence. I only became aware of Yoko (or the Beatles for that matter) much later in life.

- Orestes

[rawconcrete.livejournal.com]

do you play word mastermind too? i think i prefer the colour mastermind.

i have always wanted to know more about the woman on the box, i might just google "woman on mastermind box" now (i've had the internet for years but i've only just thought about doing that...).

[insomnia.livejournal.com]

"evidence that nerdy skills could lead to surprisingly sensual gratification."

Perhaps you mastered the quietly distant and mysterious Asian female code.

[kalafa.livejournal.com]

or free quality internet pornography.

[bonsai-human.livejournal.com]

an Oriental-Asian partner was the reward for great achievements in music or mathematics

Or, you know, just not being able to get a Western girlfriend.

[rhodri.livejournal.com]

In both cases, an Oriental-Asian partner was the reward for successfully pursuing an Oriental-Asian woman; evidence that pursuing an Oriental-Asian woman could, in some cases, lead to having an Oriental-Asian woman as a partner.

[mcgazz.livejournal.com]

Wow, are you Roland Barthes?

[electricwitch.livejournal.com]

Yeah, or enormous physical abuse, eh John?

Not as funny as the momus_lolz post.

[electricwitch.livejournal.com]

Anyway, why isn´t SHE the mastermind?!

[imomus.livejournal.com]

MISTRESSMIND!

[cerulicante.livejournal.com]

I enjoy sex with Japanese women very much, but not if they make me solve puzzles, first. Unless it's a bra, which I can solve.


It would be awesome if they interviewed the guy that painted that game cover and said, "Yeah, the girl is from Thailand. She's a post-op transsexual." That would make the game 450 kinds of awesome.

[imomus.livejournal.com]

the guy that painted that game cover

I'm intrigued by your theory that Mastermind masterminded hyperrealism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperrealism_(painting))!

[imomus.livejournal.com]

It's interesting that, using the device of the mirror-topped table, the designers have locked the couple together at the loins:

[imomus.livejournal.com]

Wikipedia explains all (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mastermind_(board_game)):

"Starting in 1973, the game box featured a photograph of a well-dressed, distinguished-looking white man seated in the foreground, with an attractive Asian woman standing behind him. The connection between these people and the game of Mastermind was not explained. The two models (Bill Woodward and Cecelia Fung) reunited in June 2003 to pose for another publicity photo (http://www.le.ac.uk/press/press/landmarkreunion.html)."

Follow that link and you get the story of who these people were in real life:

"A businessman and a University of Leicester student who were brought together 30 years ago as the mysterious figures for the box on the revolutionary new game Mastermind, have been reunited for the first time since that historic day.

Distinguished-looking Bill Woodward was then the owner of a chain of hairdressing salons and young Hong Kong born Cecilia Fung was studying for a computer science degree at the University of Leicester.

Little did they know that the photo session at Leicester studio would produce a result which was destined to cut across all international barriers and become one of the world’s most famous and enduring images.

Bill Woodward was catapulted into global recognition as he went on many promotional tours for the game – in fact even his passport was under the name Mr Mastermind!

He discloses some of his secrets behind the photo-shoot including the fact that he was called upon to sit in only after a male model, originally booked, failed to turn up.

Bill, who despite now being in his late seventies, looks remarkably unchanged from 1972, says that in addition to the photograph that was selected some were also taken with a cat sitting on his lap. The idea was scrapped, but not before the moggy had wet itself on his trousers.

Cecilia said that while strolling in Leicester with friends she was approached by people from an agency who wanted her for the shoot. “I was the usual impoverished student and jumped at the chance,” she says."



But notice that in the 2003 reconstruction, the couple's loins no longer meet at the interstice between the mirror and the real world.

[niddrie-edge.livejournal.com]

Bill, who despite now being in his late seventies, looks remarkably unchanged from 1972,
Is this implying that ONLY SHE has changed? (as in "lost" her looks) Look how the arthritis has affected his "cathedral".
The older/later pic seems to symbolise the "dream is over" phase of youthful illusion as given to us by the Scouse misogynist (copyright Tony Wilson) himself.

BTW did you ever read the Trevanian book Shibumi ? (http://www.strafe.com/bj/shibumi.html) . My ex Hong Kong cop/petrol station boss threw one at me in 1986.

music / mastermind crossover

[(Anonymous)]

ex-girlfriend to a mastermind fiend, I must have seen at least 20 different versions of that cover constellation ...

you might enjoy a more recent one (2002 spex cover featuring Gonzales) http://www.sebastianmayer.com/frontend/index.php?style=&text=&sub=&page_id=0&sub_page_id=&sort_id=14

Collaborations

[(Anonymous)]

You've probably answered this elsewhere, but I was wondering who, if anyone, you would like to collaborate with in the future.

Personally, I would like to see you collaborate with Nick Duffy, Stephen Duffy's elder brother.

Lucia.

[lemur-man.livejournal.com]

Speaking of things tangentially Lennon-related, has anyone mentioned your resemblance to Liam Gallagher in that user pic?

[microworlds.livejournal.com]

Hmmmm. o__O

[microworlds.livejournal.com]

I thought your love of Japan started earlier than that, what with "I Can See Japan." Unless you thought girls had cooties at that age.

[lord-whimsy.livejournal.com]

All girls have a cootie, silly! ;)

[cap-scaleman.livejournal.com]

Do you have any interest in the Chinese type of Chess called Qianhong (http://www.jcraner.com/qianhong/)?

Eats

[(Anonymous)]

I see: a finely sliced apple, walnuts, melty choco-smeared icecream. But what's that you've spit up by the spoons?

Re: Eats

[imomus.livejournal.com]

A fresh fig.

[mcfnord.livejournal.com]

great write-up.

[caws-pobi.livejournal.com]

A bit off topic, but:

http://hakanphotography.com/series/japanesestreet/

Made me think of your post about Kahimi and Wikipedia. Your voice will always creep behind her best arrangements!

[dzima.livejournal.com]

We all want to be chopstick fed by our exotic submissive Asian women don't we.



The Mastermind cover only makes me think of Rupert Murdoch and his Wendy instead of Scaramanga or Dr. No.

[imomus.livejournal.com]

Are you wearing slightly tarnished black nail varnish there, Ralph?

[ohayo-sakura.livejournal.com]

how great are asian women.!

[sheppardzo-14.livejournal.com]

Recently went to great lengths to find that exact year of Mastermind in good condition on eBay and purchase it for my ex-Japanese boyfriend (ca 1979-85)'s American son, now 40. I'd originally bought the game ca. 1982 so he could match wits with his Japanese grandfather, as their ability to converse directly was largely limited to pantomime. Thanks for follow-up on the models...the box sold it, though it's a good game.

[sofahead.livejournal.com]

I loved the box almost as much as the game inside it, growing up.

[(Anonymous)]

on one of my daily material-hunts in the skips of Madrid last year, I happened to find that game, the spanish edition. I will try and post a pic tomorrow when I go to the workshop.

Incidentally on one of those cheesy 'I love the 70s' programmes on Uk Tv about 5 years ago, they had a mini interview with that chap off the box. can't recall any more about it though, but as someone had taped it for me I do probably still have it...somewhere!