Week 8 - American Born Chinese and Stereotype

American Born Chinese (ABC) is a fun and endearing piece of work. Its humor roots from the neutrality of situations, which is totally my taste.

I was curious as to how the sitcom plot was relevant to the main plot, but it was, in fact, Jin’s fantasy of living a normal life as a white American. Had he not been born Chinese, he believes life could’ve been much simpler. He personifies his culture as an annoying person with no depth, an obstacle that haunts him. The entire ordeal is patronizing and mean-spirited but is perceived as humorous. I personally have been ridiculed or patronized for struggling to connect with my cultural identity. 

This is why I empathize with Jin as an Asian American myself. A fish out of the water, you have no choice but to assimilate, otherwise, you’re asking for attention, even if you never intended to. To disassociate yourself from your culture is to see it as lesser than the one you were forced to assimilate in. What makes this a mature piece of work is that it doesn’t encourage anyone to acknowledge Chinese culture in a better light, which I initially saw as a weakness to this story. This comic could have easily spent its last pages listing the “good” things about Chinese culture and how it shouldn’t be dumbed-down to kungfu and Szechuan cuisine, but I like how Jin reflecting in a boba tea shop was a subliminal way for him to reevaluate his culture. That subtlety is just /chef’s kiss/. My favorite part is when Wei-Chen rolls up in a sports car with these gaudy glasses, designer sportswear, and a cigarette in his mouth. The whole getup is just so early 00’s hip-hop, which has its “unique” ways of flaunting one’s status.