American Born Chinese does an extremely fantastic job at what Yang intends for it to do. His portrayal of Jin's growing up in a school where no one speaks your language, no one can pronounce your name, and everyone sees you as an outsider is exactly what so many Asian-Americans experienced then and now. Additionally, Yang's exaggeratedly racist depiction of "Cousin Chin-Kee" shocks readers by forcing them to confront both obvious and underlying stereotypes that still haunt Asian-Americans to this day. His lunch of "clispy flied cat gizzards wiff noodle" (114) refers to the common, blatantly racist stereotype that Asians eat cats and dogs, while the more subtle myth that all Asians are inherently smarter is mentioned when Danny's teacher says, "it would behoove you all to be a little more like Chin-Kee" (111). And finally, the extended metaphor of the Monkey King learning "how good it is to be a monkey" (223) serves to communicate the importance of staying true to one's self in a very child-friendly manner.
While these experiences and lessons still generally apply to the marginalized youth of today, it's been seventeen years since the graphic novel was published. The scope of representation and storytelling has since widened, and unfortunately, stories like Yang's have become so well-known to bystanders and oppressors that they are nearly another stereotype in and of themselves. For example, one kid looks at Jin's lunch and asks, "What the hell is that?!" (32). This instance has come to be known as the "stinky lunch story" and is regarded even amongst Asian-Americans themselves to be repetitive and almost cliché.
This does not undermine the effectiveness of Yang's message in American Born Chinese, especially considering the novel's audience of younger children and its date of publication. However, it is important for readers to recognize the nuance behind the experiences of Asian-Americans rather than boxing them into a stereotype within stereotypes. For example, many Asian-Americans take the "stinky lunch story" as an opportunity to stand up for themselves and educate their peers about their culture rather than sitting in silence as Jin does. It's important to make readers feel seen in case they have done with Jin does, but it's also important to show examples of taking action against oppression so Asian-American youth will feel inspired to do the same.
Additionally, as the novel is told through the perspective of Jin, it lacks subtle details that Asian-American women often experience. For example, Jin fantasizes about possessing the traits that American beauty standards uphold, like the curly hair pictured on page 97. This is similar to what many Asian-American women feel, as society often conveys that Asian facial and body characteristics are not conventionally attractive. However, the novel does not touch on the subject of fetishization of Asian women or appropriation of Asian women's features. Once again, this is not to the fault of Yang, as the novel is largely based off his experiences alone, and many of these issues specific to Asian-American women were not as prominent until a few years ago. However, it is still another lens through which the Asian-American experience can be seen.
Overall, American Born Chinese does an excellent job at providing a baseline novel for children of any marginalized group to be recognized and understood. However, instances of prejudice and racism exist outside the ones depicted in American Born Chinese, and while it is not Yang's responsibility to represent all of them, it is the readers' responsibility to use American Born Chinese as a stepping stone to understanding the nuance behind the Asian-American experience as a whole.
This response is well composed, American Born Chinese is a truly meaningful book. It certainly puts things in perspective for those who do not experience discrimination and racial/cultural stereotypes. This book made me realize how deep and widespread some misconceptions are and what impact they have. When Jin Wang was introduced to the class, the other students immediately assumed he was from different country, or that “Chinese people eat dogs” (Yang 30). This book does not shy away from using harsh language to show just how awful some Asian Americans are treated.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to consider how this book is much more focused on Asian males. Many Asian American women must deal with comments and mistreatment because of their appearance and culture. I like to think we’re shifting towards a culture of acceptance of diverse ethnic backgrounds, but those problems are still very real. I would hypothesize that Yang didn’t write about this component of inequity because he has not experienced it or seen it firsthand. Him being Asian American himself helps give the story context. Books are given meaningful context when the author’s life has inspired the story. This was a similar situation that we saw with Little Women.
American Born Chinese is an important model of social inequities and the Asian American experience.
I think your point is very compelling - it comes back to what you said in class about how sometimes, marginalized groups just want to see themselves being represented on the screen or in a book. So many movies and tv shows with people of color in main roles resort to conversations about race, and while there is merit to that story, there should also be stories with those characters that have nothing to do with race. Obviously, American Born Chinese is about growing up in the U.S. as an Asian American, so much of the story centers around race. However, I think the parts of Jin's life that are more neutral, like his first date and the time he spends with Wei-Chen, help make the story as great as it is. Like Yang mentioned in the TedTalk, he hears from fans who are children of immigrants, but also LGBTQ+ individuals and other minority groups, meaning Jin's experience can be applied to a wide variety of contexts. One of my favorite lines is when Jin is at the movies with Amelia: "I couldn't tell you the plot, any of the actors' names, or even the title, but that was the best movie I ever saw" (Yang, 166). So many young children can relate to this universal experience. I think what ultimately makes American Born Chinese so powerful is its ability to interweave the story of being an outsider with some of the most awkward, humorous, and beautiful moments of adolescence.
ReplyDeleteI think it would be interesting for Yang to make a second graphic novel showcasing Jin Wang’s character development and accepting his identity of being an Asian American. I feel as if the book ended on an open note and it would be educational and engaging to see how Jin Wang takes on high school with Wei-Chen. The widespread media can definitely attribute to the stereotypes within stereotypes problem and I can’t help but wonder how different the book would be if it were written in today’s time. A big theme of this book is appearances and how other people perceive them physically. Your comparison of Asian American men experiences versus Asian American women experiences makes me wonder if Jin Wang was a woman, would the purpose of his transformation change? We see that Jin changes his hair to look more like Danny so that Amelia can like him as Wei-Chen states the next day “Why is his hair a broccoli?” (Yang, 98). However, with your upbringing on the topic of fetishization /sexualization of Asian women and appropriation of women’s physical features, if Jin Wang were a girl he would want to be white to avoid the likeness of men, instead of looking to appeal to the opposite gender. Your response has opened a lot of what if’s for me but ultimately Yang does a great job in providing a basic line of what it is like to be Asian American.
ReplyDeleteI think you describe the importance of the message of American Born Chinese in an effective and intelligible way. The examples of stereotypes you raised from the novel such as the food Cousin Chin-Kee eats, as well as his superior intelligence do an excellent job of describing common cliche’s Asian-Americans go through. The stories in the beginning of the book could possibly be seen as scattered and independent of one another, but Yang seamlessly ties them all back together to convey his overall moral. I do agree with your point that some of the stereotypes, like making fun of ethnic foods, have become so repetitive that they’re cliche themselves. This is an interesting concept to pick up on and one that might show the age of the book, but not weaken Yang’s attempt to emphasize owning who you are. I never considered looking for a stereotype within a stereotype and I think it’s altered my way of reading the different interactions and conversations in this novel. One thing I may disagree with you on is that this book is most likely not meant for children. You may have used the term children loosely, but because of minor foul language and other innuendos, American Born Chinese is probably geared more towards young adults who have the ability to understand deeper ideas. I also agree with your statement of Yang’s intention being to “make readers feel seen” which was apparent in some of his interviews that we watched and a clear theme throughout the novel. I would find it very interesting if Yang gave a similar story but from a female’s perspective so that I could see the difference in experiences and stereotypes there.
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