Existing in Stereotypical Roles Assigned by Society

       By writing Interior Chinatown as a screenplay, Yu (2020) is commenting on the stereotypical roles assigned to Asian people, but specifically that of “Generic Asian Man” and its effect on the main character, Willis Wu. Throughout the majority of the novel, Wu aspires to be “Kung Fu Guy.” This is the top, most esteemed role available to Wu in this society; however, he must first go up the rungs of the social ladder: “starting from the bottom, it goes: 5) Background Oriental Male, 4) Dead Asian Man, 3) Generic Asian Man Number Three/Delivery Guy, 2) Generic Asian Man Number 2/Waiter, 1) Generic Asian Man Number One” (Yu 11). From this hierarchy, we can see a predetermined social order centered around the idea of “Generic Asian Man.” The screenplay, and therefore society, assigns Wu this role; it is all he can be, trapping him in a cycle where he cannot see himself as anything more. Wu believes that by becoming “Kung Fu Guy” everything will change – he will finally get the role he deserves.

This obsession over becoming “Kung Fu Guy” affects his relationship with everyone around him: his mother, father, Karen, and eventually his child, Phoebe. Firstly, his father played the role of “Kung Fu Guy,” and then was the “esteemed teacher” of “Kung Fu Guy,” but now he has lost himself completely to the roles he has been assigned by society – he does not even see himself as Wu’s father anymore. On the other hand, his mother longs for Wu to be something more than “Kung Fu Guy.” However, Wu does not comprehend how he could ever be something more than “Kung Fu Guy” when it has always been his dream and is the highest, and most privileged role available to him. In his relationship with Karen, she tries to get him to see that there exists more to life than being “Kung Fu Guy,” and even when she falls pregnant, Wu still does not understand how he could ever be something more. When Wu becomes “Kung Fu Guy,” he finally realizes that this cycle that defines his total being is a trap. “Karen was right: you are trapped. Doing well is the trap. A different kind, but still a trap. Because you are still in a show that doesn’t have a role for you” (Yu 180). This realization helps him to start to break away from how society defines him, and he goes to reunite with Karen, and his daughter, Phoebe. However, Wu continues to be defined via being “Kung Fu Guy” when he does this because he calls himself “Kung Fu Dad” – the title of Act V (Yu 185). The book ends on a hopeful note when Wu finally breaks out of this cycle and when talking with Phoebe he says “I’m your dad…just dad” (Yu 255). 

Interior Chinatown uses a screenplay to define how stereotypical roles assigned by society can define one’s life completely, but that by breaking away from them life can become so much more than what it lets one be.