Charles Yu's novel Interior Chinatown is primarily about the role that Asian Americans play within America. Oftentimes they are seen to be the background characters that are used to set the environment of a scene or to play the dead body. In Interior Chinatown, Asian Americans are treated more as a prop than anything else. They are given only a few limited roles that they can play like "Kung Fu Guy" and "Generic Asian Man" all of which are stereotypical of Asians. Yu is using these roles to show how limited and static most of America perceives Asians to be and how they are typically treated as less real than other humans.
The way that Yu writes the novel in a screenplay format makes it easy to see hoe bad Asians get treated within the roles they play. Willis Wu is stuck playing insignificant roles that keep him trapped in a cycle of reenforcing Asian stereotypes. Even as he climbs to bigger roles and gets closer to the one he desires, he is killed off and has to restart the process. Throughout each act, readers get updates about hoe close he is to getting to play Kung Fu Guy "You are not Kung Fu guy. But maybe tomorrow will be the day" (45), "You are not Kung Fu Guy. You were close there for a moment. But then you died." (125). He spends years repeating this cycle just to attempt being more that a prop and becoming an actual 3-dimensional character. This is the only way he knows how to break out of the mold that he was born into which is why he tries so hear to get there.
The way that the show portrays Asians is a reflection of the way America treats them. Their experiences are different than other minorities which makes it hard for them to relate to each other. Many white Americans just see them as service workers or as the people who make their food. They are flattened down to the point that they don't seem like they are as complex as other Americans because they refuse to treat Asians as real people. Yu is trying to shine light on the way that many immigrants will never truly feel like they belong here because they aren't given the chance to. Their only options are to feed into the stereotypes that they are forced into and remain a prop to everyone else.
I enjoy the duality this post shows in terms of how "dynamic" other races are in the novel in comparison to the "generic asian man". The novel effectively shows that Asian Americans are just treated as a means to fill the role as the background members of society, rather than the participating members they deserve to be. I think that, in the context of the stagnation experience by asians I'm America, it is also important to note the limited but present hierarchy mentioned in Interior Chinatown. The peak of this social hierarchy is obviously Kung-Fu Guy, but often in the novel we see characters disappointed with this roll. An example of this is is when Willis Wu says, "you can't be a part of this anymore" (181). This is a reference of Willis' desire to break free of the Kung-Fu guy role even though reaching that status has been his main goal his entire life.
ReplyDeleteI think another pivotal aspect to add to this post would be how Willis' mother is an early catalyst to the idea of breaking the role of a generic Asian man. She is the first person in the novel to dissuade Willis from trying to become Kung-Fu Guy, because she knows that he is capable of more. This is important because it means Willis will have to break the metaphorical glass ceiling that disallows asians from being anything more than action stars or restaurant workers. This means that instead of being forced to be stagnate in society, he will instead be dynamic
I completely agree with your thought process—Asian Americans are often reduced to stereotypes in not just television shows and plays, but often real life. By writing this book in a manner that bridges both, Yu is able to make that connection for the reader and show how Asian Americans are allowed very little upward mobility because of the limitations placed on them by these stereotypes. For example, the “Generic Asian Man” you mentioned is a very stereotypical role for Asian actors in Interior Chinatown. By portraying this character as static, Yu shows that other Americans, the writers of the show, see Asian Americans as less-than other Americans because they’re reduced to just a body with lines rather than a person with opinions and emotions. Because of this perception, Asian Americans aren’t allowed to become dynamic, change, and reach their full potential. Yu displays lack of growth as the lack of control Willis is given by the writers in his role as Generic Asian Man, “They’re going to shoot him. You have to say something. But how can you? You don’t have any lines” (43). Willis not “having any lines” and his inability to affect the scene is representative of the lack of control Asian Americans have on their lives. It displays the limitations on Asian Americans and shows how other Americans allow them little mobility, hence Willis being stuck in this role for so many years.
ReplyDelete