‘American Born Chinese Review: Were All Walts Children
When Gene Luen Yang's graphic novel A Chinese Born in America came out 17 years ago, it was unique in several ways: its focus on everyday Asian-American characters; for the way it uses Chinese mythology to reinforce and deepen narratives of anomie and immigrant identity; and like a collage, it tells a story for a stop-and-go way. It may have more than just thrill value, but its novelty and seriousness set it apart.
Born in China, an eight-part Disney+ series based on Yang's book, will premiere Wednesday in a familiar, if not entirely different, pop culture setting. Its Asian character is well known but not new; Two cast members, Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan, won Oscars in March (and a third, Stephanie Hsu, was nominated) for Most Recent Asian Musical or Asian TV Wave Everywhere All At One. That the list of US-born Chinese writers and directors in 2023 is almost entirely Asian is more hope than surprise.
It all goes so far that Chinese Born in America offers a number of things to expect: a structured depiction of suburban life among first- and second-generation immigrants, a remarkable amalgamation of characters from classic Chinese novels. Journey to the West, a critique of Hollywood's history of racist depictions of Asians—these no longer define or limit the experience of looking or thinking about them. The key word here is Disney, not America or China. And most importantly, the mix isn't East and West, but a purely commercial mix of high school drama and martial arts-influenced superhero action.
So, the somewhat disappointing report is that 17 years later, A Chinese Born in America is a half-hour teen comedy-drama supernatural adventure series. On a positive note, the family - teenager Jin Wang (Ben Wang) and his parents Christine and Simon (Yeo Yann Yann and Chin Han) - are sensitively handled and very well acted, and the natural part of the story unfolds. . family life. and Jin's struggles at school are often characterized by a quiet but assured sense of humor and emotional drive.
It makes sense that traditional family stories are the show's strongest feature, given that Kelvin Yu, who created American Born Chinese, is a longtime producer and writer on Fox's animated comedy Bob's Burgers. for ten years, the sexiest and cutest thing in the American family.
The downside is that elements of the show mirror the graphic novel's three-part structure. They're brought together with subtlety and wit, but aren't nearly as imaginative or engaging as they should be to jumpstart the series at an above-average pace.
A modern continuation of the story of the Monkey King in Journey to the West, the mythological plot is fully integrated into today's story and standardized in Disney-Marvel fashion as thrilling adventures between friends with violent exchanges and many special features. Effects, martial arts wiring and live makeup. The Monkey King's son Wei-chen (Jim Liu) arrives on Earth on a mission involving Jin. The supernatural story deftly, but not too closely, follows the usual teenage drama checklist — pep rally, pool party, big game — and ends with a raucous backup of high school finals.
Famous actors such as Ronny Chieng, James Hong, Hsu and Jimmy O. Yang played both gods and demons, but the characters were too compelling and difficult to portray, even in an almost one-part sequence set in heaven and Shaw style. Brothers. A Hong Kong saga. Only as Goddess Guanyin, Yeoh made a strong impression, displaying her extraordinary charm and lively humor.
The series also included scenes from the decade-long sitcom series featuring the extremely stereotypical Asian cowgirl character Long Duk Dong—perhaps replacing the conceptualization part of the graphic novel with a provocative shape-shifting character. Chin-Kee (played by Kuan). These elements eventually seep out of the show and into the actual story, highlighting the show's finer points of racism and stereotyping. But he did it politely and deliberately. (The series as a whole upsets Disney's balance of racism; the constant bullying throughout Genie's high school experience is portrayed as the result of ignorance rather than bigotry or anger.)
A Chinese Born in America is easy to watch, but it's also easy not to. He tries to charm you in such a way that his familiarity confuses you. Asianness is characterized by clever jokes about saving soy sauce packets and not loading up on rice; Teresa Teng appears on the soundtrack when emotions are called for. This makes it abundantly clear that in today's market, the cliché of adulthood easily crosses cultural boundaries.
