Chin-Kee is quite the character. I had to stop reading to clear the tears from my eyes when he pulled a William Hung and sang Ricky Martin. But aside from his comic relief, Chin-Kee's presence in the comic has a much deeper, and more serious reason. When we see Chin-Kee transform into the Monkey King, and we see Da-Nee transform into Jin Wang, we as readers see the change that Jin Wang has gone through. In living his years in a predominately white neighborhood, Jin Wang has become white. He speaks what we assume is American Standard English, and his cultural identity is American. As the story continues, we learn that Wei-Chen has strayed from who he was and has transformed into a completely different person, much like Jin Wang. We see how 'Americanized' Jin Wang has become when, on page 226, he attempts to order "Cash Only" on the menu. When Wei-Chen rolls up in his ride, he looks like a thug, but decides to talk with Jin. Although their meeting is only a few pages long, Wei-Chen makes a realization that he may want to transform back into who he used to be (that is, in human form). We can also infer that Jin has made a realization about his life, too. Jin realizes that it's alright to be different after all. That embracing your history and your culture is what makes you who you are.
I think this is the reason Yang chose to make a character that reaffirms Chinese stereotypes. He wanted to point out how different Jin had become, and the best way to do that was to show the most stereotypical side of both characters. If you look at the character of Da-Nee, you'll see that he is also a stereotypical American boy. He has problems with girls, and is completely frustrated by his foreign cousin. While these characteristics may not seem as negative as those of Chin-Kee, the idea of Da-Nee being so frustrated at his foreign cousin that he hits him is not a positive stereotype of an American boy. I think the stereotypes are there to emphasize what Jin has lost. He's lost his ability to understand his own culture, and realizes it at the end of the story. Yang is using this to help us understand something about ourselves. When my family came here, they were criticized for where they came from and they lost parts of their culture in becoming 'Americanized'. I myself have experienced a time in which I had transformed into something that wasn't me. Of course, a diety monkey didn't help me realize the errors of my ways, but I did eventually come to the realization that the person I had become was someone I didn't even recognize, just as Jin wasn't recognizable to the reader until the Monkey King transformed him for us.
So, I suppose Chin-Kee is used to express the importance of embracing who you are, culture and all. And Yang is saying it's good to be who you are, even if they don't let you into the party because you're a monkey and you don't wear shoes.
And for those who don't get the William Hung reference, or who just want to relive that glorious moment of history...
What’s up Gina.
ReplyDeleteI’m writing this response while William Hung sings masterfully in the background. He is my muse.
I like your analysis on why Chin-Kee was included and why he was so overtly stereotypical – that it is a way to show to Jin how misunderstood his own culture is to him. It’s almost as if Chin-Kee is serving as the embodiment of Jin’s feelings towards his Asian heritage: embarrassing, incredibly hard to communicate with and something he can’t hide or keep down no matter how hard he tries. Most importantly, Chin-Kee is someone that Jin doesn’t take time to better understand and only becomes frustrated by him. I do think that Chin-Kee serves a function to readers, also. He shows them/us that embracing an Asian heritage doesn’t necessarily mean wearing conical hats and performing kung-fu (albeit with funny moves for the names!) but that it can be something more personal and subtle.
You pointed out that Danny is stereotypically American in his own ways too, which is something that never occurred to me while reading the graphic novel, but that I can see now. With that in mind, the way he fights Chin-Kee is a little more disturbing. Americans are just a bunch of people who beat up foreigners? :[ Though Jin does say earlier in the novel (pre-Danny) that looking at Wei Chen made him want to beat him up. I’ve noticed this same reaction in other stories about adjusting to a new culture (most notably Maxine Hong Kingston’s Woman Warrior). It’s as if the struggling character has to find some way to assert power over their foreign-ness and for some reason it is always through uncomfortable bullying scenes!
I love that you included the youtube video of William Hung. I had completely forgotten about his rendition of "She Bangs" and I must admit that in "American Born Chinese", Chin-Kee on the library table singing "She Bangs" made me laugh. That image was funny to me. Nice touch!
ReplyDeleteAs far as your interpretation of why Chin-Kee was included in the story, I couldn't agree with you more. I think sometimes, blatant images or stereotypes need to be thrust into our faces for us to get the point the author was trying to make. Based on the portion of the story that we read, I think the point of the story is to not lose who you are. It is alright to assimilate into a new culture or different culture but one should not completely give up who they are at the core; especially if the sole purpose of doing so is to gain acceptance. Chin-Kee never changed who he was. He continued to dress, talk, and act in stereotypical terms despite the frustration and embaressment he caused Danny and I think that was the point. He irritated his family members, he was viewed as a joke by other students in the school yet he didn't seem to care. He like who he was and continued to be Chin-Kee regardless of what others thought of him. Once he transformed back into the Monkey King, I think that was when Danny finally realized he should not turn his back completely on his Asian heritage. He will always be Asian whether other people like it or not and for Danny/Jin, he needed to learn to love that side of himself just as much as he embraced and loved his American side.