When looking at American Born Chinese, the medium and message combined have a larger impact than just one of them on their own would be able to convey. Both the medium of the graphic novel and the morals Yang conveys in the plot of American Born Chinese have pertinent traits that could be analyzed on their own, but the intersection of these two aspects presents something more than the sum of its parts.
One doesn’t have to know all the horrible intricacies of the history of Asian-American oppression in the United States to know that cousin Chin-Kee’s portrayal is a commentary on the stereotypes to which that oppression has given rise. When Chin-Kee enters the plotline, he’s depicted as larger than life- he almost fills an entire frame, stereotypes and all. He’s wearing traditional Asian clothing, has very small eyes that are slanted closed, and even has take-out boxes for his “luggage,” all very prevalent Asian-American stereotypes in America’s popular culture (Yang 48). Yang relies on the presence of pictures in this scene- the graphics play a big role in emphasizing the scope of the stereotypes. Chin-Kee’s size in the frame makes it impossible for the reader to ignore the offensive tropes Yang depicts, stereotypes that Yang “yanked… straight out of American pop culture” (Yang). If the book were written as a traditional novel without pictures, Chin-Kee’s stereotyped description would have to be conveyed through words rather than an image. This change in format would diminish the scene’s impact, as Chin-Kee’s size in the frame would have to be left out, somewhat diminishing the impact his initial arrival has through its graphic portrayal.
Conveying this complicated relationship between minorities and American-born stereotypes surrounding these minorities is something that’s done in doctoral theses, but Yang chooses a graphic novel. The graphic novel medium of American Born Chinese, in addition to its more fantastical elements like physical transformations and “Monkey King, Emissary of Tze-Yo-Tzuh,” appeal to a younger audience, cloaking the elevated themes of colorization and ingrained racism in a veil of immaturity (Yang 211). The graphic novel format removes the responsibility of world-building and character visualization from the reader’s shoulders, allowing them to immediately immerse themselves in the world of the novel, which makes for a quick and fun read. Conveying layered messages about racism and generalization in this easy-to-digest format, using snapshots of action instead of long descriptions, makes the message that much more powerful. When Danny and Chin-Kee fight, all of Chin-Kee’s exclamations play on racist stereotypes- “Spicy Szechuan Dragon!... Kung Pao Attack!... Happy Famiry Head Bonk!... Peking Strike!” (Yang 206-211). If this scene were depicted through words, the impact of these “battle cries” would be lost amidst the description of the fight scene. Using pictures to convey the fight and having the only words on the page be examples of perpetuated stereotypes in America means that the audience is confronted with the reality of these stereotypes in every single frame. The juxtaposition between the bombardment of stereotypes and the medium of the graphics emphasizes the stereotypes’ prevalence and normalization in American culture, speaking to Yang’s larger theme of the troubling implications of normalized discrimination.
Citations: “GENE YANG on STEREOTYPES.” First Second Books, 1 May 2007, firstsecondbooks.com/uncategorized/gene_yang_on_st/.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI really like that you talk about the importance of specific images in Yang’s novel. I want to elaborate on your claim that the images in graphic novels help readers understand the plot. For example, Jin’s transformation into Danny is shown in a single image, which depicts the herbalist’s wife asking Jin, “Now what would you like to become?” and Jin transforming into a blond, white, all-American teenage boy (194). This page-sized image is extremely powerful when it comes to explaining this section of the plot; if Yang had written American Born Chinese as a novel of prose, this section of the story would be difficult to follow. The portrait of the herbalist’s wife in the image makes tying the plot together easier for the readers; considering they can find her image, and therefore story, much easier in a graphic novel than in a novel written in prose, they can better understand her role in Jin’s transformation. In addition, the image is a much more powerful way to illustrate Jin’s physical transformation into Danny than words because the image provides a visual representation. By including the text of the herbalist’s wife’s question (“Now what would you like to become?”) in the same frame as Jin’s physical transformation, the image also communicates to the readers that Jin chooses to adopt an American identity. Thus, this one image reveals Jin’s desire to move away from his Chinese heritage leads to his physical transformation from a Chinese American into a white American.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the message of a novel can really be strengthened by the use of images. I think the medium of the message portrayed using graphic novels is important, because the themes are shown visually, something very different from traditional novels. I have never read a graphic novel before, but I really enjoyed reading American Born Chinese. The detailed images with supporting text was different and enjoyable. The loneliness felt by Jin, the American stereotypes of Asians seen in Chin-Kee, and the anger felt by the Monkey King upon being rejected from a heaven full of diverse deities because he is a monkey can all be understood visually in a way that words cannot do justice. I think this including of images can help make reading more enjoyable for those who open a traditional novel, see a daunting task of reading thousands of words, and close the book. Graphic novels are a bridge between traditional novels containing only words and movies containing only images. Themes can get lost when watching a movie, as most people are not used to watching a movie with a critical eye; and while the message a book tells the reader is oftentimes uncovered easily with a thorough read of the novel, taking the time to do the reading is a challenge for many. Graphic novels bring in the visual imagery of drawings of the scenes of a novel with text supporting these images. The themes can be easily understood by both reading these small bits of text and examining the images, giving graphic novels the refreshing ease that comes from reading them.
ReplyDelete