I think your comment deserves extra attention because of your own status as an Asian in America - as such, I find your acknowledgment that you sometimes forget that you are Asian incredibly fascinating and telling of the subversive nature of US (and by extension, Anglo-Saxon) culture (though this may be true for all cultures if given the opportunity)! As a white male, I feel that my own perspective is limited – but I can say that educating myself about racism in the United States has impressed upon me the severity of it. Considering that, it’s surprising to me that if the world doesn’t forget your race, you can – for even a moment! But this insight of yours actually presents a different angle for which I at least can interpret Wu’s struggle throughout the book – one which we didn’t really see as much in Americanah. In Americanah, its evident that Wu struggles with cognitive dissonance – and he acknowledges this offhandedly in his first meeting with Karen outside of work: “I’ve got the consciousness of a contemporary American. And the face of a Chinese farmer of five thousand years ago. Asian Man. It’s a fact. Look it up. No one likes us.” (166) We know the whole novel that Wu’s goal of becoming Kung Fu Guy is a trap; Wu, on the other hand, can only acknowledge this offhandedly until he can really become Kung Fu Guy. That is to say, Wu has internalized not just “a sense of inferiority” as Turner describes, but also the grinder that is American culture. Wu, as an Asian American actor, is a small cog in a large and heartless machine: he both acknowledges that the Asian American actor track is a trap and actively pursues it. He elevates the American cultural ideal of Kung Fu Guy even though, it seems, the role is simply larger-scale stage-lit tokenism. What’s significant about your comment is how it illustrates that it might have been possible that Wu himself forgot he was Asian from time to time – and the impact that would have on his thinking, I think, deserves another discussion in its own right.
I think your comment deserves extra attention because of your own status as an Asian in America - as such, I find your acknowledgment that you sometimes forget that you are Asian incredibly fascinating and telling of the subversive nature of US (and by extension, Anglo-Saxon) culture (though this may be true for all cultures if given the opportunity)! As a white male, I feel that my own perspective is limited – but I can say that educating myself about racism in the United States has impressed upon me the severity of it. Considering that, it’s surprising to me that if the world doesn’t forget your race, you can – for even a moment! But this insight of yours actually presents a different angle for which I at least can interpret Wu’s struggle throughout the book – one which we didn’t really see as much in Americanah.
ReplyDeleteIn Americanah, its evident that Wu struggles with cognitive dissonance – and he acknowledges this offhandedly in his first meeting with Karen outside of work: “I’ve got the consciousness of a contemporary American. And the face of a Chinese farmer of five thousand years ago. Asian Man. It’s a fact. Look it up. No one likes us.” (166) We know the whole novel that Wu’s goal of becoming Kung Fu Guy is a trap; Wu, on the other hand, can only acknowledge this offhandedly until he can really become Kung Fu Guy. That is to say, Wu has internalized not just “a sense of inferiority” as Turner describes, but also the grinder that is American culture. Wu, as an Asian American actor, is a small cog in a large and heartless machine: he both acknowledges that the Asian American actor track is a trap and actively pursues it. He elevates the American cultural ideal of Kung Fu Guy even though, it seems, the role is simply larger-scale stage-lit tokenism.
What’s significant about your comment is how it illustrates that it might have been possible that Wu himself forgot he was Asian from time to time – and the impact that would have on his thinking, I think, deserves another discussion in its own right.