Strategies to Construct a New Asian American Identity on the U.S. Stage: The Plays of Frank Chin and David Henry Hwang
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During the 1970s and the 80s, the representation of Asian Americans in theatre and popular TV dramas in the U.S. was limited to certain stereotypes. Frank Chin and David Henry Hwang were the representative Asian American playwrights during this period, who attempted to overturn the stereotypical representation of Asian Americans and to create new identities for them. This essay examines the racial stereotypes of Asian Americans and the racist practices on the U.S. stage as evidenced in the newspaper articles during this period and analyzes the political and cultural systems in the U.S. which forged and authorized the stereotypes. Against this background information, this paper focuses on the dramaturgy of the two playwrights as their means to criticize the racism in the U.S. and to explore the possibilities to thwart the existent stereotypes and create new alternative identities for Asian Americans. Frank Chin, in his Chickencoop Chinaman and The Year of the Dragon, radically departs from the stereotypes familiar to and, therefore, expected by the audience, leaving them uncomfortable and confused as a result. In contrast, David Henry Hwang, in F.O.B. and Dance and the Railroad, actively deploys the familiar stereotypes, yet questions their validity at the same time mainly through humor and empathy. Furthermore, due to the ways Hwang places his familiar yet new Asian (American) characters in stable plot structures and familiar narrative genres, his plays were favorably received by the audience at the time. However, the way in which the success of his plays and the attention paid to the main actor in the two shows, John Lone, were made into a model minority success story and therefore turned into another stereotypical representation of Asian American in the mass media exemplifies how difficult it is to break the stereotypical assumptions the white majority has of the racial others in the U.S.; how hard it is to overturn the cultural hegemony of the white majority.
Abstract
During the 1970s and the 80s, the representation of Asian Americans in theatre and popular TV dramas in the U.S. was limited to certain stereotypes. Frank Chin and David Henry Hwang were the representative Asian American playwrights during this period, who attempted to overturn the stereotypical representation of Asian Americans and to create new identities for them. This essay examines the racial stereotypes of Asian Americans and the racist practices on the U.S. stage as evidenced in the newspaper articles during this period and analyzes the political and cultural systems in the U.S. which forged and authorized the stereotypes. Against this background information, this paper focuses on the dramaturgy of the two playwrights as their means to criticize the racism in the U.S. and to explore the possibilities to thwart the existent stereotypes and create new alternative identities for Asian Americans. Frank Chin, in his Chickencoop Chinaman and The Year of the Dragon, radically departs from the stereotypes familiar to and, therefore, expected by the audience, leaving them uncomfortable and confused as a result. In contrast, David Henry Hwang, in F.O.B. and Dance and the Railroad, actively deploys the familiar stereotypes, yet questions their validity at the same time mainly through humor and empathy. Furthermore, due to the ways Hwang places his familiar yet new Asian (American) characters in stable plot structures and familiar narrative genres, his plays were favorably received by the audience at the time. However, the way in which the success of his plays and the attention paid to the main actor in the two shows, John Lone, were made into a model minority success story and therefore turned into another stereotypical representation of Asian American in the mass media exemplifies how difficult it is to break the stereotypical assumptions the white majority has of the racial others in the U.S.; how hard it is to overturn the cultural hegemony of the white majority.
참고문헌 (26)
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