American Born Chinese by Gene Yang

            Avoiding stereotypes and offensive racial depictions has been a bumpy road for anyone in the visual arts, and looking at older work its even tougher to avoid as tolerance and acceptance levels changed over the ages.  American Born Chinese is an interesting examination of the “coolie” stereotype unfortunately spawned in the U.S. during the 19^th century, as well as the kinds of issues one might face being a minority (the focus in this instance is on ethnicity, but definitely applicable to any minority role).

            The format itself is interesting in that the graphic novel is told in three parts, each seemingly standing on their own with little relation to one another; however, as the work goes on, they suddenly begin intertwining more, until the climax when each individual story suddenly smashes into one another (quite brilliantly).  While at first I disliked the almost non-sequitur feel, jumping from one story to another, as the three stories started correlating more I actually started to enjoy the story-hopping.  Those who prefer a lengthier story format might find it a little jarring, but it’s fairly easy to get used to.

            Yang’s examination of the coolie stereotype, alongside a second-generation immigrant in a modern setting, makes for an interesting juxtaposition as the latter is forced to deal with the antics of the other.  Jin/Danny’s eventual acceptance of his heritage, and consequentially how he manages to change his personal views of his self-image, brought a bit of a tear to my eye due to the struggles I’ve seen friends deal with when it comes to self acceptance; instead of ethnicity, though, it’s been about sexuality, and attempting to reconcile their personal preferences with themselves as well as deal with potential backlash of being open with their preferences to their parents and family.

            On a minor note, around 2008 or 2009, when my mother and I were visiting with her best friend and her family, we accompanied them on a shopping trip for her son, who was entering high school.  Among the books required for one of his courses (I forget the specific course) was American Born Chinese.  I find it interesting that a few schools have the graphic novel a part of their reading curriculum, and am curious as to what sort of things they may have discussed after reading it.

Err, it's a little bit of a spoiler.  Any way, I would have liked to see the consequences Wei-Chen would have to face for his actions, since the ending felt a tad abrupt, but it was definitely a heart-warmer.