American Born Chinese

I picked up the book American Born Chinese because the artwork and style is clean and simple. As I read the book, I became more impressed with the writing. The story flows and entertains easily. This is one of my favorite books.

The story may be from the Chinese American experience but it is a universal story. People in America and abroad struggle with their ethnic identities and social acceptance. One of the main characters, Jin Wang, main issue is simply trying to fit in. He sacrifices his identity to be more socially acceptable in his new environment.

The story structure is pretty interesting. It basically connects three separate stories into one similar to the movie the Hours starring Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman and Julian Moore. Without being preachy, the ABC story successfully drives its point.

The character design is wonderful. My favorite character is the Monkey King. I could have recreated the Monkey King in my own interpretation but I decided to simply make some minor alterations, like removing the red bandana and making the appearance more menacing.

Commentary:

You can see many examples in American culture of people transforming and disfiguring themselves for many different reasons. Folks from different ethnic backgrounds see beauty . . . well differently. Coming to America Salma Hayek was stunned that she is considered a sex symbol. She thought she was deformed because she’s short and dark as opposed to tall, white, blonde with blue eyes. Other public figures like Tego Calderon and Michelle Maulkin expressed their experience being dark.

While I think skin color is one of the major issues affecting social acceptance, self-esteem and identity the book also lightly touches on hair. There are many other characteristics that affect acceptance like weight, age, class, and behavior but I particularly like hair because it applies to the African-American identity, social politics, self-esteem and experience. Some people define how black a person is by their hair, which is pretty much ignorant. Admittedly I am only scratching the surface, the issue is far more complex.

One surprising development is the increasing usage of lace front wigs made popular by Tyra Banks, Beyonce, Oprah Winfrey, Vivica Fox, and for good measure Jessica Simpson, Britney Spears, etc. There are many reasons why actors, entertainers use lace front wigs like, convenience and career advancement. Some women in an effort to emulate celebrities are damaging their hair and scalp due to neglect and poor maintenance causing irreparable harm and loss. Many African Americans grow up hearing phrases like good hair and bad hair that affects their self-esteem. Just like Jin Wang, people makes sacrifices to be socially accepted.

The increase usage of skin lighteners, lip injections, botox and plastic surgery really makes a huge statement about how people in general view themselves. While Jin Wang’s transformation was not permanent most people are not as lucky. AwfulPlasticSurgery.com is sad but I check it out for laughs.

I highly recommend this book for any one with young children, even if you’re not of Chinese descent. And if you like hip-hop, check out the talented American Born Chinese who happens to be named Jin.