American Born Chinese Review: An Average Coming-of-Age Tale… But With Martial Arts!
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The post American Born Chinese Review: An Average Coming-of-Age Tale… But With Martial Arts! appeared first on Consequence.
The Pitch: Based on Gene Luen Yang’s graphic novel of the same name, Disney+’s American Born Chinese combines Chinese mythology with coming-of-age storytelling. The show centers around Jin (Ben Wang), an average high school student struggling with all the textbook teenage woes — an unsteady social life, an unrequited crush, and parents who don’t seem to understand him — while simultaneously trying to reconcile his cultural heritage with his desire to fit in with his white peers.
These variables become even more complicated when Jin is tasked with showing new transfer student Wei-Chen (Jim Liu) around, who turns out to be the son of the legendary Monkey King, Sun Wukong (Daniel Wu). All of a sudden, Jin finds himself entangled within an otherworldly war plaguing the heavenly gods.
Kung Fu Fighting: American Born Chinese has all the ingredients of a typical high school sitcom, but with a twist — it has martial arts! Every episode features at least one action-packed fight sequence, each of which is choreographed beautifully, and while supernatural coming-of-age tales aren’t at all new for Disney (see: Ms. Marvel), the show’s action-comedy format allows for a great deal of creativity in terms of incorporating elements of mythology and traditional kung fu within the narrative.
However, the show’s use of martial arts also seems to function as a distraction from an otherwise tired narrative within Asian storytelling — Jin’s personal journey of grappling with his Asian heritage. As seen in the series, his eagerness to assimilate into white culture feels dated and uninteresting, while perpetuating the idea that all Asian stories must center around this same internal struggle, rather than focusing on more nuanced dynamics beyond our cultural identity. In doing so, the series inadvertently commodifies Asianness, by seeing it only in relation to how a white audience can actively understand it.
Everything, Everywhere All At Once: The series makes up for its tropey storytelling with a star-studded cast of Asian talent, including Ronny Chieng, James Hong, and Jimmy O. Yang, to name a few.
Michelle Yeoh is a gem in every scene she’s in, bringing a sweet goofiness to her role as Guanyin, the Goddess of Mercy: Despite playing an ethereal being, Yeoh brings forward a hilarious relatability as Wei-Chen’s earth caretaker, seamlessly embodying the persona of a silly Asian auntie. And Stephanie Hsu is an absolute delight in her brief appearance as the Goddess of Stones, reuniting and brilliantly riffing alongside Yeoh.
American Born Chinese (Disney+)
Meanwhile, Ke Huy Quan delivers a wonderful performance as Jamie, a retired Asian actor whose old character surfaces as a viral meme — his role serving as a parallel to Quan’s real-life experience as a struggling actor, unable to find work after his childhood success. While Quan does an excellent job with the material he’s given, it’s disappointing to see his character reduced to speaking about how little space he’s been allotted, without actually providing him with an opportunity to shine and showcase the depth of his abilities. Instead, Jamie’s storyline is cut short in service of the overarching fantasy plotline.
Surprisingly enough, Jin’s parents held much more riveting subplots in comparison to the great big battle of the gods. There’s a quiet beauty to what may come across as mundane; Simon (Chin Han) and Christine’s (Yeo Yann Yann) conflicting views on how Simon should speak up at work stems from a real, immigrant guilt with not wanting to step out of line but still getting your due. It’s within these more heartfelt moments of family drama that the show thrives, as these characters hold an authenticity necessary in bringing the series back down to earth.
The Verdict: Overall, American Born Chinese is an entertaining watch that makes for an easy binge — the fight sequences are thrilling, and the show’s modern take on Chinese mythology is refreshing. Another highlight is a flashback episode detailing the origins of Wukong and the Bull Demon (Leonard Wu)’s feud, which not only provides important context for why the gods are warring in the first place, but is also just a fun way for the creators to reinvent dialogue, costumes, choreography, and design.
There’s also a reason why coming-of-age stories have remained so in demand. There’s a comfortable familiarity within such tales that has kept the genre popular throughout the years. Despite American Born Chinese delving into the fantastical world of otherworldly deities, the heart of the show lies in Jin’s journey towards self-acceptance, and the people who guide him along the way – a journey that everyone can find some form of resonance with.
Unfortunately, the series serves as a reminder that there’s still much work to be done in terms of diversifying the types of Asian stories being told. How many times can we continue to hear the same, overhauled narrative of a character trapped between two identities?
While it’s certainly a joy to see so many Asian faces continuing to be represented on screen, American Born Chinese is just one piece of a much larger puzzle. The show, while enjoyable, falls into the same trap that former Asian-led projects have in the past: It capitalizes off of race as a selling point for Western audiences, perhaps unknowingly relying on the same familiar tropes instead of pushing the boundaries for what these narratives have the potential to be.
Asian stories are not a monolith, and there are countless untold journeys waiting to be shared. And if American Born Chinese is renewed for a Season 2 — which the finale appears to set itself up for — it has to work much harder to break away from the mold.
Where to Watch: All eight episodes of American Born Chinese premiere Wednesday, May 24 on Disney+.
Trailer:
American Born Chinese Review: An Average Coming-of-Age Tale… But With Martial Arts!
Dianna Shen
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