"Beware of Tourists if You Look Chinese" and Other Survival Tactics in the American Theatre: The Asian(cy) of Display in Frank Chin's "The Year of the Dragon"

Examines Frank Chin's play "The Year of the Dragon" and argues that pulsing beneath the layers of performance and impersonation are not only bitterness and contempt for the tourist trade but also for the American theater. States that by the end of the play the audience discovers the s...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of American drama and theatre 1999-04, Vol.11 (2), p.78-92
Main Author: Ku, Robert Ji-Song
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Character
Chin, Frank
Chinese culture
Criticism
Cultural studies
Dramatists
Identity
Textual Criticism
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Examines Frank Chin's play "The Year of the Dragon" and argues that pulsing beneath the layers of performance and impersonation are not only bitterness and contempt for the tourist trade but also for the American theater. States that by the end of the play the audience discovers the source of the main character's bitterness and self-loathing: in Chin's words, a Chinese Chinatown tour guide is by definition "a Chinaman, playing a white man playing Chinese...A Minstrel show." Considers the criticism aimed at Chin which accuse him of sexism and unmitigated partriarchy.
ISSN:1044-937X
2376-4236