The Sunday Read: ‘The High-Risk Feat of Bringing ‘American Born Chinese’ to TV’
The Daily18 Juni 2023

The Sunday Read: ‘The High-Risk Feat of Bringing ‘American Born Chinese’ to TV’

Almost everyone who reads “American Born Chinese,” Gene Luen Yang’s groundbreaking graphic novel, is a little afraid of Chin-Kee.

The book is a classic of young-adult literature, threading together stories of Asian American boyhood with a revered Ming dynasty novel. Chin-Kee’s role in it is a small one, but he is the bomb at the book’s heart. He’s a kind of Urkel character, embarrassing comic relief that isn’t so funny for the people who have to live with him — a cruel marionette pieced together from ugly stereotypes. He makes the old schoolyard “me Chinese” rhymes and begins sentences with “Confucius say …” He sings “She Bangs,” in a library, in the style of the “American Idol” contestant William Hung. At one point, he eats a packed lunch with a cat peeking out of the container. A laugh track runs in a ribbon under each scene, a brutal little receipt: “HA HA HA HA HA.”

So when news arrived, in 2021, that “American Born Chinese” would be adapted as a live-action Disney+ streaming series, the first reaction from some readers was, more or less, “Oh, no.”

This story was recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.


Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Avsnitt(2838)

Trump vs. the Pope

Trump vs. the Pope

This week, an unusual disagreement broke out between the president of the United States and Pope Leo XIV. The New York Times Rome bureau chief, Motoko Rich, explains why President Trump cares so much ...

16 Apr 34min

Trump’s Risky Strategy to Blockade Iran’s Blockade

Trump’s Risky Strategy to Blockade Iran’s Blockade

Over a month into a war with Iran that has no clear end, President Trump has enforced a blockade, which went into effect on Monday at the Strait of Hormuz. The New York Times reporters David E. Sanger...

15 Apr 27min

The Workers Letting A.I. Do Their Jobs

The Workers Letting A.I. Do Their Jobs

Since the release of generative A.I., questions have been raised about how it would change our lives and jobs. Now, many software developers who were early adopters of the technology have outsourced s...

14 Apr 36min

Why U.S.-Iran Negotiations Failed

Why U.S.-Iran Negotiations Failed

After negotiations over the weekend between the United States and Iran ended without a breakthrough, the temporary cease-fire appears to be increasingly precarious. The New York Times journalists Rone...

13 Apr 31min

One Reporter’s Life-Altering Psychedelic Trip

One Reporter’s Life-Altering Psychedelic Trip

The first time Robert Draper heard about the psychedelic drug ibogaine, it was from an unlikely source: the retired U.S. senator Kyrsten Sinema. As a political reporter for The New York Times, Draper ...

12 Apr 41min

'The Interview': Lena Dunham Is Still Trying to Figure Out Why People Hated Her So Much

'The Interview': Lena Dunham Is Still Trying to Figure Out Why People Hated Her So Much

The writer, actor and lightning rod is not done sharing yet. Thoughts? Email us at theinterview@nytimes.com Watch our show on YouTube: youtube.com/@TheInterviewPodcast For transcripts and more, vi...

11 Apr 1h 3min

The Miracle Unfolding in Mississippi Schools

The Miracle Unfolding in Mississippi Schools

Mississippi has seen a stunning turnaround in national test scores in the past decade, even as they have fallen almost everywhere else. Sarah Mervosh, an education reporter, explains what the state ca...

10 Apr 31min

Unmasking the Creator of Bitcoin

Unmasking the Creator of Bitcoin

Who is Satoshi Nakamoto? Bitcoin’s pseudonymous founder has hidden his identity for 17 years despite many attempts to unmask him, even as his cryptocurrency has revolutionized finance and made him a b...

9 Apr 53min

Populärt inom Politik & nyheter

svenska-fall
aftonbladet-krim
p3-krim
rss-krimstad
flashback-forever
politiken
blenda-2
aftonbladet-daily
rss-sanning-konsekvens
spar
rss-vad-fan-hande
motiv
dagens-eko
grans
svd-ledarredaktionen
rss-krimreportrarna
olyckan-inifran
spotlight
rss-frandfors-horna
rss-aftonbladet-krim