National Abjection

The Asian American Body Onstage

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, Drama History & Criticism, American, Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Cultural Studies, Ethnic Studies
Cover of the book National Abjection by Karen Shimakawa, Duke University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Karen Shimakawa ISBN: 9780822384243
Publisher: Duke University Press Publication: December 5, 2002
Imprint: Duke University Press Books Language: English
Author: Karen Shimakawa
ISBN: 9780822384243
Publisher: Duke University Press
Publication: December 5, 2002
Imprint: Duke University Press Books
Language: English

National Abjection explores the vexed relationship between "Asian Americanness" and "Americanness” through a focus on drama and performance art. Karen Shimakawa argues that the forms of Asian Americanness that appear in U.S. culture are a function of national abjection—a process that demands that Americanness be defined by the exclusion of Asian Americans, who are either cast as symbolic foreigners incapable of integration or Americanization or distorted into an “honorary” whiteness. She examines how Asian Americans become culturally visible on and off stage, revealing the ways Asian American theater companies and artists respond to the cultural implications of this abjection.

Shimakawa looks at the origins of Asian American theater, particularly through the memories of some of its pioneers. Her examination of the emergence of Asian American theater companies illuminates their strategies for countering the stereotypes of Asian Americans and the lack of visibility of Asian American performers within the theater world. She shows how some plays—Wakako Yamauchi’s 12-1-A, Frank Chin’s Chickencoop Chinaman, and The Year of the Dragon—have both directly and indirectly addressed the displacement of Asian Americans. She analyzes works attempting to negate the process of abjection—such as the 1988 Broadway production of M. Butterfly as well as Miss Saigon, a mainstream production that enacted the process of cultural displacement both onstage and off. Finally, Shimakawa considers Asian Americanness in the context of globalization by meditating on the work of Ping Chong, particularly his East-West Quartet.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

National Abjection explores the vexed relationship between "Asian Americanness" and "Americanness” through a focus on drama and performance art. Karen Shimakawa argues that the forms of Asian Americanness that appear in U.S. culture are a function of national abjection—a process that demands that Americanness be defined by the exclusion of Asian Americans, who are either cast as symbolic foreigners incapable of integration or Americanization or distorted into an “honorary” whiteness. She examines how Asian Americans become culturally visible on and off stage, revealing the ways Asian American theater companies and artists respond to the cultural implications of this abjection.

Shimakawa looks at the origins of Asian American theater, particularly through the memories of some of its pioneers. Her examination of the emergence of Asian American theater companies illuminates their strategies for countering the stereotypes of Asian Americans and the lack of visibility of Asian American performers within the theater world. She shows how some plays—Wakako Yamauchi’s 12-1-A, Frank Chin’s Chickencoop Chinaman, and The Year of the Dragon—have both directly and indirectly addressed the displacement of Asian Americans. She analyzes works attempting to negate the process of abjection—such as the 1988 Broadway production of M. Butterfly as well as Miss Saigon, a mainstream production that enacted the process of cultural displacement both onstage and off. Finally, Shimakawa considers Asian Americanness in the context of globalization by meditating on the work of Ping Chong, particularly his East-West Quartet.

More books from Duke University Press

Cover of the book Tell Tchaikovsky the News by Karen Shimakawa
Cover of the book Asia as Method by Karen Shimakawa
Cover of the book Sick Building Syndrome and the Problem of Uncertainty by Karen Shimakawa
Cover of the book Essay on Exoticism by Karen Shimakawa
Cover of the book Cultures of the Death Drive by Karen Shimakawa
Cover of the book Theology of Money by Karen Shimakawa
Cover of the book Art and Social Movements by Karen Shimakawa
Cover of the book A Narrative of Events, since the First of August, 1834, by James Williams, an Apprenticed Labourer in Jamaica by Karen Shimakawa
Cover of the book Constitutional Theory by Karen Shimakawa
Cover of the book Refracted Visions by Karen Shimakawa
Cover of the book North of Empire by Karen Shimakawa
Cover of the book High Stakes by Karen Shimakawa
Cover of the book Terminated for Reasons of Taste by Karen Shimakawa
Cover of the book Modern Inquisitions by Karen Shimakawa
Cover of the book The Fetish Revisited by Karen Shimakawa
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy