American Born Chinese

An Asian American high schooler with first gen immigrant parents. An awkward neutered Chinese father. His dinner with family involves typical Chinese food with chopsticks. And the guy from China is of course much better at math.

The show is riding on the diversity trend, but relies on typical East Asian American tropes. Don't get me wrong though, there isn't anything "offensive" about the show, but it certainly doesn't break the mold.

The plot draws elements from Journey to the West, but takes extreme artistic license because of its utter lack of similarity to the original source material. There is little doubt in my mind that the show's Americanised interpretation of Sun Wukong is going to cause annoyance to fans of Journey to the West.

Despite the dull stereotypes, the show is still an easy watch. The action scenes aren't too bad, and you don't need to pay attention a hundred percent to follow each episode. The story is ultimately silly, but it's light-heartedly entertaining enough to put on if you have nothing else to watch.

I had great expectations for the television series "American Born Chinese," but they were quickly shattered. This comedy-drama series, based on Gene Luen Yang's graphic novel, follows the journey of Jin Wang, a Chinese-American teenager striving to fit in with his predominantly white high school.

While the show effectively explores themes of identity, belonging, and cultural assimilation, its execution falls short. In an attempt to cram numerous ideas into its eight episodes, the series lacks the necessary depth and character development.

The show's tone is inconsistent, with the supernatural elements feeling out of place and the humour often failing to make me laugh. The acting is commendable, particularly the performances of Ben Wang and Jimmy Liu, who excel as the main duo. The production design and cinematography are impressive, although the special effects leave much to be desired.

This series offers a lively portrayal of challenges faced by individuals straddling two different worlds. It fails to fully delve into its themes and develop its characters. I found myself bored throughout its runtime.

This was so relatable and the awkward moments were worth watching. I cringed and knew every teenager was able to feel the pending disaster. I watched with the same feeling of "I can't watch this" with my hand over my eyes that made every John Hughes movie so great. It truly had moments from so many of my favourite coming of age movies but with action and special effects. I like that the parents are also dealing with some of the issues of self doubt and confusing cultural limitations that Jim is feeling. Confidence isn't conquered through popularity. It was always about self doubt and everyone is working on that their entire lives.

I found this show to be very enticing, fully binge-watching it in one sitting. The costumes are average, but having watched other movies trying to emulate the same energy I found American Born Chinese slightly above average. The casting was amazing, though I might just be a biased Michelle Yeoh fan, though I thought Jin's mother to be one of the best cast actors in the series along with Jin's dad. Overall, it is a teen show with a story inspired by Chinese mythology, not to be taken seriously or criticized to the standard of Breaking Bad, The Sopranos or Game of Thrones, it's your more than average Disney show with a similar feel to Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior, but done much better. Having a nostalgic feel to some wacky Jackie Chan movies and the cheese 2000's American teen show, a feel-good series with good acting and great familial relationships.

*I also loved the fact that the people in the show didn't need much convincing into helping with the main plot, I find it's a much more accurate depiction of the reaction a person from a chronically online generation would have, it's refreshing not having people doubt the main character's sanity for 3 episodes or even longer.

It's crazy how a show can get such average ratings just because of gen z sensibilities and anti Chinese sentiment.

It's pretty balanced in that it has old school slightly offensive comedy, loads of entitled teenagers protesting (but still willing to have an honest conversation even if my personal opinion is that their views are jaded and unhelpful).. Bullies that take jokes too far. A full range of attitudes that reflects todays society.

This show and the characters are well done and demonstrate simple good fun which reminds me of 90's/early 2000s shows.

The main character has to deal with the usual mild racism that depending on your view is all harmless fun or all highly offensive and the truth is that it probably lies somewhere in between. There's also the usual teenager angst of relationships, parental arguments, unique friends that don't fit in along with the draw of being one of the popular kids. Not to mention the fantastical quest for the escapism element, moral decisions and sacrifices that need to be contemplated.

Watch with an open mind and realise people are allowed to think differently to you and you might not give this an absurd 1/10.

(I'm only two episodes but but this is the vibe I'm picking up on so far).