American Born Chinese

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.

I don't think the Chinese in China will appreciate this though, because after all, this is in every sense, an American production. You won't be able to appreciate it unless you've been exposed to both cultures.

The monkey king is an iconic figure in Chinese folklore. All the monkey king ever wanted was to fit in (to be like a regular person). But he can't. He was born from a magical boulder (some said was exposed to a drop of Guanyin's blood) on monkey island, without parents, having an intellect surpassing any humans, but with the appearance of a monkey. He goes about learning, making mistakes, getting abused, and ultimately creating havoc in heaven. And it is then, that his real journey begins.

This show was never about the monkey king, or the bull demon. It's about the journey of an American boy -- fitting in in school, making mistakes, owning up, finding courage in difficult situations, etc.

They created new characters, gave monkey god a son, so that you could see and contrast some of the struggles the monkey god had gone through, but this time though, through the eyes of his son.

These are all new contents, new characters, new stories. Truth is, Ji Gong (the monk) was never a coward. The bull demon was never a real enemy to the monkey king (they were pals actually). And Sandy, was never a woman.

And most people don't even know that the main character in dragon ball was inspired from the very well known monkey king as well.

Was this perfect? No, it's very Disney. However this show is still absolutely amazing and l love the homage to the retro style of old Chinese films. My partner grew up watching the Monkey King as a kid and loved how they encorproated it to the story. And as an Asian American myself, the representation I felt made my inner child cry happy tears. I saw the sadness and frustration the dad Simon faced and it just directly mirrored my dad's own experience, looking "different" from everyone else and being the butt of the joke. And I love how they portrayed the mom! Not a tiger mom, but I felt how much she genuinely care for Jin and just wanted him to follow his dreams. Thank you disney, this one was a good one and I hope for more Asian heros and heroines in the future!

I found this show delightful. I did grow up with lots of Asian and Indian friends so it felt kind of familiar to me. It was well written and well acted and the humor fit very well. I'm pretty sure a lot of people will not like this as American's (as a generality) do not enjoy reading subtitles. And of course you will have those that down-vote this just because of the ethnic make-up of the cast. Well, Eff those people. They are full of vitriol regarding anyone and anything that don't look like them.

I actually found this to be one of the more believable shows about how high school students actually act. And I have to say the lead actor, Ben Wang, is amazing. He kind of has like an Asian Micahel Cera thing going on and it works really well for him.

I'm really hoping for another season.

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.