The APAHM Project Day 2-11: Interior Chinatown
- Lauren
- May 11
- 7 min read
Updated: May 12
Series: Interior Chinatown
Created By: Charles Yu
Release: 2024
Why It Made The List:
Based on Charles Yu's 2020 novel of the same name, which won the National Book Award that year, Interior Chinatown's satirical look at the Asian American's role in television, and in turn, society, reminds viewers how important their own story is.
My Thoughts:
I first heard of Interior Chinatown in 2020 when a friend of mine emailed me that he was sending me this book because he thought I would enjoy it. Well, I hate to say that 5 years have passed and I still have not finished this book. However, I can only imagine that the book is fantastic if the show is this good.
Interior Chinatown is very hard to explain as it's a very meta, trippy, mind-bending show. But let's try! Willis Wu (Jimmy O. Yang) is a waiter in Chinatown at his Uncle's restaurant. His parents are estranged due to the fact that their oldest son, Jonathan (Chris Pang), went missing 12 years prior. Jonathan was "Kung Fu Guy" -- which to Willis, is the ultimate "role." If you think about the typical roles for actors, they usually include a non-descript background actor, to a more specific background actor like a customer or event attendee, then you might get upgraded to a dead body (a meme-worthy right of passage), a stand in, and then finally to an actual role with no name: Kung Fu Guy. Willis, currently "Generic Asian Man," would love to be part of a detective case, saying that in cop show cold openings, the guy taking out the garabage (part of Willis' job) could find a body in the dumpster and start the episode.
However, Willis does witness a Chinatown nail tech get abducted. Willis opts not to call the police, but in walks Detective Lana Lee (Chloe Bennet) who not only knows who Willis is, but asks for his help in a case. She is assigned to the precinct due to her "expertise" in Chinatown (read: she's Chinese and the other detectives are not). Lana still struggles to fit in with the popular and successful detective duo Turner and Green, also known as the stars of "Black & White," a police procedural drama. Confused yet?
*Spoilers Ahead!* For a video recap, this one was excellent!
See, Black & White is a TV show that we/people on the other side are watching. Anywhere Green and Turner go, there is professional and dramatic lighting. They have a 100% success rate. Even when Turner gets suspicious of the routine and decides to let a bomb go off rather than detonate it, the bomb still didn't blow up. That is because the show is orchestrated for entertainment, including being neatly tied up in the end. But when Willis starts to get more and more involved, taking on new roles such as Delivery Guy and Tech Guy, things shift. Willis discovers that his brother (still nameless at this point) was also helping the police. He was their fall guy who is accused of being the leader of a Chinatown based gang called The Painted Faces. Paranoid that he was being watched, Jon attempts to escape Chinatown. Willis discovers a tape of Jon next to his fatally shot police partner and deletes all the files related to his brother.
As Lana and Willis continue to pull on this thread to find out what happened to Jon, they discover that the media company HBWC has been "recycling" deaths in Chinatown. People who seemingly died, come back through shipping containers on the docks, including Jon's late police partner. With Turner quitting the force, Willis joining it, and Lana on suspension, the Black & White show is on the verge of cancellation. Maybe Green and Willis just don't have the same chemistry? Maybe Willis is digging too deep into these cut-and-dry cases.
Willis is framed for being the leader of The Painted Faces, for holding Lana hostage, and bombing a Chinatown building. In a failed attempt to escape, Lana pushes the two of them off the roof of a building to die. During her time working at Uncle's restaurant, she discovers that Jon has been trying to commuicate with Willis through the video game in the back of the restaurant. He tells her they have to die to help him. Jon has been stuck in purgatory and, unlike the other deaths, has not been able to be "recycled." Why? Just like Willis, Jonathan didn't stick to his role.
From childhood, Willis has felt like a background actor in his own life. It reminds me so much of the line from The Holiday: "You should be the leading lady of your own life." But Willis was always the "second-best" son. Jonathan was the golden child, the cool guy. His dad purposely trained him to be the best at Kung Fu and held Willis back to protect him. Even Willis' crush Lana was already in a relationship with Jonathan before he went missing. But once Willis begins to be the star, with lots of endorsements and community fame, havok breaks loose. This was never meant to be Willis' show. He didn't have the charisma, the skill, or the "star appeal" like his brother. But even his brother, whose name is not revealed until episode 7, was not the star. To be the star, you need a name. Often in film/TV, actors will ask for their characters to have a name like Kevin instead of "Guy with Car." Jonathan was Kung Fu Guy to everyone around him. Lana is able to poke the bear a little bit more freely. She says she's had many previous jobs ("roles") and can slot herself anywhere. This might be because she is half Chinese and half white. She is able to toe the line of the privileges that come with being a white actor. Turner and Green, as well as Jonathan's detective partners, are the stars of their shows.
Once Willis and Lana die, Willis is reunited with Jonathan in video game purgatory. Willis is then revealed to be a screenwriter, finally in control of his own story. But when he is introduced to the new hire, Lana, a title card called "Standards and Practices" appears on screen. Maybe now these two are the stars of the story, but they are still being watched and controlled.
I'm not going to pretend I fully understand this story and what it's trying to say. I can grasp at certain specific points but then I can't wrap my head around several others. I do know the show talks about breaking out of stereotypical roles. Willis is slotted to be an unnoticeable background actor. His friend Fatty is the comedic relief who Uncle is trying to save from being an unfulfilled person. Lana is meant to be an every man character, jumping from role to role. She even says she just has "one of those faces."
Society (HBWC) will always try to keep us in a box. Asians aren't meant to be the star. We aren't meant to be successful or have the same opportunities as our white counter-parts. We are meant to be the sterotypical docile, quiet, hard-working, non-confrontational people that white society has pegged us for. To maintain the monolith they created to systemically keep us down. But like Kate Winslet says - You are meant to be the leading lady in your own life. Every one of us maybe have similar events in our stories. But everyone's story is still uniquely your own. You're the only one who can tell your story authentically. And if we don't tell our stories, no one else will. It's such a common answer when you watch interviewed with AANHPI directors, producers, and/or writers. People like Charles Yu, Taika Waititi, Mindy Kaling, Ryan Coogler, Allie Wong, WongFu, etc. will say these same sentiments. Our stories are unique, but they are also universal. The qualities that make us human are ones everyone can relate to. You don't have to be white to enjoy the 90% of movies or TV shows that are currently out. You don't have to be Korean to understand the feelings of love on K-dramas. You don't have to be Black sit with the messages in Sinners. You just have to have a bit of empathy for those around you.
In Conclusion:
I watched this show in its first week of being released and was honestly shocked that no one was really talking about it. I didn't see any advertising for it, the actors (who I feel are well-known) didn't do any popular press like Hot Ones or anything with Vogue or Vanity Fair. Most of the interviews were silly, like fortune cookie ASMR or with lesser-known media companies. I was really upset that Disney dropped the ball on the marketing for this show because it was so well done. The cinematography is gorgeous, the acting superb (Jimmy O. Yang proving he is not just the Funny Asian Dude like his former Instagram handle indicated), the production design beautiful, the music fresh, and obviously, the story was compelling, original, and intriguing. Despite the lack of advertising, the show peaked at Number 4 in Hulu's Top 15
Shout Out!
Today I want to give a shout out to Rooted Fare, a small, women-owned business specializing in Asian-inspired spreads! Ashley and Hedy are co-founders who wanted to mix their love of American food with their mothers' more traditional cooking. They started with their now best-selling Crunchy Black Sesame Butter and now 4 other flavors, including a new AAPIHM flavor Salted Plum Cookie Butter. I personally love their Black Sesame Butter on top of vanilla ice cream and the Pineapple Cake Cashew Butter on butter cookies! Currently sold in 132 stores across the country and online, be sure to check them out for your next snack party!
If You Liked This, You Might Also Like:
Jentry Chau vs. The Underworld on Netflix
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Specifically Season 1) on Disney +
WandaVision on Disney +
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