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Chinese-American talk show actor Huang West recounts more than 30 years of experience in the United States in a new special that pokes fun at immigrant prejudice, subtle discrimination and the plight of Asians, and emphasizes the social responsibility to continue telling these stories.
In recent years, the United Statesmigrant Policies are becoming increasingly strict, and ethnic barriers are deepening again; and those who have lived in the United States for more than 30 yearsSugar Stand-up comedian Joe Wong still chooses to use laughter to talk about prejudices that have not diminished over time. On the afternoon of the 8th, he held an English special “Go Back to America | Foolish Old Man Immigration” at the Westin Hotel in Flushing. From the culture shock of first arriving in the United States to today’s anti-immigration narrative, he turned the ups and downs of Chinese immigrants into a joke. This performance is organized by the non-profit organization “Pinnies” and “Jinyi Cultural Productions”.
Huang West studied at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. After moving to the United States, he obtained a PhD in biochemistry from Rice University and entered a pharmaceutical company to engage in scientific research. In 2009, he appeared on “The Late Show with David Letterman” in English with a distinctive Chinese accent, and transitioned from a “tech guy” to a full-time comedian. He later also appeared on shows like Colbert and Ellen.
His most famous milestone was serving as the final comedy guest at the 66th American Association of Radio and Television Correspondents dinner in 2010, attended by White House officials and national media representatives, and personally mocking then-Vice President Biden. Now referring to this old incident, Huang West laughed and said that the White House no longer invites comedians to perform, “because the best stand-up comedians in the United States are in the White House.”
Behind the laughter, Huang West’s works cannot avoid being immigrants. In an interview, he recalled that when he came to the United States in the early 1990s, he often faced microaggressions based on prejudice. At that time they did not even know that this was discrimination. Over the years, immigrant life,Asian Stereotypes and racial prejudice have therefore become topics about which he frequently writes; Writing those “angry” moments of life into jokes has also become his way of releasing the hurt and regaining control of the narrative.
Huang Xi admitted that sometimes he worried that he was telling similar stories; But seeing that many African-American comedians still talked about slavery, he gradually came to understand, “Really, it’s easy for people to forget, so it’s important to keep talking.” Huang West believes that compared to other ethnic groups, discrimination and prejudice against Asians is particularly ignored by the mainstream, and it is also their social responsibility to prevent these experiences from being forgotten.
Huang West said that even if Jimmy O. Even as a new generation of Asian talk show actors like Yang and Ronny Chiang become popular, it is still not easy for their work to reach audiences with different cultural backgrounds. Although, in his view, there may be barriers between ethnicity and culture, there are often commonalities in the immigrant experience. He also found that although his jokes were based on Chinese life in the United States, immigrants from other ethnic groups could hear his stories as well.
An actor may not be able to overcome all cultural barriers, but Huang West still hopes to “start from what he can do”; “I want to bring everyone together.”
Summary FAQ
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He started with the culture shock when he first arrived in the United States, and extended this to the more overt anti-immigrant narrative in recent years, as well as the subtle discrimination, racial prejudice, and Asian stereotypes he has faced over the years, and chronicled these experiences in jokes.
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He admitted that he was concerned about the repetition of themes, but when he saw African-American comedians still talking about slavery, he understood that some history and discrimination is easily forgotten, so it should be told so that the Asian experience of discrimination is not ignored.
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He believes that there may be barriers between ethnic groups and cultures, but there are often commonalities in immigrant experiences; Even if audiences have different backgrounds, they can find resonance in his Chinese immigrant stories and bring everyone together through laughter.
