@article{ART001442107},
author={정지수},
title={Politics of Discomfort: Young Jean Lee's Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven},
journal={Journal of Modern English Drama},
issn={1226-3397},
year={2010},
volume={23},
number={1},
pages={181-207}
TY - JOUR
AU - 정지수
TI - Politics of Discomfort: Young Jean Lee's Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven
JO - Journal of Modern English Drama
PY - 2010
VL - 23
IS - 1
PB - 한국현대영미드라마학회
SP - 181
EP - 207
SN - 1226-3397
AB - Young Jean Lee’s comic play, Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven, hilariously ridicules Asian American racist stereotypes and racism itself by using exaggerated representation of stereotypes and racial slurs. In order to avoid the risk that the play is received as a self-abasing minority comedy that reinforces racist stereotypes, Lee carefully directs Songs so that the laughs generated by the play almost always accompany uncomfortable feelings. The prologue, the arrangement of scenes, the use of non-English language, the sharp comparison between Koreans’ and Whites’ scenes, and the playwright’s self-confession through her stand-in onstage were all used to create discomfort among the audience.
This essay examines the ways in which the feeling of discomfort is created in Songs. It positions the play in the tradition of the Asian American theatre and the popular stand-up and sketch comedy. While most of the Asian American sketch comedies are performed for Asian American audience, Songs had much wider audience demographics as it was performed first at off-off-broadway and then toured internationally, mainly to European countries. Using the theory of abjection, this essay suggests that a proud performance of abjection can have subversive effect on racism. Recognizing the risk of using racialized humor and analyzing the theatrical devices used in Songs to create discomfort, it explores the possibility of a racial comedy to stimulate the audience to critically engage with the issues of race and racism.
KW - Songs of the dragons Flying to Heaven;Young Jean Lee;racism;racial stereotype;sketch comedy;abjection;uncomfortable laughter
DO -
UR -
ER -
정지수. (2010). Politics of Discomfort: Young Jean Lee's Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven. Journal of Modern English Drama, 23(1), 181-207.
정지수. 2010, "Politics of Discomfort: Young Jean Lee's Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven", Journal of Modern English Drama, vol.23, no.1 pp.181-207.
정지수 "Politics of Discomfort: Young Jean Lee's Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven" Journal of Modern English Drama 23.1 pp.181-207 (2010) : 181.
정지수. Politics of Discomfort: Young Jean Lee's Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven. 2010; 23(1), 181-207.
정지수. "Politics of Discomfort: Young Jean Lee's Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven" Journal of Modern English Drama 23, no.1 (2010) : 181-207.
정지수. Politics of Discomfort: Young Jean Lee's Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven. Journal of Modern English Drama, 23(1), 181-207.
정지수. Politics of Discomfort: Young Jean Lee's Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven. Journal of Modern English Drama. 2010; 23(1) 181-207.
정지수. Politics of Discomfort: Young Jean Lee's Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven. 2010; 23(1), 181-207.
정지수. "Politics of Discomfort: Young Jean Lee's Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven" Journal of Modern English Drama 23, no.1 (2010) : 181-207.
