How the format of Interior Chinatown affects Yu's ability to make a convincing point about racism in America

     Interior Chinatown's unique format is Yu's most effective tool at ensuring that the reader understands, and is convinced of, the underlying message of the book. Yu is trying to get the readers to see that racism against Asians is ingrained in American culture and keeps Asians in perpetually restrained roles. The screenplay format, as well as the use of 2nd person, are vital assets in successfully proving this point.

    As soon as one begins reading Interior Chinatown, one is faced with multiple unexpected factors. The typewriter font, the spacing of the lines, and the capitalized headers which read things such as "INT. GOLDEN PALACE" (Yu, 3). One soon realizes that the book is written as a screenplay: a unique, unusual choice for a novel. This format allows for events in Wu's real life to blend with events in the Black and White show. It is often not clear when one ends and the other begins, as is the case in the courtroom fight scene where, "The music kicks in...You fight off the first wave,...but then another wave. Then another...until the very end, when you hear the gun go off" (Yu, 252-253). In this scene "Black" and "White" are there, but Karen, Old Asian Woman, and Older Brother are there as well. Furthermore, Kung Fu Guy is dead but Willis Wu is not. This meshing of reality and fictional roles reflects how stereotypes from media permeate into culture and society, and into the lives of Asian Americans. Both the unexpectedness of the screenplay format and the blending of reality and fiction serve to create a surreal quality to the book. The absurdity allows the reader to view things which are normalized in society, and which are often overlooked, as strange. In other words, it allows the reader to see how absurd the roles and stereotypes which have been created for Asians are. However, there are other factors of the format which help send this message as well.

     Another factor of the formatting in this novel is that it is told in 2nd person. The reader is addressed as "You" and therefore becomes the main character of Willis Wu. This compounds the absurd feeling which overlays the story as the reader is told things such as, "You are currently Oriental Guy Making a Weird Face" (Yu, 5) or, "You are currently Generic Asian Man Number Three/ Delivery Guy" (Yu, 13). These labels are bizarre and slightly comical, and because of 2nd person, they are being applied to the reader which helps them to see how disconcerting it is to be thought of in that way. These labels allow one to see how Asian people are viewed in American society, and to see how strange that view is. Furthermore, 2nd person allows the reader to better sympathize with Wu. It allows the readers to better understand how hurtful it is to be put into these boxes. One gets a better understanding of why Wu feels the way he does, and acts the way he does. For instance, from an outsider perspective it would seem inexplicable when Wu chooses not to go with Karen to the suburbs to be in her show. Yet, because of the sympathy with Wu which is established, even if the reader does not agree with Wu's choice, they realize that he made the choice because he felt he had to. This is evident due to the repetition of "Ever since you were a boy, you dreamed of being Kung Fu Guy" (Yu, 5). This allows the reader to realize how much Kung Fu Guy has meant to Wu.

     Yu expertly utilizes a screenplay format and 2nd person story-telling to create both a sense of surreality towards the roles and stereotypes Asian people are forced into, and sympathy towards the Asian American characters. This allows not only Asian readers to think about the ways they are treated in society, but also allows non-Asian readers to consider these as well. It helps to show the reader how prevalent, complex, and institutionalized the racism against Asians is in America.