Asian American Literature

Excerpt from a Greg Pak interview about Robot Stories:

Now there’s another issue raised by your question — is there a reason I was attracted to robot stories as an Asian American? Now I always was interested in robot fiction largely because robots, of course, are cool. And because of the notion, noted above, that talking seriously about robots opens up very interesting and dramatically compelling questions. But if I consider it deeply, I think there’s something else going on regarding race. I don’t think of it in terms of Eastern/Western cultural questions. Instead, I think of it in terms of how Asians are perceived in the United States. I didn’t think of this consciously when writing or making the film, but it’s interesting that stereotypes about Asians parallel stereotypes about robots — both are often negatively depicted as emotionless, faceless technicians, an army of efficient machines destined to take over people’s jobs. And “Robot Stories,” with its commitment to emotionally honest storytelling, overturns those stereotypes about both robots and Asians by humanizing both its human and android characters.

How ’bout them apples?

Excerpt from filmmaker Eric Byler’s review of Robot Stories:

This beautifully abstract portrayal of human loneliness is made all the more powerful by the fact that the writer/director portrays the male android himself. The social isolation and sexual objectification depicted in “Robot Love” is not unlike that of ethnic minorities growing up in homogenous communities– Hapas in particular come to mind because of Pak‚s and Kim‚s mixed heritage. Many biracial children grow up, not just a minority, but a singularity among their peers. When they escape to a larger city or to a university, they at last encounter others who have similar ethnic make-ups and similar life experiences. The stir of emotion that can result is not unlike Archie the I-Person banging his hand against that glass wall. “Robot Love” is my favorite of the four accomplished vignettes that make up Robot Stories, and the most poetic expression of biracial isolation I have ever seen.

You can find a short interview with the author of American Born Chinese, complete with pictures!, here.