\Here it is! The end of the blog. For some reason it became progressively harder to write a focused, articulate entry, so some of them are a little bit looser & more random than others, but I hope my readers still find those entertaining and informative! All in all, it definitely took longer than a paper probably would have (heads-up for future Chinese Pop Culture students ;) ).
Now I must offer some concluding thoughts on the border-crossing phenomenon as it exists between the United States and China and the unique biculturalism that results. Where to start (/end)?
...OMG Leehom!
OK, OK. So as I was Youtubing Lust, Caution, the following uncomfortable interview popped up (Leehom's part starts at 1:10, right after Ang Lee):
It seems that the interviewer, most likely a Chinese American himself, is trying to be supportive of Leehom and his accent in the film, which some people had been saying was too American. Leehom is happy at the mention of his song "Cockney Girl" and nods at first, then seems to realize something ("No, wait..."), becomes visibly upset and serious, and after a lil bit of thought, speaks up: "Actually, it's not an American accent, OK."
He elaborates on China's many accents to show his knowledge, pointing out that there are different American accents as well, though not with the same huge variety that China has. After this mini-speech, he tries to smile about "Cockney Girl" again but is all tense.
At the idea of a "chinked-out" movie, he laughs a little, but you can tell that this is very personal to him; he immediately begins to define Lust, Caution as "chinked-out": "very international, but at the same time, it's so Chinese, it's a whole story about Chinese history...the nerves that it hits on are poignant to Chinese audiences around the world."
And I'm just like, OMG! These couple minutes are so totally complex and full of emotions and questions of identity.
So I haven't seen Lust, Caution yet. But I can say that if this movie were to move me, I doubt that it would be because it takes place in some time during the history of my mother country. And what about non-Chinese audiences? Can't they be moved just as much as or more than members of Chinese audiences? Aren't they also part of what makes the movie international? At his recent press conference with Usher, Leehom said that he hopes that more and more people around the world will see what great things are happening in Chinese music, reiterating his "chinked-out" mission statement from 2004.
And yeah, I don't understand sometimes. His China promotion campaign. I do get the sense that he is doing his best to balance the two but generally gives his Chinese side the priority; it's the side from which he draws most of his pride, at least publicly / through his musical identity (as a person working in Chinese-language music living in Taiwan). This interview in particular hits a nerve with him, as he defensively asserts his Chinese identity (over his American one) while also insisting on an international identity. Without a doubt, if the interviewer were a Chinese person (i.e. not Chinese American), he would not have been able to say what he did. Poor interviewer dood! Goodness. But it was an opportunity for Leehom to stand up for himself and his hard work and what he believes.
I can feel his frustration, the desire to clear up misconceptions on the issue of his Chinese-ness. I will also often get very sensitive and serious in these contexts. People will say something seemingly harmless, and I will become sad and angry for some deep reason that most likely goes back to my childhood and not being able to speak Chinese. So Homie, I feelin' yoo.
But usually in defense I will say/imply that I am American, or Chinese American, rather than say, "I'm Chinese, too. I'm a huaren." Which I guess is just one of the differences in how each of us--as we'd say in university classes--negotiates our identities. Everybody finds a different balance. And linguistic identity is a very important part of this.
Leehom, who definitely already had some srs linguistic talent, must have diligently put 300% into achieving the precise accent that Ang Lee wanted for the film, and then was hurt to hear so many people saying that he still sounded American, would sound perpetually American. It's probably something that has always caused him pain, the fact that he will still not be accepted as fully Chinese, by Chinese people, a fact that he's also hoping to change through his life's work. Why would he want to be accepted as 100% Chinese? It's another complicated thing.
Will Pan, Van Ness, and Coco seem to be more laid-back about it at this point, but they are different personalities and have had different circumstances. Jin is still proudly proclaiming his ABC-ness, which naturally manifests itself differently on either side of the globe: in the US, he's all, "I'm Chinese, and what?" whereas in China, he's all (in Cantonese), "First name Jin, Jin is my Chinese name / Just look at the tattoo on my neck." (See lyrics to "ABC.")
Daniel Wu and Leehom seem to be somewhat like-minded when it comes to the concept of being "international" Chinese, not completely accepted anywhere but ready to settle on the side that they feel will be most fruitful for them, where they can accomplish what they want to accomplish. (Of course, I say all these things based on what I've read and simplify some, but all of these people definitely overlap in their views in different places, and it is much more multi-faceted than I am able to discuss coherently here.) Like Kaiser Kuo, who says he is perfectly happy in Beijing where most of his family lives anyway and he hardly ever misses the US, they've all accepted living out the second half of their lives in China, both for their careers and for a certain fulfilling personal quest.
For their success, being familiar yet foreign--not completely "Other"--is simultaneously a barrier (often including the area of language) and an advantage for these huaren. Their American-ness adds to their appeal and popularity and also to their ability to have a wider worldview and to do things like innovate by blending musical styles, for example. (This latter thing, I would say, goes for pretty much all eleven people.)
On the identity issue, for the other category of huaren that I'd created in the Introduction (Bruce Lee, Eileen Chang, Ang Lee), who had grown up in Greater China, it seems easier to identify as Chinese while also being American after living the second half of their lives or more in the United States. (Sidenote: Now, I have been talking about everything in terms of Chinese vs. American, though there are certainly other categories to be considered within these (gender, Hong Kongnese, Taiwanese, etc.). EVERYTHING IS SO INTERTWINED!)
Eileen Chang had no choice but to choose the US and an American life if she wanted to keep writing, and through the English language she creates another identity, as we definitely all do when we adopt second languages (whether or not they are the mother tongues of our ancestors). Yet she still remains virtually unknown in the country where she lived most of years of her life, while her writings have traveled back to Greater China, so it's interesting how border-crossing happens sometimes. Bruce Lee, too, became a legend, but around the world. Ang Lee, meanwhile, bases himself in the US and goes to Asia to make a Chinese film every few years. He will undoubtedly leave his legacy on both continents (and others). It's harder to say for my younger blogged-about huaren, who seem contained on the Asia side (minus Coco, who totally went for the crossover thing) but hey! They still got a long ways to go.
[Tangent on Yo-Yo Ma: He's so happy, he's like the Dalai Lama. I can't even talk about non-musical language with him because linguistic identity seems to be such a small factor for him. One interview says that he is fluent in English, Mandarin, and French. But I've never been able to find a video of him speaking Chinese. He was even on recent Chinese news for performing with the China Philharmonic Orchestra, and no interview to be found! He's just playing his cello.]
I would say that Bruce Lee and Yo-Yo Ma have directly expressed the most "worldly" philosophies of being in the interviews that I was able to find. There's something comfortable, ideal, and idealistic about them, how they involve having multiple homes and feeling a sense of belonging and unity in all of them. Hopefully they speak for all of mah huaren here, who have all tried to make homes in new places and each defined "Chinese American" in their own ways--what it means to be Chinese, American, Chinese American, and global.
Within my five months of living in China this year, I was able to begin to make China one of my homes--and to attend a Wang Leehom concert in Nanjing. (BTW, 16 years living in Taiwan like that dood, I can't even imagine!) In-between songs, Leehom gave a little speech about the word "home," which he said in English. He declared that music was his home, his home was in music, and right then there with us, with people sharing music. And well. That was pretty inspirational.
Border-crossing = the creation of many rich paths that connect and blend with others. It's a place for artistic expression/identity to sort itself out and to be free. In the future of globalization and dissolving borders and the progress of paths such as those of the people in Hangin' with the Huaren and more, I think there will be room for them to open up wider and to stretch farther. And that is the hippie thought with which I will end these reflections.
Opinions? YouTube links? I welcome them in comments below.
-- Allie
