Author(s)

Chang Yuan ¹

Affiliation(s)

¹ Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China

Corresponding Author

Chang Yuan

ABSTRACT

David Henry Hwang, a distinguished Chinese-American playwright, persists in his examination of Asian cultural identity within the context of his semi-autobiographical and recent creation, The Yellow Face. This theatrical piece has garnered substantial acclaim in the realm of contemporary American theater. However, the current stage of research on this play predominantly focuses on its satire of ethnic identity stereotypes, without establishing a connection between its theatrical techniques and underlying themes. Therefore, this paper intends to initiate its analysis from four specific metatheatrical features: "Role-playing within the role," "real-life reference," "the play within the play," and "self-reference." It will separately explore the generation of performative Asian identity, the otherization of Asian identity, and the resolution through an ethnically integrated community as depicted in The Yellow Face. Additionally, it will examine how the playwright employs these forms of expression to achieve both a satirical critique and a transcendence of the entrenched ethnic identity labels.

KEYWORDS

The Yellow Face, metatheatre, Asian identity

CITE THIS PAPER

Chang Yuan, The Generation and Transcendence of Asian Identity from the Metatheatrical Features of the Yellow Face. Art and Performance Letters (2023) Vol. 4: 26-32. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.23977/artpl.2023.040905.

REFERENCES

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[4] Silvia Milanezi, E.P., Theatre and Metatheatre: Definitions, Problems, Limits. 2021, Berlin: De Gruyter.
[5] Hwang, D. H., Yellow Face. 2008, New York: Theatre Communications Group.
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[7] Butler, J., Notes toward a Performative Theory of Assembly. 2015, Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
[8] Li Yi, The "Yellow peril" and Asian exclusion in the Americas. Pacific Historical Review. 2007, 76(4): p. 537-562.
[9] Kristeva, J., Strangers to ourselves. 1991, New York: Columbia UP.
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[12] Schlueter, J., Metafictional Characters in Modern Drama. 1979, New York: Columbia University Press.
[13] Bhabha, H. K., The Location of Culture. 1994, London: Routledge.

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