In Sarah Cassinelli’s document “If we are Asian, then are we funny?”, Cassinelli describes Margaret Cho’s memoir titled “I’m the One that I Want” which reveals Cho’s experience during the making of the television show “All-American Girl.” However as the document goes on, Cassinelli begins to criticize “All-American Girl” for relying on racial jokes and stereotypes instead of legitimate comedic form and also explains how Cho contributed to the show’s downfall as well.
“…Cho seems to be declaring her show, and most importantly its intentions, as innocuous.” (131) Here Cassinelli describes how Cho, despite knowing the true nature of the show still outwardly defends it. But later in the document Cho states how “…she recognizes that the whole experience is a ‘big mess.'” (131) Cassinelli explains how this confusion, that Cho is clearly revealing, shows how both the show and memoir “I’m the One that I Want” fail to address the cultural ideas that ultimately lead to the failure of the show.
The document creates a new term it calls “Asianness” which seems self-explanatory. It simply means having the characteristics or features of an asian. Being Asian like. It also introduces the genre sitcom and categorizes the show “All-American Girl” to be in it. Sitcom is literally short for situational comedy. It is a sub-category of comedy where characters go about a slice-of-life form of story that features comedic moments and conflicts over multiple episodes.
According to Cassinelli’s document, “All-American Girl” went wrong in many aspects. The show tended to focus more on racial comedy and had no comedic structure. Often times, the show would poke fun at Asian culture and audiences would have trouble identifying with the characters or even becoming offended by them. Unlike “All-American Girl,” “Flower Drum Song” was a film and instead embraced Asian culture and would often poke fun at the contrast between American and Asian culture but usually in a relatable or innocent way. In fact, many critics claimed it to be artistic in it’s cultural representation. Perhaps the creators of “All-American Girl” should have taken a few pointers from “Flower Drum Song” and made a show that embraced and emphasized Asian culture instead of mocking it.