seminar notes on Donald Duk

Posted on October 13, 2017 by Cassie
  • romanization + different ethnicities (donald’s state of mind as a factor)
    -> Kwan Kung/Guan Yu
  • “i’m not like them” -> donald’s anti-Chinese/anti-Blackness
  • generational difference + language (or lack thereof)
  • coming of age (determined by culture)
    -> self-hatred + desire to fit in (in this case, into american culture)
    -> “my family doesn’t understand me” – identity crisis
    -> people come of age, cultures come of age, nations, etc. (continuous, not stagnant)
  • arnold’s character
    -> inviting himself over (rude) then saying “i’m not welcome anymore”
  • the parents: dad’s tough love, directness; mom’s patience, humor, mediation
  • agent orange -> herbicide used in Vietnam war (american cong)
  • the teacher + his white savior complex – being an expert on your own culture
  • internalized racism due to racist teacher + history inaccuracies
    -> big reason why i want to be a history teacher so i can give students of color accesss to their actual histories, not ones that were falsely construed by white colonialists (or at least access to resources so they can find out themselves bc i’m not gonna know everything)
    -> weaponizing his brownness against other brown people
  • mandate of heaven (tien ming) – you must hold (your culture) to yourself or else they’ll take it away from you
  • misogyny + masculinity/manhood
    -> tough love + bluntness, issues of safety + protection in POC families
  • classified as a young adult (YA) book – why?
    -> fluid boundary between adult + children’s literature
    -> cultural coming of age book (donald turning 12 in chinese culture)
  • dreams/illusions – melding together reality + dreams mirrors confusion of coming of age
  • why do different periods of history merge? constant connections
    -> reflection of the subconscious, eventual acceptance of his heritage
  • Angel Island detention center as the ending scene
  • connections to When the Emperor was Divine:
    -thinking about home; longing
    -> ideal life/past (emperor) vs. discovery of past + identity crisis (donald)
    -american dream
    -fathers
    -outlaws + cowboys, disorder, antiheroes
    -> the son in emperor w/ horses + donald w/ robin hood
    -family dynamics
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