Joe Wong on the ‘Late Show with David Letterman’
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gD0s7gfTotk&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]
By Emil Guillermo
They walk funny. They dress funny. And that accent. Definitely, they talk funny.
So is it okay to laugh at them?
I refer, of course, to the majority of our immigrant community, especially the members of that very unique subset often dubbed as “FOBs.” (And no, it doesn’t matter if technically they came by plane).
Often a great source of humor at family gatherings, making fun of Uncle Gun-woo in the right places can be (with the right touch) a form of ingratiation, and an oddly affectionate way of showing love and understanding. But bring it out into the public, and is it all that funny? Would you sell the dignity of your Uncle Gun for a yuk at his expense in mixed company?
I’d say it’s unlikely, simply as a matter of self-respect.
So what is a modern Asian American to do when late night comic David Letterman laughs at immigrant naiveté as a form of human stupidity? Is he embracing the immigrant as his comic foil (perhaps like he embraced his young tender production assistants)?
Perhaps Letterman just needed a willing Asian to pimp as the butt of the joke. And now he has found one: Joe Wong.
“The kid is nothing but funny,” Letterman said last month as he presented Wong, a young up-and-coming comedian who performs as an awkward, timid immigrant character who makes jokes about his stupidity.
His opener? In the thickest immigrant accent, he says, “Hello everybody…” and gets a three-second laugh. (Standard accented person joke.)
But wait, there’s more.
“The other day I saw the sign, ‘Employees must wash their hands before returning to work,’” Wong mused.
“But what about the owners?” (Small titters.)
“I think this sign is a message of inspiration,” he continued. “If you work hard, you don’t have to wash your hands.” (A rousing eight seconds of laughter, an eternity on network TV.)
And then the topper.
“I wash my hands every time I use the bathroom,” Wong said, “so my children don’t have to.” (The crowd gave it a gut-busting eight-second laugh.)
A star is born? Letterman was really just giving mainstream America the green light to go after a brand new target with glee. Just in time for the recession and the increased competition for jobs and services.
Need to feel superior? Here are some folks to laugh at.
Is there anything funny about that?
THE ASIAN STEPIN’ FETCHIT?
Blacks certainly wouldn’t welcome a modern reprise of racist pick-a-ninny jokes nor the second coming of Stepin’ Fetchit-type humor. So why should Asian Americans? That’s the trouble with Letterman selling Joe Wong as the face of Asian American comedy.
If Joe Wong taps into some universal truth, it’s stupidity. But when you’re barely represented in the media and stupid is all people see, an image problem is created. No one thinks all white people are like the Simpsons. Besides, they’re cartoons drawn in Korea. But for many, the only Asian they might see could be Joe Wong. When people laugh at Wong, an Asian immigrant lost in American society, they are laughing at and glorifying the everyday examples of racism.
Letterman actually gave Wong his network debut last year. This year, Letterman proudly plugged Wong’s upcoming performance for President Obama at the Radio & TV Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington. This is the hot ticket on March 17 where political luminaries mix with showbiz stars and media heavies. It’s the place where the comedian on display often makes news. Stephen Colbert did playing court jester in 2006. Shock jock Don Imus did when he bombed for the Clintons in 1996.
Now, it’s Wong’s turn, as the dumb Asian immigrant.
How will Obama’s Asian American brother-in-law Conrad feel? I wonder how the politically astute president will react?
FUN WITH SELF-DEPRECATION
Certainly, self-effacing, self-deprecating humor can be useful. For Congressman Norm Mineta, it was standard to open every speech with a self-deprecating joke. But when you’re one of the most influential Asian Americans in Washington, you can afford the self-deprecation. Besides, the audience always saw it as charming.
But when you’re lowly Joe Wong, the self-deprecation is merely a re-affirmation of your lowliness. And Wong takes every Asian American down with him. With this everyman, we’re all the butt of the joke.
Whatever happened to smart edgy Asian American comedy?
Lately, I’ve come to appreciate the gifts of comedienne Margaret Cho. The comic genius continues to boldly shock and challenge cultural assumptions. Another Korean American, Tina Kim, never stoops to the stupid accent.
The correspondents’ dinner in Washington should represent quite a contrast. The Obama administration has done much to raise the Asian American profile. But all it takes is one Joe Wong in such a high-profile venue to imprint a new negative image within American pop culture. We no longer have to worry about white shock jocks doing accented ching-chong comedy bits anymore. (Hey, that’s racist.) Now, we have one of our own all too willing to debase us.
Authentic? No, just pathetic.
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Emil Guillermo is an award-winning journalist, former host of NPR’s “All Things Considered,” and author of Amok: Essays From An Asian American Perspective. After 14 years at AsianWeek, he was considered the most widely read columnist on Asian American issues in the United States. He blogs at www.amok.com.
