"Both plays set out to examine the ugly ways that American capitalism has twisted itself up with the striving of characters of color - characters whose immediate roots stretch beyond the U.S. and whose ambitions within its borders have resulted in a malignant combination of rugged self-reliance and internalized self-hatred."
"it challenges the facile liberal imagination - the assumption, mostly made by well-meaning white folks (and mostly before 2016), that identity alone will form the basis for people's politics, and that anyone who's not a straight white man must be running to the bosom of the Democratic party"
Chinese Republicans presents a group of ambitious Asian American women operating in high-stakes business environments, using provocative language and embracing capitalist values reminiscent of Glengarry Glen Ross. The play challenges liberal assumptions that people of color automatically align with Democratic politics, exploring how American capitalism intersects with the ambitions of characters whose heritage extends beyond the U.S. Similar to John Leguizamo's The Other Americans, it examines the complex relationship between identity, striving, and political ideology. The characters embody a combination of rugged self-reliance and internalized self-hatred shaped by their pursuit of success within American economic systems. Though the premise contains compelling potential, the execution under director Chay Yew's direction fails to fully realize the script's audacious subject matter.
#asian-american-identity #conservative-politics #capitalism-and-ambition #theater-criticism #political-ideology
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