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There’s another bit in your Netflix special where you talk about how young Americans are specifically susceptible to YouTube’s algorithm that can feed extremist content. Is that something you think is unique in this country?
No, I think it impacts everyone. If you are a person on the Internet in the English speaking sphere, it is for sure it influences you The Chinese internet may be a bit different, but they have their own toxicity. I know for a fact that you can be in Singapore and fall into the same kind of toxic online circles that American men do. I’m not saying that Asia has its equivalents, I’m saying that they literally look at American incel toxicity.
Do you have any early memories of seeing Asia portrayed in American media and do you feel those depictions were accurate?
When I lived in New Hampshire, we never heard of Malaysia once. [Chieng lived in Manchester, NH from 1989 to 1994] I remember saying I was from Malaysia, and people didn’t even know what it was. So we were not represented at all.
That ties in with Interior Chinatown, which satirizes how Asian Americans are portrayed in pop culture. What is often missed by Hollywood is that Asian cultures are not monolithic, and these differences are rarely explored.
Yes, in America, “Asian American” is not only its own voting bloc, but it is also its own lens through which to view Asia.
Is it still frustrating to be thought of as belonging to a cultural monolith instead of an individual country?
No, not really. I mean, I came here knowing the deal, and I’m honestly surprised when people can tell the difference. I think Americans are now starting to see these differences a little. If you talk to anyone who’s connected to pop culture right now—even in the smallest way—I think they understand that, say, Parasite is a Korean movie, and not a Japanese movie; Japan is a different country. But I didn’t come here expecting them to know.
Is it ever done in the parts that you choose to play as an actor? Do you not accept the role of a Japanese character, for example?
No, I took on a role of a Korean man recently Holiday Friends 2. If the director thinks I can pull it off and I think I can pull it off, then I don’t really care. Acting is part of the job. That said, it’s not like I can speak convincingly in native Japanese, so it goes without saying that I don’t have a job for that.
I wonder partly why there is a bigger conversation happening in Hollywood now on whether actors from a certain background should play the characters with a different lived experience.
