불편함의 정치학 : 영진 리의 Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven = Politics of Discomfort: Young Jean Lee's Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Young Jean Lee’s comic play, Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven, hilariously ridicules Asian American racist stereotypes and racism itself by using exaggerated representation of stereotypes and racial slurs. In order to avoid the risk that the play is received as a self-abasing minority comedy that reinforces racist stereotypes, Lee carefully directs Songs so that the laughs generated by the play almost always accompany uncomfortable feelings. The prologue, the arrangement of scenes, the use of non-English language, the sharp comparison between Koreans’ and Whites’ scenes, and the playwright’s self-confession through her stand-in onstage were all used to create discomfort among the audience.
This essay examines the ways in which the feeling of discomfort is created in Songs. It positions the play in the tradition of the Asian American theatre and the popular stand-up and sketch comedy. While most of the Asian American sketch comedies are performed for Asian American audience, Songs had much wider audience demographics as it was performed first at off-off-broadway and then toured internationally, mainly to European countries. Using the theory of abjection, this essay suggests that a proud performance of abjection can have subversive effect on racism. Recognizing the risk of using racialized humor and analyzing the theatrical devices used in Songs to create discomfort, it explores the possibility of a racial comedy to stimulate the audience to critically engage with the issues of race and racism.

목차 (Table of Contents)

• Ⅰ. 들어가며
• Ⅱ. 극의 형식과 극작 전략
• Ⅲ. 불편함을 유도하는 장치
• Ⅳ. 맺음말
• 인용문헌
• Abstract

참고문헌 (Reference)

1 Shimakawa, Karen, "Young Jean Lee’s Ugly Feelings about Race and Gender: Stuplime Animation in Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven" 17 (17): 89-102,

2 Grote, Jason, "White Flight" 24 (24): 27-27, 2007

3 Ngai, Sianne, "Ugly Feelings" Harvard UP 2005

4 Lee, Esther Kim, "The History of Asian American Theatre" Cambridge UP 2006

5 Limon, John, "Stand-up Comedy in Theory, or, Abjection in America" Duke UP 2000

6 Cote, David, "Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven. in: Rev. of Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven" HERE Arts Center 2006

7 Lee, Young Jean, "Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven and Other Plays" Theatre Communications Group 2009

8 Jones, Jeffrey M., "Script Sabotage: An Interview with the Playwright" American Theatre 74-75, 2007

9 Soloski, Alexis, "Scorching Dragons. in: Rev. of Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven" HERE Arts Center 2006

10 Kristeva, Julia, "Powers of Horror: an Essay on Abjection" Columbia UP 1982

11 Shimakawa, Karen, "National Abjection: the Asian Ameircan Body Onstage" Duke UP 2002

12 Ludwig, Elizabeth, "American Stand-up and Sketch Comedy: Between Race and Gender" VDM Verlag Dr. Muller 2008