Charles Yu's satire targets both TV itself (Example 1) and the harmful stereotypes that TV promotes (Example 2).

Example 1

INT. GOLDEN PALACE CHINESE RESTAURANT--NIGHT

Dead Asian Guy is dead

WHITE LADY COP

He’s dead

Example 2

As Turner and Green investigate, they come across "Old Asian Man" played by Willis’s father, Ming Chen Wu. The detectives immediately make stereotypical assumptions about him based on his race, which are reflected not just in their dialogue but in the written action of the screenplay itself:

Old Asian Man doesn’t answer, the physiognomy of his exotic Eastern features, as exacerbated by the repressive conditioning of his Confucian worldview, turning his face into an emotionless mask. Foreign, unknowable even to the trained eye of these Western detectives…(70)

None of the phrases here accurately reflect Ming Chen Wu (or any human being). Instead, the author is using satirical techniques to parody stereotypes in literature, television, film, and society. For more information about the oppressive origins of these stereotypes, read here. For more examples of satirical techniques see below:

Satirical Techniques

Can you identify any of the following satirical techniques in the examples from Interior Chinatown?

REPETITION

When the author repeats a word or phrase to emphasize it.

CARICATURE

Depiction (often a drawing) of someone that’s extremely exaggerated, usually in an unflattering way; a piece of art that makes someone look funny or foolish because some part of the person's appearance is exaggerated.

MANIPULATION OF LANGUAGE / PURPOSEFUL DICTION

Using certain words or rhetorical devices to control what people think or feel about something; Using specific language and emphasizing certain things more than others to influence the audience into thinking something without showing the whole truth

CONNOTATION

A connotation is a meaning that is suggested or implied, even though it may not be the real meaning; a feeling you get about a word.

EXAGGERATION

Statements not meant to be taken literally that make something seem worse or better than it actually is. Sometimes called hyperbole.

PROPAGANDA

Information that misleads or influences somebody’s view on something through images or writing.

IRONY

When contradictory statements or situations reveal a reality that’s different from what appears to be true. Three types of irony include:

• Verbal Irony When what is said is not what is meant (sometimes sarcasm)

• Situational Irony When a situation turns out in a way that is different than what is expected

• Dramatic Irony When the audience knows something the characters do not

PARODY

An imitation of a writer or artist that mocks their style or writing; parodies make fun of another piece of art (including movies, tv shows, etc.) by mimicking it