What is Yellowface?
The Vox video linked here gives a brieft overview of yellowface in Hollywood. If you want to explore the issue further, I suggest reading this article by Alphaville, or this artcile by Teen Vogue. Additionally, this wikipage by TVTropes is also informative.
Read this article to understand some of the issues at the heart of the debate concerning authority in art and storytelling. After reading this article, you should have a better understanding of the terms in the speech bubble. Understanding these terms will help you engage with the ideas explored in this text, and using these terms will help you analyse texts in a perceptive and insightful manner.
Click the link above or the image of the book cover to access a PDF version of this text. Whilst having a digital version of the text is useful, it might also be a good idea to buy a hard copy of the text so that you can make annotations as you read. Don't forget, the more active you are as you read, the better your understanding of the text will be.
Section 5
Section 6
Section 7
Use this study pack to organise your notes on the text. Keeping your notes together like this will help you track patterns across the text, make connections to other texts, and prepare for assessments in the future.
Click the image or the title above to access some resources that could help you analyse novels. These resources explain and demonstrate the ways that we analyse various aspects of novels.
In what wasys can Yellowface's discussion of art and ownership provide a commentary for the current debates conerning art and AI?
Did June ever make any convincing claims concerning her ownership of The Last Post?
Is Athena’s “ghost” best read as literal horror, metaphor, or June’s guilt made visible? Why?
Does the novel make you feel more disgusted by June’s choices—or more fascinated by how she justifies them?
If June had publicly credited Athena as coauthor, would that be justice, opportunism, or both?
Who comes across as more “performative”: June, the publishing team, or the online critics?
Did you find Candice sympathetic, frightening, satisfying, or some messy combination?
Which is more addictive in the novel: fame, righteousness, or outrage?
Did you find the ending of the novel satisfying?
How does Kuang use first-person narration to construct June as an (un)reliable narrator, and to what effect?
In what ways does Yellowface satirise the publishing industry’s tokenism and diversity marketing, and how does Candice’s critique sharpen that satire?
"Exoorcism requires confession." How does this statement relate to the novel, Yellowface?
Analyse the novel’s representation of social media as a knowledge system: how do claims gain authority, and how does narrative become “proof”?
How and to what effect does the novel use conventions of the horror genre?
In what ways can the novel be read as a satirical critique of the publication industry?
Analyse the novel’s portrayal of misogyny and gendered cruelty in public discourse.
How does the novel explore the theme of loneliness?
In what ways does the novel explore ideas of grief?
Analyse how Athena functions as a foil to June. How does this dynamic contribute to the meaning of the novel as a whole.
Click the link above or the image to access materials that might help with your understanding of the text.