While most liberals have an entirely understandable discomfort about colonialism, Wang has a more pragmatic approach. Malaysia – a nation that wouldn’t exist without the British Empire - came out of it better than most. And, unfashionably, Wang admits to pride about his British side of his heritage.‘Why wouldn’t you be proud of all that influence and power’ the UK once wielded, he asks. I listened to this audiobook with a gifted copy courtesy of publishers Hodder Studios and as part of a Tandem Collective listenalong. This review represents my own thoughts on the book.

Phil Wang review – an irresistible set of smart and silly Phil Wang review – an irresistible set of smart and silly

Being a comedian, Phil obviously explores all of these serious topics in an amusingly wry way and occasionally covers funny topics in a serious way. But that's the life of a comedian I suppose. Gotta keep the reader on their toes.

This book definitely made me laugh and I really wish I could be at Phil Wang's event at Cheltenham Literature festival because I would love to hear more from him. The structure of the book is a great balance between facts and observations alongside humour and personal opinions. I definitely learned a lot as well as laughing out loud at various moments. I like how this book is marketed as 'not a memoir' but each section comes from a very personal point of view. I also thought the history chapter was exceptional, covering the history of Malaysia and Singapore in a funny but informative way. It has something for everyone, politics, music, movies, tv, sports and FOOD. Anything related to the intersection of pop culture and being an Asian American in this country. I think about race a lot because I have no choice. The child of a white woman and an Asian man, the subject of race has always been a part of my life and it always will be."

Phil Wang review – all kinds of funny from the super-droll Phil Wang review – all kinds of funny from the super-droll

As the book approaches the 2020’s, it explores the highs and lows of the 2010 decade complete with the whiplash as we pivoted away from a “post-racial” America to, well, not. All this is given extra credence coming from an open-minded internationalist than an archetypal Little Englander, and typical of the fascinating, honest and sometimes unconventional personal take that defines the book. He wants an open conversation about race and says it always makes him feel more human when he engages in that.I will say that while Pacific Islanders (a nebulous term anyway, in the same way that all grouping terms are, as Indonesians and Filipinos are by technicality of island countries within the Pacific Ocean "Pacific Islanders" but are very strictly included as "Asian" because of physiognomy) are coupled with the umbrella term "Asian American" – see Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month – but are very rarely featured in this work. They are included as Hawaii is a US state, but there's very minor inclusion of any outside of Hawaiians. But then again, as stated in the essay by four Pacific Islanders (Samoan, Tongan, Hawaiian, Chamorro), they don't feel they should be included in this umbrella combo of "AAPI" because zero of them feel that our ethnic/racial groups overlap and we have certainly had separate histories related to our places within the USA and Canada. I am very glad that they included this essay, but I feel like it's one of the most important essays and that its length and size within the whole will take focus away from it. I don't say this in a "there should be more Pacific Islander" content in this book on Asians in America, but I mean it more that anyone who reads this book might still carry on with the AAPI/API acronym (I have to cut it out of use myself, now) and we should be helping raise up our Pacific Islander brethren, along with all other racialized peoples, in the West. And if that sentence doesn’t make much sense to you, you are invited to delve into the complexity of loving something like Indiana Jones so much and yet, having mixed feelings. (To my chagrin, I’m looking forward to Indiana Jones 5 – the Dial of Senior Living.) Interview: Phil Wang – The Comedian Who Isn't Afraid to Make You Laugh About Race". weareresonate. 2 March 2017.

Phil Wang: ‘It was a shock to find out how Asian I was’ Phil Wang: ‘It was a shock to find out how Asian I was’

He distances himself from calling his first book, Sidesplitter, a memoir. But the comic uses personal experiences to offer an incisive look at race from the viewpoint of someone who’s always an outsider, considered ‘Chinese in the UK and a big old honky in Malaysia’. His attitude to his place in the world is probably best summed up when he says: ‘As children, we desperately want to fit in, but we also desperately want to feel special.’ I thought, ‘This will get a few hundred retweets,’” he says. “But the mad thing is it’s probably the most anyone has seen of any of my work. That one Sunday I spent writing, filming and editing that little clip was more exposure than all these TV shows. It’s just such a strange world now. There are times when I think, ‘What am I doing, doing standup? I should just be making videos every Sunday.’” Phil’s dry sense of humour comes over really well in this audiobook. It feels like he’s dealing with some quite serious and potentially contentious issues in a way which makes it safe to have the conversation. I especially like the fact that while he says he is comfortable with the ‘where are you really from’ question when it comes from a place of genuine curiosity, but he recognises that his experience and perspective is personal and that for other people there are good reasons why that question can be offensive. This, for Wang, is what he loves about standup. One time, after a gig in London, a white middle-class couple from Essex came up to him – and the comedians Pierre Novellie and Nish Kumar – and said they had enjoyed the show in the main, “but enough of the race stuff, eh?” Wang found the comment, and the ensuing discussion, enlightening. In Malaysia, everyone had talked about race all the time: that’s what happens in a country that is highly racially diverse, where the largest ethnic group – the Malays – make up only half the population. In the UK, where 80% of the population is white British, the subject can remain more of a taboo.

The first generation of U.S.-born Asian Americans raised after 1965’s Hart-Cellar Act passed would have found it difficult to imagine that sushi and boba would one day be beloved by all, that a Korean boy band named BTS would be the biggest musical act in the world, that one of the biggest movies of 2018 would be Crazy Rich Asians, or that a Facebook group for Asian American identity memes would be 2 million members strong. And that’s not mentioning the execs working behind the scenes at major companies; the activists and representatives fighting for equity; and the singers, rappers, dance crews, and social media pioneers making their mark on pop culture. And still: Asian America is just getting started. Wang is currently [ when?] working on a stand-up comedy series for BBC Radio 4 titled Wangsplaining. [23] The pilot episode aired on 19 May 2019 on BBC Radio 4. [9]

Rise: A Pop History of Asian America from the Nineties to Now Rise: A Pop History of Asian America from the Nineties to Now

Another one of my favourite Task Master contestants, and who I’ve enjoyed watching on Roast Battle, and various other UK comedy panels shows. And the very enjoyable podcast Phil Wang hates horror (which inspired my pic). But whenever I felt the show wanting for an injection of oomph, it got one, via a well-hewn joke or unlikely formulation, if not from any variation in Wang’s delivery. There’s a choice routine about what makes white people panic – not what you’d expect, but not something you can deny. There’s a section on the editing process of his recent book – which might sound highbrow but ends up, via “a wank that was primarily admin”, as anything but. I felt like I learned a lot from listening to this and although he covers some important topics, thanks to Wang’s casual charm it never feels preachy in any way. The chapters on race and cultural appropriation are particularly interesting and made me re-evaluate some of my own feelings on the subjects. I loved his discussion on language too, particularly the fact that in China, because they’re restricted by the symbols Mandarin is made up of, they’ve had to become creative with their names for things. Kangaroos are bag rats, dolphins are sea pig and skunks are stinky weasels - and if that doesn’t encourage kids to learn other languages I don’t know what will!In 2017 Wang appeared in the podcast series Pappy's Flatshare Slamdown and Do the Right Thing. [20] [21] Wang, Phil (31 July 2014). "Phil Wang: Impossibly wise or offensively stupid – Chinese people in US films". The Guardian . Retrieved 12 August 2018. The funny thing about racism is that everybody wants to be thought as Progressive and modern but yet they did a lot of whitewashing. Let me explain, some of the movie's leads were written to be Asian actors. Yet they casted white Americans to play Asians. They didn't even think of allowing Asian actors to draw from personal experiences to depict what the Asian character they're playing is going through. The executives were so concerned Asian actors wouldn't be box office draws. What do people say about the importance of winning The War? 'If it wasn't for my grandfather, we'd all be speaking German!' Oh no! Not a second language!"