The CBS sitcom focuses on two young women who comes from two different worlds and dream of starting a cupcake business of their own, while temporarily waitressing together at a greasy diner in the heart of Brooklyn, New York. Due to their financial circumstances, the girls are forced to interact with a collection of colorful characters from all walks of life such as Oleg, the perverted Ukrainian cook whose sole role on the show is to be lecherous and onerous. He is frequently being portrayed to be flirting with the girls in an extremely sexual fashion. Then there is Earl, a charmingly rambunctious African American cashier with a Black Southern accent. However, the worst of all them, Han Bryce Lee, a Korean immigrant diner owner, whom the two girls work for. Han Bryce Lee’s character is presented in a negative manner because he is represented as a short, asexual, and always failing to understand the American culture.
In this scene, Caroline and Maxwell greets Mama Han who have travelled all the way from Korea to visit her son. Han's mother
seems to be pleased with Caroline's Korean. On the other hand, Han's mother
quickly makes the most condemning expression at the very sight of Maxwell due to her
exposed cleavage. Then Mama Han questions the whereabouts of Han Lee's so-called 'girlfriend'. As it turns out Han Lee lies to his mother that his imaginary girlfriend is of Korean ethnicity and is really well-rounded. Han explains that his girlfriend has a very busy schedule
due to the fact that she is a brain surgeon and is overwhelmed with church matters. In this episode, Han Lee is forced to makeup an imaginary girlfriend due to his mother's high expectation of her son. From this one scene, one can infer that Korean characters are
depicted as those who strive to meet their parents' exceedingly high criteria
and expectations of becoming a doctor or lawyer, or to date someone with either
occupation.
Every time when there is a scene involves Han Lee
on the sitcom, the nuance is that it’s entertaining and humorous because he is
always speaking English with a generic Asian accent, adding to his short and geekiness. Ironically, Matthew Moy who plays the character, Han Bryce Lee, is
actually a Chinese American who speaks perfect English.
In this short clip, Maxwell pokes fun at Han Lee’s actual
age and makes a reference to the film A
Case of Benjamin Button because of Han’s petite size and mature face.
Maxwell is surprise to learn that Han is 29 years old though he looks like he
is 53 years old. Similarly, Caroline joins in by critiquing Han’s physical
features, the clothes he wears, and the five-dollar check, which she receives
as a birthday gift. Essentially, Han Lee is being poked fun at due to his
petite size and his outdated clothes, which suggests the stereotypical images of
Asian men being small in everything. This scene also propagates the misrepresented
image of Asian males being subservient and subordinate to occidental men. It also further contributes to the emasculation of Asian American males as the 'foreigner' stereotype.
While sexual innuendo is found in many television programs,
and can be utilized as the butt of a joke sometimes, 2 Broke Girls pokes fun of
Han Lee’s asexuality and his lack of experience with girls.
Every time when there is a scene involves Han Lee
on the sitcom, the nuance is that it’s entertaining and humorous because he is
always speaking English with a generic Asian accent, adding to his short and
geekiness. Ironically, Matthew Moy who plays the character,
Han Bryce Lee, is actually a Chinese American who speaks perfect English.
Han
Lee waits excitedly for his blind date that he was paired up with via an online
dating service, but Maxwell discredits Han and believes she is not real. Throughout
the series, Maxwell constantly brings up the fact that Han Lee is a virgin and
has no luck with girls. Then a tall white blonde walks through the diner, but
quickly leaves at the sight of the small-framed Han Lee. His character essentially reinforces the nerdy Asian image
with little to no experience with females.
Ultimately, Han Lee is perceived as
a regressive portrayal because the show continues to promote the ‘perpetual
foreigner’ myth within Asian males. His character also cultivates a stereotype
of the Asian American males as asexual.
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