Sullivan and Son: Asian Angst

I would like to break down my favorite episode of the series, the season 2 premier, "The Pilot, One More Time." Why is it my favorite? It's because Asian American actor, Ken Jeong, guest stars and convincingly nails down a role outside of his usual insane characters like Señor Chang from the hit show Community. In Sullivan & Son, Jeong plays Susan's husband, Jason, who is a successful doctor but has no social sensitivity as emotions his emotions were beaten out of him by his mother. Needless to say, Ok Cha treats Jason the most favorably as he emulates the product of precise and engineered upbrining. Even if Jason and Ok Cha are not related, this episode really stresses the expectations of the Asian tiger mom and the negative effect such pressures can have on Asian American children. At the same time, however, this show does not forget to address the misunderstood older generation-in this case, that older figure is Ok Cha.

Scenario: Susan feels her relationship with Jason is strained so she asks Steve for help to loosen him up and "teach him how to have fun." Of course, at a bar, Jason is introduced to the lustful lifestyle completely opposite to his routine and quits his job to join the bar scene. Now, young Asian American viewers, myself included, may feel somewhat supportive towards Jason; he was boring until Steve changed him with alcohol and a newly found passion for living free. Asian American students are sometime put under as much pressure to be perfect as Jason, secretly wishing they could trade their academic success for a shred of confidence in the social arena. Predictably however, the real world is not so kind as to greet abandonment of responsibility with indifference, and Ok Cha is the bludgeoning reality check.

She-ogre Ok Cha isn't abusive for her own pleasure (well, that's not entirely true), she truly believes that Asians have the capacity to do great things when given the opportunity, but it's up to the parents to beat that motivation, not just metaphorically, into their kids-and I can empathize with them! As Ok Cha says, "that was our love." She knew that Asians would face difficulties when assimilating so they became calloused to resist the burdens of stereotypes and then trained their children to toughen up to become successful doctors and lawyers-to fulfill the American dream. Because of Ok Cha, and other parents like her, I respect her deeply. I respect Ken Jeong who was able to personify the angst that Asian American youth built up when growing up under pressure. And I respect the writers of this show who were able to bring an invisible aspect of Asian youth culture to light.

-by Dylan Huynh