Helpful Score: 1
Yes! Joan is okay, but...
Joan is okay, easy to relate to, sometimes hard to figure. She is a thirty-six-year-old Chinese American workaholic doctor who loves her career. She appears fairly satisfied until the death of her father initiates shifts in her life. Her family closes in and pressures her to restructure herself: she should find a husband, be a mother, be more stylish in her appearance, and either demand more compensation from her job or open her own practice in a safer neighborhood. Everyone pushes a personality makeover. Joan had been comfortable with her low visibility at her apartment building but now a well-meaning neighbor badgers her into changing her lifestyle. Despite her stellar work performance, both her supervisor at the hospital and the HR department insist she takes more time off. Even the doorman at her apartment building feels the need to modify Joan, whether it is fixing her up romantically with the new tenant or correcting her posture before he will operate the elevator.
Joan was okay! Joan was happy... she thought she was. Now she is questioning her position in the world. Should she be rearranging her interactions with her family? How has she been boxed in by Chinese American stereotypes and social limitations? She had even concealed her ability to speak Chinese from coworkers in order to avoid any judgment that may cause. Joan is a complex character, maintaining her humor and wit even as she struggles to balance her self definition against the vision others have for her.
We feel an ominous rumble building as the coming pandemic begins to manipulate this story's direction. As a Chinese American doctor living in New York City so much is uncertain as the story winds up. Â We are invested in Joan and need to see how she is going to fare now. We need to know that Joan is okay. I will be right there if Weike Wang shares more Joan.
"I wanna think it's gonna be alright
It's just a little soon to say"--Jackson Browne
Joan is okay, easy to relate to, sometimes hard to figure. She is a thirty-six-year-old Chinese American workaholic doctor who loves her career. She appears fairly satisfied until the death of her father initiates shifts in her life. Her family closes in and pressures her to restructure herself: she should find a husband, be a mother, be more stylish in her appearance, and either demand more compensation from her job or open her own practice in a safer neighborhood. Everyone pushes a personality makeover. Joan had been comfortable with her low visibility at her apartment building but now a well-meaning neighbor badgers her into changing her lifestyle. Despite her stellar work performance, both her supervisor at the hospital and the HR department insist she takes more time off. Even the doorman at her apartment building feels the need to modify Joan, whether it is fixing her up romantically with the new tenant or correcting her posture before he will operate the elevator.
Joan was okay! Joan was happy... she thought she was. Now she is questioning her position in the world. Should she be rearranging her interactions with her family? How has she been boxed in by Chinese American stereotypes and social limitations? She had even concealed her ability to speak Chinese from coworkers in order to avoid any judgment that may cause. Joan is a complex character, maintaining her humor and wit even as she struggles to balance her self definition against the vision others have for her.
We feel an ominous rumble building as the coming pandemic begins to manipulate this story's direction. As a Chinese American doctor living in New York City so much is uncertain as the story winds up. Â We are invested in Joan and need to see how she is going to fare now. We need to know that Joan is okay. I will be right there if Weike Wang shares more Joan.
"I wanna think it's gonna be alright
It's just a little soon to say"--Jackson Browne
