Sidesplitter: How To Be From Two Worlds At Once

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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.) 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. He has a refreshingly different take on topics of culture and belonging. At a time when many people are seeking increasingly granular definitions of what groups they are in, and defending each one vigorously, Wang advocates for the more relaxed, melting-pot attitudes of Malaysia.

Phil Wang review – standup’s Netflix special skewers PC panic Phil Wang review – standup’s Netflix special skewers PC panic

The through-line, however, is faint. Phil's thesis is that both sides of his identity complete him, even if that means never fully belonging to either England or Malaysia. Some sections are overdrawn and the momentum of his narration slows, but even in its slower moments, Sidesplitter is still funny in its one-liners and anecdotes. The balance between comedy and storytelling can be difficult to walk, especially when towing lines like cultural appropriation and inclusive language. Even when talking extensively about frequent flier miles, Phil Wang writes with a bold personal and cultural awareness. rounded up to 5. Far denser than I expected, while still feeling like a broad intro survey to Asian American pop history. I recommend the syllabus sections for further exploration because each topic is deserving of their own deep dives. Despite the title, the Before section does a decent job at describing from the earliest waves of immigration through the 1980s, historically and in pop culture. The authors' reasoning for nineties onward is because that's when the children of post-1965 Hart-Cellar Act immigration waves started making art (which isn't to say previous waves existed! In sheer terms of numbers there's more post-65 Asian Americans than prior waves like my own family). If Malay is like learning to ride a bike, then Chinese is like having to memorise the names of everyone who has ever ridden a bike." Stephanie Bunbury (23 March 2015). "Melbourne International Comedy Festival: Phil Wang engineers a laugh with 'high-status' comedy". The Sydney Morning Herald. It's about how to consolidate two home countries into one unified identity, what it's like always having family on the other side of the world no matter where I am, and whether or not it is possible for everyone to feel a strong sense of home. I also wanted to answer the question 'Where are you really from?' by saying 'You'll have to buy my book'."His is a funny, incisive and honest take on being brought up in two very different cultures, looking at what that means personally for him, whilst also asking wider questions about empire and the idea of home." With the blurb and introduction indicating that this was more essays than memoir, I'd hoped that Wang would have some funny and interesting things to say. And as it turned out, he had some interesting things to say, with autobiographical elements adding colour to the topics he explored and how they affected him as a mixed-race person. In the chapter, After Connie, SuChin Park has made it clear that she wouldn't have been able to break into the business of news at all had it not been for those before her, such as Connie Chung. Connie Chung paved the way for news stations to want to hire their own versions of her, a professional, classy Asian woman who could hold out next to an older white male so that that news station could be considered progressive, and forward-thinking. In other words, it was tokenism. This time, it worked to the Asian women's advantage.

Sidesplitter by Phil Wang | Waterstones

In his 20s, Wang began to make modest changes to his look. He had always worn thin, frameless spectacles hoping, he thinks, that people wouldn’t realise he was wearing glasses at all. Then, one day in Specsavers, he popped on a pair of oversized frames as a joke and saw they suited him. He had never thought much about his hair, but decided to finally spend money on a cut. “It’s arrogant to call it a transformation,” says Wang. “I mean, who knows if it’s even better, but it feels better. It’s certainly more expensive.” In May 2021, Wang hosted a new podcast called Phil Wang Hates Horror, which was released on Audible. 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. Guide, British Comedy. "Series 7, Episode 1 (Bleed The Radiators)– Pappy's Flatshare Slamdown". British Comedy Guide.

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Identity is at the heart of everything today – comedy included –and ethnically Phil Wang has been dealt quite the hand: British-Chinese-Malaysian, with some heritage from the indigenous Kadazan-Dusun people of north Borneo. His full name, Philip Nathaniel Wang Xing Gui, tells the story.

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I'm so glad this book exists, I've rarely gotten to read books by other people who have British and Malaysian roots. I've been trying to describe my emotions about feeling not fully English and not Chinese or Malaysian enough my whole life, so I'm glad this book exists and explores all of that so well. I listened to the audiobook read by Phil, as is my custom with books written by comedians, and once again I'd have to recommend it, although I can see the appeal of having his face staring at me from my bookshelf.What a brilliant read. Wang is thoroughly entertaining, punny (with great footnotes, too), and educating. I left this book feeling really refreshed and very much looking forward to being able to travel again (hopefully soon). How JIS Brunei enabled these students to enter the world's elite universities". Study International News. 19 October 2018 . Retrieved 12 June 2020.