Word: tam
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...Tam--Push Push...
...Tam--Catherine and the Greats...
...Tam--Little Frankie and the Premiers...
Through the course of the play, Tam and his Japanese sidekick, "Blackjap" Kenji (Edward Park), confront the disappointing reality behind their romantic conceptions of both white and Black America. In a comically surreal dream sequence their childhood hero, the Lone Ranger, is exposed as a heroine-addicted, racist fraud. Their long-awaited meeting with Ovaltine's Black trainer, Charley Popcorn, proves disillusioning as well--offended by their Black mannerisms, the old man dismisses the duo as a pair of insane "yellow negroes...
...rejecting both his heritage and mainstream America Tam attempts to become a cultural hero, leading disciples such as Kenji along the path to a new and rebellious racial identity. As Chin's drama unfolds, however, Tam's "Blackness" is exposed as a cowardly means of escape. He is nothing more than a pathetic "Chickencoop Chinaman," trapped by both America's prejudices and his own biases against his Asian roots...