Joe Wong: Comedian Between Two Cultures

By staff reporter LI YUAN

IN 2010, Chinese American comedian Joe Wong headlined the annual Radio and Television Correspondents’ Association dinner in Washington with American Vice President and other dignitaries at hand. Performing in front of Vice President Joe Biden, Wong said that he had recently read Mr. Biden’s biography; however, after meeting Mr. Biden, he joked, “I think the book is much better.” Luckily for Wong, Mr. Biden does have a sense of humor. Wong continued to roast the Vice President: “If (I’m) elected (President), I will eliminate unemployment in the country by reducing the productivity of the American workforce. So, two people will have to do the work of one, just like the President and the Vice President.”

Joe Wong was born in Jilin Province in northeastern China. He went to the U.S. in 1994, where he earned a PhD in biochemistry. After graduation, Wong landed a job at a company that makes DNA chips and received a patent for his research into ways to halt the growth of some cancers. However, Wong never felt satisfied with what he considered a run-of-the-mill life and found himself drawn to the open platform of stand-up comedy. He saw that there was no lack of Chinese biochemists in the U.S., but Asian faces in the public media were few and far between. He believed that Chinese people should break through into other, less stereotypical areas.

Wong grasped every performance opportunity that came his way, attending auditions and competitions. But over six to seven years on the circuit, his comedy career didn’t really take off. Kevin Knox, a veteran comedian, used to watch Wong’s shows in bars and became an avid supporter. He bolstered Wong’s confidence by assuring him that he would achieve success one day; Hollywood was always looking for new stars and new performances.

The facts today prove that Knox’s prediction was right. In 2009, Wong appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman, an American talk show with the highest audience rating in the U.S., and became the first Asian to perform stand-up comedy on U.S. television. His short, six-minute performance earned him a standing ovation and after the show, he was inundated with autograph requests. At that moment, Wong’s wife burst into tears – she understood how much effort her husband had put in to this day and was overcome with happiness for him.

On February 15, 2010, Wong made another appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman. This marked another first – the first time a comedian had appeared for a second time on the show.

Many of Wong’s jokes are based on his experiences as a newcomer to the U.S., such as overcoming language difficulties and passing the driving test. Some American media observed that Wong’s comedy is like a smile from a broken heart. He always pokes fun at himself in his act. From Wong’s point of view, humor requires courage and the ability to laugh at oneself. He sees this as a sign of maturity and of comfort in one’s own skin. “I want to help Americans understand the experience of Chinese immigrants in the U.S., but I never make improper jokes about Chinese people,” said Wong.

In the U.S., the stand-up comedy industry can be fiercely competitive; only a few at the very top survive. If Asians want to earn applause in this area, they must perform better. Wong pays great attention to accumulating material for his jokes. “It’s better for stand-up shows to be based on observations and perceptions of daily life. I want my jokes to trigger both laughter and reflection on life,” said Wong. “Those who know life and humor will be the final winners.” Indeed, the quality and content of Wong’s jokes are factors behind his success.

Wong believes that the most important element of humor is logic.

Wong’s influences are Woody Allen and Lu Xun, one of the greatest Chinese writers. Wong acknowledged that Woody Allen’s humor sometimes contains elements of the absurd: “Many of Allen’s stories are out of the scope of my imagination, but I feel that I can learn a lot from his jokes, and that’s satisfying.” Lu Xun’s writing features relevant topics and comical elements, and irony plays an important role.

In the U.S., Wong’s fans are of varied ethnic groups. “Some Chinese Americans like me because they believe I win honor for Chinese people or they like my humor. The reason that non-Chinese Americans like me, I think, is that they appreciate the subtlety of some of my jokes,” said Wong.

Wong believes stand-up is the best occupation in the world. “I feel very satisfied now, much better than I expected. I never dreamed that I would one day be performing my act in two countries and in two languages,” he said.

At the end of 2011, Wong started the promotion campaign for his biography Cucumber Yellow Watermelon West in several Chinese cities. Returning to the motherland he hadn’t seen for many years, Wong saw echoes of the European Renaissance period. “Many aspects of life in China are developing fast, though a lot of people are experiencing problems associated with this that give them cause for complaint,” said Wong. Since then, Wong and his family decided to return to China.

Now, Wong has been invited by China Central Television (CCTV) to join the program Is It True? The program aims to test the rumors on the Internet that are closely related to people’s daily lives. The program opens with Wong’s five-minute sketch and is punctuated by Wong’s jokes combining American logic with his northeastern Chinese accent: “I believe house prices will drop drastically. I’m talking about Detroit.” “I want to become a late-blooming, rich second-generation Chinese. So now I’m desperately pushing my father to work harder.” Wong said that there were very few chances to become a television presenter in the U.S., so the CCTV opportunity is a great one.

“The Chinese market means a lot to me. The genre of the talk show started relatively late in China, compared with in the US. There is no established formula and talk show performers here receive far less pay than in the U.S.. However, China is experiencing a cultural revival so it’s important for me to introduce myself and my style to the domestic audience during this period,” said Wong.

Wong grew up in China and gained fame in the U.S. His punchlines are about cultural differences. “Cultural diversity can trigger many jokes. For example, my hometown in northeast China has changed a lot. In the past, I saw horse- or ox-drawn carts stopping beside piles of ox dung. Now, when I go there I see shiny BMWs instead of carts – also pulled over beside piles of ox dung! I think those kinds of observations on how life is changing provide good material for writing jokes,” said Wong.

But Wong is still apprehensive about his decision to return to China for his development as a comedian, because he is faced with a familiar yet strange environment. “I believe people of different races and from different countries have more similarities than differences. My biggest accomplishment is that I can pick out the common threads through humor,” said Wong.