Thank you to Libro FM for the audio arc of Jen Sookfong Lee’s memoir, Superfan: How Pop Culture Broke My Heart.
In her essay collection, Superfan: How Pop Culture Broke My Heart, Jen Sookfong Lee relates her love of pop culture with aspects of her own life. Lee was the youngest of five girls born in Canada to Chinese immigrants who settled in Vancouver. As first generation Canadians, Lee and her sisters struggled with a cultural identity that was different from their parents, yet also not reflected in white dominant mainstream pop culture. Lee’s essays capture this aspect of being caught in the middle and not quite knowing where she fit in.
When Lee was a child, her beloved father passed away from cancer. His death dramatically changed their family dynamics with Lee’s mother becoming increasingly distant and her older sisters starting to leave the home. Lee and her sisters struggled to connect with their mother, who could be quite critical and hostile towards her daughters. Lee also is the daughter who bucks against traditions and expectations, adding to the conflict with her mother.
The essay that stood out to me the most was Lee explaining her negative reaction to The Joy Luck Club when it was released in the 90’s. A reaction, that was not shared with her fellow Asian-Canadian friends, as they watched the movie in theaters as a teenager. I’m just a year younger than Lee and I remember watching this movie with my friend in the theatre, I am white and she is Chinese-American. I don’t remember her reaction to it, but now I’m inclined to share Lee’s essay and hear my friend’s thoughts. I didn’t really think of it at the time, but Lee is right when mentioning that Amy Tan’s writing was one of the few Chinese-American authors that broke through to mainstream pop culture. Even now, as pop culture becomes increasingly diverse, it’s still white dominated.
SuperFan: How Pop Culture Broke My Heart is an outstanding essay collection that covers several issues. Lee shares many intimate details of her family and adult relationships, making this a very personal essay collection. My background may be very different from Lee’s, but I related to her push to forge her own path, even if it wasn’t what her family expected or wanted. I highly recommend Superfan, especially if you’re a Gen-X kid.