Olivia Peace

Professor Ozge Samanci

RTVF 393
February 4, 2016
Shortcomings by Adrian Tomine opens with a scene from a corny movie in which
leans heavily on Asian race clichs even going so far as to pull out a literal fortune cookie
as some sort of symbolic reference. This is how readers are introduced to Ben Tanaka.
Ben squirms bored and annoyed in his seat watching such a movie and not only refuses to
applaud it, but moments later loudly complains to his girlfriend Miko that he wishes
people would concentrate on telling a good story rather than making a statement about
race. The remark is incredibly mean-spirited under the circumstances, considering that
Miko was one of the festivals chief organizers. It says something about Ben, who
completely takes their relationship for granted and has a tendency to be aggressively
negative. It also says something about the author-illustrator. Adrian Tomine wants to tell a
good story first of all, and only then to say something about the issues that haunt his
characters. Shortcomings is a story about race and identity, but does a good job of not
trying to fall into stereotypes such as simplifying or de-sexualizing the characters.
Asian American men have been historically desexualized in the films, cartoons,
TV shows, etc. in which they appear in the US. They are rarely political figures and
almost never designed to be sexy. Sex scenes for them are decidedly uncommon and
they are very rarely the object of any main characters affection (let alone a main
character in general). Asian male characters that occupy these roles are pervasively used
by Hollywood more as tools than characters and, in many cases, are only included in
order to be a funny sidekick or to say a few lines in an accent and then leave the screen

forever. Tomine directly confronts this issue by firstly placing his protagonist, the
Japanese American Ben Tanaka, firmly at the foreground of his story and also mentions
his sexuality as a key plot point rather than pushing it away or pretending it doesnt exist.

Ben Tanaka functions in the comic to display how Asian American males are
forced to negotiate their identity in response to various stereotypes. Ben has trouble
acting sexually aggressive because of his sensitivity toward ideas about Asian American
masculinity, including endowment and prowess. He also has a tendency to put white
women on a pedestal as a sort of self affirmation that he is worthy of their love and
acceptance. But then again, maybe that is just his personal taste. Tomine doesnt quite
resolve that in the end. Furthermore, Bens annoyance at the notion of racism may have
more to do with his stubborn reluctance to expose himself to change or discomfort. What
Tomine is doing is purposefully creating a character who blinds himself to politics yet is
also affected by them in his everyday life. In this way he has succeeded in making
complex characters who happen to be Asian instead of force feeding readers yet another
bad story where race serves as the main stumbling block or burden for its minority
characters. Race after all is a complex identity to hold, for example there are so many
different cultures and dialects and histories housed under the umbrella of Asian that it
would be insulting to try to address them all in the same way. Meredith Lee for example
is half Asian and half White and must negotiate her place when Ben turns the
conversation to his disgust at his ex girlfriend Miko dating a white man. His best friend
Alice is Korean and in a short car conversation it is revealed that her family still holds
resentment against Japanese people from World War II. The issues up against each

character are different because of their racial variances but also because they are all
different people. Miko wants to uplift the Asian community but is still apparently afraid
of black men. Alice has commitment issues. Ben is incredibly self hating and his
negativity drives people. They are all flawed, and in that way, significantly more real than
the characters that Americans are used to seeing Asians play in mainstream Hollywood
films and tv shows.