“He's Cool, He's Hot…” and He's Not: The Complexities of Asian American Identity in Disney's Phineas and Ferb and American Dragon: Jake Long

This paper explores how the 2005 Disney television show, American Dragon: Jake Long ( ADJL ) complicates portrayals of Asian American childhood by comparing Jake and his sister Haley to the Phineas and Ferb character, Baljeet. I will analyze how ADJL utilizes certain narratives and themes to contradict the model minority stereotype seen in the children's show Phineas and Ferb . The model minority myth is explained in previous scholarship by Eunkyong Yook (2003) and Robert Lee (1999) and can be seen in the characterization of Phineas and Ferb's Baljeet. Critics such as Vincent Cheng (2004) and Daryl Maeda (2005) have thoroughly explored and explained the malleability of Asian American identity in the United States. The pliant identity is portrayed in ADJL 's lead character Jake Long, a Chinese American teenager, and his sister Haley, both of whom can shapeshift into dragons. Using scholarship from Eunkyong Yook (2013) and Stephen Sohn (2008), I will argue that ADJL offers a complex perspective on Asian American identity through its depiction of a pliable identity, which is demonstrated by the show's use of dragons that symbolize Chinese imperialism and its contradictions surrounding the model minority myth. Throughout this paper, I will explore how ADJL seeks to challenges stereotype by conflicting the Asian American stereotypes seen in other children's TV shows, specifically Phineas and Ferb , and portraying the malleable identities of children.