Everyone loves being the center of attention. Everyone wants to have their IT moment. Everyone lives for their “main character” energy. From the characters in books to characters seen on screen, the main character syndrome brings fun in a manner no other activity can ever.
Imagine, falling into a gunfight situation and the only way to resolve the solution is if you pull your gun out and show off your shooting skills.
Sounds fictional right? That’s exactly what the “main character” energy brings to you. It brings a sense of self that one can’t express for themselves.
However, according to its fans and critics, the upcoming new crime show Interior Chinatown aims to take the “main character” energy to the next level.
Credits: Mike Taing/Disney
According to experts, “main character energy” is a certain act where one puts oneself first and takes control of one’s perspective on things, not selfishly but rather, in a self-care-affirming way.
For instance, you see your favorite character and immediately you root for them and want to live the life they have, that can be summed up as “main character energy” but, how did Interior Chinatown bring “main character energy”?
Plot to bring the “main character energy”.
Originally published as a book in 2020, Interior Chinatown is the second novel by Charles Yu. Winning the 2020 National Book Award for Fiction, the story narrates the life of a simple young man, Willis Wu who is usually seen as a background character in the fictional world.
Going in a continuous loop of normalcy, unless Willis witnesses a major crime and starts unraveling secrets about his family, making him the central figure of the story.
Credits: Litlens
The show also follows the same plot as the narrative from the books. The crime thriller stars stand-up comedian and actor Jimmy O. Yang as the character Willis Wu. He has also been a part of movies like Silicon Valley (2014), Crazy Rich Asians (2018), and Patriot’s Day (2016). He has also made a very successful career through stand-up comedy acts.
Along with Jimmy O. Yang, the series stars Chole Bennet as Detective Lana Lee, and Lisa Gilroy as Sarah Green for the entirety of the series with Taika Waititi and Charles Yu as the executive producers.
The dive into the “main character”
The story moves in an interesting way as a novel because of the character portrayal of Willis Wu. Unlike any other characters in the work, Willis doesn’t want to be in the limelight. He is perfectly safe behind the invisible mask he wears for the world.
Wu is the background character of the police TV show Black & White, then goes back to do the normal chores like waiting tables and dreaming about wanting to leave Chinatown.
In short, he can be considered a nobody just like every other living in this world. The character of Willis might relate to a lot of young adults who go about their lives and secretly wish for escapism.
Credits: IMDb
Therefore, the effect of emitting the “main character” arc will be high with the release of this new Hulu series because non-reader fans might start to relate to the character of Willie who is stuck in the middle of the crime and not be able to leave Chinatown like he wanted to.
The character might also provide closure to the clichés regarding Asian American stereotypes both from work and in his personal life, providing comfort to its readers and viewers.
The crime series starts streaming on Hulu on November 19, 2024.
