While slow to start, Make Banana Cry is an effective and uncomfortable use and showcase of the objectification, capitalist appropriation, and fetishization of what it means to be Asian.

It’s not your typical fashion show. As you enter the space, you are encouraged to explore from your seat. To take in every detail of the space that is populated by both random objects and objects/symbols from Asian diasporas including a symbol that had it’s start as a symbol of harmony and wellbeing before being twisted into a symbol of hate. It is an impressive and expansive set by Dominique Petrin and one that is well utilized.

The music begins and the fashion show starts. The dancers Cynthia Koppe, Francesca Chudnoff, Hanako Hoshimi-Caines, Sehyoung Lee, Winnie Ho, and Stephen Thompson begin their fashion walk as various songs are played that, for better and for worse, have come to be a part of various Asian cultural zeitgeists. It is a slow start as the fashion walk is repeated again and again in a simple- and, soon to be revealed, highly effective- routine of choreography by Andrew and Stephen Thompson. Unfortunately, the tension being created begins to transform into restlessness and slight boredom.

However, once this show gets going, it really gets going. The fashion walk’s path may remain the same for the dancers, but their movements change little by little as do their costumes. Little bends, a change in body angle, a different rhythm, an article of clothing removed. As the walk continues, the piece really comes into its own as this fashion show becomes an uncomfortable examination of the objectification and appropriation of various Asian cultures. Every element comes together. The songs I mentioned at the beginning run the gauntlet from popular east Asian pop songs to racial stereotype songs (i.e the Siamese Cats song from Lady and the Tramp) to songs exploring the exploitation and fetishization of various Asian countries (such as the sex tourism industry in Thailand). The dancers embody these histories and ongoing problems with variety, heart, comedy and connection.

When I think of fashion shows, I think of the focus being on the outfits, the costume’s vision, and the themes. While Make Banana Cry has that focus, it also highlights the real people underneath them. Beneath the stereotypes, the choreographed routine, the costumes, and the capitalism are real people being exploited and objectified. Make Banana Cry is an uncomfortable and effective show that uses the premise of a fashion show to explore the real people that are underneath.