Structural Analysis

Analyzing Archetypes In Lulu Wang's The Farewell

By: Nina Borja

            Lulu Wang's film The Farewell takes a glimpse into Asian American experiences as a young woman, Billi, played by Awkwafina, undergoes a tremendous emotional experience as she and her family travel from New York to their hometown in China to say goodbye to Billi's dying grandmother.

            The film, however, mainly centers around the cultural idea to lie to relatives that they are dying, so the relatives can enjoy their last days without fear and worry. This cultural "lie" is based on Wang's personal experiences lying to her own grandmother, where many eastern countries, including China, take part in this decision as a common sacrifice for family. 

            Although the film is a drama, sprinkled throughout are comedic atmospheres that, interestingly enough, help make the film balance out heavier topics and give the audience a better foundation for how Billi's family operates. For instance, Billi's only cousin, Hao Hao, and his girlfriend act as the archetypal bomolochoi.

             As Billi's family gets together after years of not seeing each other, the rising tensions between the nuclear group are often interrupted by Hao Hao's unintentional awkward behavior and inability to speak fluent Mandarin. For audiences, this comedic archetype helps bring context to how Asian Americans feel when returning to their mother country after being so far removed from their roots. His overall effect results in an enhancement of humor without taking away other main archetypal characters, such as Billi.

        Unlike Hao Hao, Billi takes on the main hero archetype, where the audience is focused on her growth and triumph throughout the storyline of The Farewell. As the hero, Billi goes on the Hero's Journey. She enters several stages all of which take her from the ordinary world to an initiation of adventure and finishing with a return where she is a changed person.

            Culturally, the hero represents the process of overcoming obstacles to achieve specific goals. For Billi, that process manifests in overcoming her own cultural bias, where her Western and Eastern identities clash together in her decision whether or not to tell her grandmother she is dying of cancer.