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(Note – On to a new project, Western Road Trip. Check out the index page for an overview).
Tang “Trip” Seng (53)
Project: Comedy film (Western Road Trip)
Known as: Trip
Real name: Tang Seng
Group affiliation: None
Physical description: Trip is a young (18) Chinese American. He is handsome but in a very boyish way. He is a skinny, slight person (a stiff breeze might take him away). His hair is short and neat and he is always well groomed.
Personality: Trip is naïve and compassionate, a dangerous combination for those who might want to take advantage of him. He is also brilliant. Scientifically gifted he has been accepted to Stanford and plans to study neuroscience. At the same time, he is also very spiritual and wants to use neuroscience to explore concepts of identity and the interconnectedness of people. He does not see his interest in neuroscience and his faith as completely opposed to each other (raised Buddhist, he does not believe in a “soul” – an unchanging, permanent self; he is therefore curious on how the brain contributes to who we see ourselves to be).
He is also very dedicated to his family and fully intends to return to New York once he has gained the knowledge he seeks in the west.
History: Born in New York City, “Trip” (his English name, selected because he liked the sound of it; his real name is Tang Seng) grew up with two professors as parents (both teach at Columbia; one in Anthropology and the other in Chemistry). His intellectual, musical, and spiritual gifts were evident from an early age. Like many parents, Trip’s parents saw him as extraordinary (in this case, they might have been right). They strongly suspected he was someone great reborn.
Wanting to protect him from poor influences and maintain high standards for him, they decided to home school him. Often times this meant he was “Columbia schooled” as he tagged along with them and studied in their offices when they were not actively teaching him. Their friends at the university would often pitch in to teach Trip the basics of their disciplines and without a doubt Trip had the finest of elementary and secondary educations.
However, this meant that Trip lived a cloistered life in the ivory tower. His parents endeavored to show him the brighter side of life and tended to only expose him to the best people. Of course, he got glimpses of the “real world” and realized in his teenage years that he had a very narrow perspective on what the world was like. A very compassionate person, Trip frequently volunteered to help the less fortunate. However even in this one of his parents would typically join him to help protect and shelter him.
When the time came to choose a university of course his parents anticipated him staying at Columbia (his grades, volunteerism, and test scores gave him his choice of schools). He surprised them by selecting Stanford. He felt he needed to be away from his parents and see more of the world on his own (he assured him he would learn what he could at Stanford and return with new knowledge and perspective to Columbia).
If his parents were surprised that Trip chose Stanford, they were stunned by what came next. Trip has taken his black sheep uncle, recently released from prison, up on his offer to drive Trip across country to the school. They don’t know if they should be relieved that their naïve son has a worldly protector for his journey to the west, or terrified that he might be the worst influence of all.
Role in the narrative: Our protagonist. He is the idealistic/noble half of our odd couple paring.
Abilities: Brilliant – a surprising breadth and depth of knowledge. Zero street smarts.
Inspirations: This is an overt mash-up of a road trip comedy (Planes, Trains, and Automobiles; Vacation; take your pick) and the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West. Trip is Tang Sanzang, the monk on a dangerous pilgrimage to recover holy scriptures and return (his English name “Trip” comes from “Tripitaka,” one of several names he is known by – though I am pleased with the wordplay that they are taking a trip). In Journey to the West, Tang Sanzang is compassionate but not worldly and the gods decides he needs protectors (this will be his uncle and his uncle’s friends in my version).
I do have some motivations here. I think Asian Americans are woefully underrepresented in American film. I also think that Journey to the West doesn’t get the credit it deserves in the United States (a bizarre statement for such a famous work). It has characters and a plot that form the bones of so many things you have seen and read. However, if I am being most honest, I love Sun Wukong and really wanted to do a modern interpretation of him (to me, he is one of the first super heroes). My intent is to provide an homage to Journey to the West – I hope my effort isn’t received as disrespectful in any way (I’m not going to have too many overt references to Buddhism / Taoism to try to avoid that; though I also worry there may be disrespect in my avoidance. So rather than let concerns seize me up – just understand this is coming from a positive place and I’m open to feedback on where I miss).
Also, nod to the Cohen Brother’s “Oh Brother Where Art Thou?,” the genre mash-up/retelling of a classic tale that is one of my favorites.
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