Inhuman Figures is a film essay by Michelle N. Huang and CA Davis that excavates three popular science-fictional archetypes—the robot, clone, and alien—to reveal how imagined futures are produced from a long history of treating Asian Americans as tireless workers, indistinguishable copies, and forever foreigners.
Inhuman Figures is a film essay by Michelle N. Huang and CA Davis that excavates three popular science-fictional archetypes—the robot, clone, and alien—to reveal how imagined futures are produced from a long history of treating Asian Americans as tireless workers, indistinguishable copies, and forever foreigners.
Meet the Characters
The Robot is the ideal worker—a hyper-competent, uncomplaining, and obedient machine who brings the future into being. But what toll does tirelessly striving towards efficiency and productivity have on these dehumanized laborers? Maybe the question isn’t how to build a better robot, but how to build a better human being.
The Clone is the ultimate interchangeable Asian: where does one begin and one end? Representing replaceability, disposability, fungibility, clones threaten to destroy one’s individuality by reminding us we are all part of collectives.
The Alien is the radical Other, the forever foreigner who has crossed great distances to arrive on America’s shores. It seems natural to fear the unknown—their desires, their habits, and even their bodies. But how strange might the “human” look from the perspective of the alien?
Emi is our Asian American Everywoman, trying to find her way in a world that seems increasingly dystopian at every turn. She has the sneaking suspicion that there’s a reason she never learned any Asian American history or read any Asian American literature in school, but she’s still trying to square her own internalized racism with her desire for intra- and interracial solidarity.
Meet the Crew
Michelle N. Huang • Writer
Michelle N. Huang is Assistant Professor of English and Asian American Studies at Northwestern University. Her writing has appeared in venues such as Journal of Asian American Studies, American Literature, and Amerasia. She is currently at work on her book, Molecular Race. You can find out more about Michelle at: michellenhuang.com
CA Davis • Director
CA Davis is a documentarian, film editor, sound designer, and graduate student based in Chicago, IL. He works as a digital storyteller at Northwestern University and moonlights as the creator and host of a LATTO Thought, an audio documentary exploring the histories and social developments of interracial life central to the United States. His work has been featured by TriQuarterly Magazine, Filmscalpel, and RØDE Microphones. See more of CA's work at CADavis.me.
Brittney Galloway • Animator
@blgalloway • sleepygallows.com
Crystal Galloway • Animator
@crystalngalloway • sleepygallows.com
Keith Couture • Art Director
@keithacouture
This project was supported by a research grant from the Alumnae of Northwestern University and a Northwestern University Provost Faculty Grant for Research in Humanities, Social Sciences, and the Arts.
Meet the Characters
The Robot is the ideal worker—a hyper-competent, uncomplaining, and obedient machine who brings the future into being. But what toll does tirelessly striving towards efficiency and productivity have on these dehumanized laborers? Maybe the question isn’t how to build a better robot, but how to build a better human being.
The Clone is the ultimate interchangeable Asian: where does one begin and one end? Representing replaceability, disposability, fungibility, clones threaten to destroy one’s individuality by reminding us we are all part of collectives.
The Alien is the radical Other, the forever foreigner who has crossed great distances to arrive on America’s shores. It seems natural to fear the unknown—their desires, their habits, and even their bodies. But how strange might the “human” look from the perspective of the alien?
Emi is our Asian American Everywoman, trying to find her way in a world that seems increasingly dystopian at every turn. She has the sneaking suspicion that there’s a reason she never learned any Asian American history or read any Asian American literature in school, but she’s still trying to square her own internalized racism with her desire for intra- and interracial solidarity.
Meet the Crew
Michelle N. Huang • Writer
Michelle N. Huang is Assistant Professor of English and Asian American Studies at Northwestern University. Her writing has appeared in venues such as Journal of Asian American Studies, American Literature, and Amerasia. She is currently at work on her book, Molecular Race. You can find out more about Michelle at: michellenhuang.com
CA Davis • Director
CA Davis is a documentarian, film editor, sound designer, and graduate student based in Chicago, IL. He works as a digital storyteller at Northwestern University and moonlights as the creator and host of a LATTO Thought, an audio documentary exploring the histories and social developments of interracial life central to the United States. His work has been featured by TriQuarterly Magazine, Filmscalpel, and RØDE Microphones. See more of CA's work at CADavis.me.
Brittney Galloway • Animator
@blgalloway • sleepygallows.com
Crystal Galloway • Animator
@crystalngalloway • sleepygallows.com
Keith Couture • Art Director
@keithacouture
This project was supported by a research grant from the Alumnae of Northwestern University and a Northwestern University Provost Faculty Grant for Research in Humanities, Social Sciences, and the Arts.