FORK MOUNTAIN portrays a stark example of tokenism gone terribly, terribly wrong.
Despite May O’Keefe growing up in an Irish-American family, she is not allowed to play the Irish-American character she resonates with – Daisy Fraser.
Instead, she is given a role that better aligns with the perceptions that her white teachers and peers have of her – they see her as the resident Chinese person. This not only dehumanizes her, but completely erases her autonomy.
Throughout the film, white teachers, peers, and even her own white parents attempt to manipulate and mold May’s Asianness according to their own stereotypes and misconceptions about what an “Asian” person is supposed to look like, act like – BE LIKE.
When May resists conforming to the Asian archetype preferred by Western society, she gets rejected from the “world” of the play and replaced by a white peer.
This speaks to the model minority stereotype, where (mostly Asian) people of color are commended based on their value within the context of white Western society, and rejected or replaced when they don’t comply.