 The character of Charlie Chan has been the subject of controversy . Some find the character to be a positive role model , while others argue that Chan is an offensive stereotype . Critic John <unk> argues that Charlie Chan is both ; when Biggers created the character , he offered a unique alternative to stereotypical evil <unk> , a man who was at the same time " sufficiently accommodating in personality ... unthreatening in demeanor ... and removed from his Asian homeland ... to quell any underlying xenophobia . " 
