"The First All-Asian Cast in 25 Years" struck many headlines on news outlets and was the topic of many social media posts, after the official trailer for
Crazy Rich Asians was released. There is a lot of buzz going on about this romantic comedy, especially in the Asian-American community. The author, Kevin Kwan, claims that this had been "long overdue". To give a summary of this novel and soon-to-be movie,
Crazy Rich Asians does not examine the issues that the Asian-American communities face or how the West influenced Asian countries. It is also a movie where Asians are not portrayed by their stereotypes: being good at martial arts or nerds. Instead, it takes a deeper look at the small fraction of the super rich Chinese population in Singapore- told through the journey of an Asian-American woman. Although this movie will not tackle any issues of racism of colored people in our society, it is still a very important film. It is a huge milestone and stepping stone for Asian-Americans in Hollywood because finally after a quarter of a century, there is Asian representation on the large screen. I think that Asians are finally getting the representation they deserve.
Growing up, I have always watched films and TV shows where the actors and actresses were predominately Caucasian. This caused me to believe that the entertainment industry was only for Caucasians and that I could never pursue a career as a film director. As a Chinese-American, I feel that Asian-Americans are not correctly portrayed in media; Asians are stereotyped as being nerdy and introverts or are martial arts experts. There are much more to Asians than these stereotypes that others place on us; like all humans, we have different interests and come from all different backgrounds. I believe that this is a correct step for Hollywood because they have been criticized for not casting Asian-Americans in lead roles and 'whitewashing' Asian characters. I definitely believe that Asian-Americans should be represented more. I am hopeful for the future of the entertainment industry; maybe more directors will be willing to cast Asian-Americans into their major movies.
Crazy Rich Asians deserves to be celebrated and recognized in media because it focuses on different Asian experiences. There shouldn't be a single story about Asians or any person for that matter.
I can totally relate to all of this. Growing up, I never saw anyone that looked like me at all. And even though I still don't I'm very pleased that people are taking a stand to represent Asians a lot more. We always see characters who are Asian be played by Caucasian people and it's kind of gross. To have our culture and background be whitewashed because Hollywood doesn't think that we're capable to be A-list actors is completely and utterly gross. I'm so please that 'Crazy Rich Asians' will have a full Asian cast. This gives me hope for the future of what's to come for us Asians.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree with this. As being from asian descent, I frequently feel like media manipulates many of its viewers' perception towards being confined to the stereotypes they build up. Media has created stereotypes where diversity is thought to be seen as a major factor within the advertising realm. However, because there are only a few amount of asian girls within the media industry, it makes many of us asians to have little role-models to look up to that will guide us to creating our own voices in life. This then in turn defeats the purpose of presenting a society that embraces all different kinds of cultures and body shapes, and makes it even harder for young girls who are struggling to accept themselves.
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