On August 11, 2018, director Jon Chu released Crazy Rich Asians, a romantic-comedy film based on Kevin Kwan’s 2013 novel of the same name. The highly anticipated and publicized film celebrated several aspects of Asian culture including dumpling-wrapping, mahjong, and popular Chinese music.
The plot focuses on an Asian-American professor, Rachel Chu, who accompanies her boyfriend, Nick Young, to Singapore for a friend’s wedding. While she is there, she discovers that Nick is from one of the wealthiest families in Singapore. Rachel must learn to navigate the complex world of the social elite and win the approval of Nick’s family.
The film featured the first all-Asian cast since 1993’s The Joy Luck Club. Hollywood is infamous for having little to no Asian representation. According to the USC Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism, Asians play only one percent of all leading roles in Hollywood films, although they make up at least five percent of the population.
Because Asians make up 15 percent of Montgomery County’s population, Crazy Rich Asians received great attention. “There isn’t that much Asian representation in Hollywood, so having something like Crazy Rich Asiansis really great,” Richard Montgomery junior Laura Yao said. Many believe the film fights against common Asian stereotypes that plague what little representation Asians have.
Throughout the film, the characters poke fun at common American racial misconceptions perpetuated through Hollywood; for example, Wye Mun scolds her children for not finishing their food by saying: “There’s a lot of children starving in America.” Small one-liners like this show Chu’s attempt to differentiate his characters from the typical Asian stereotypes of the “nerd” or the “ninja”.
Overall, the film has received a lot of praise. The film grossed over $34 million in the first five days. It has a Rotten Tomato rating of 93 percent, and The Wall Street Journal claimed it was “hugely enjoyable and [a] hooray for Hollywood”.
Despite all its praises , there are critics who believe the film only represents East Asians. Although the lead roles in the film are filled by mostly Chinese, Korean, and Japanese actors, the servants and guards are predominantly South or Southeast Asian.
Others accuse the film of whitewashing. Chu stated that the film is meant to emulate “old, classic, Hollywood movies” and not follow traditional Asian stereotypes. However, some feel the film is trying to distance the characters from traditional Asian culture and seek Hollywood validation by being more “white”, implying that more “white” Asians are better than traditional Asians.
However, defenders argue that one cannot be expected to represent the entire diverse Asian population, and the success of this film can pave the way for films highlighting other ethnic groups. In addition, the Asian representation present in this movie breaks stereotypes, showcases great Asian acting, and makes it more unique.
Overall, this film has largely been a success; it broke down barriers and helped bring Asian culture into the spotlight. As the first modern film with an all-Asian cast in several decades, it lived up to the expectations quite well. Hopefully this will pave way for greater Asian representation in the future.
Article by Moco Student staff writer Ashley Ye of Richard Montgomery High School