“Marriage was purely a matter of timing, and whenever a man was finally done sowing his wild oats and ready to settle down, whichever girl happened to be there at the time would be the right one.”
-Kevin Kwan, Crazy Rich Asians
As August draws to a close, which of the hot action movies and superhero summer Hollywood movies will stand out at the end and give a perfect end to this blazingly hot summer?
The answer is neither "Reunion" nor "Mission Impossible", but an all-Asian Cass romantic comedy that has high hopes for Chinese Americans - " Crazy Rich Asians " ( Hong Kong translation). : My super rich boyfriend / Taiwan translation: Crazy Asian Rich).
Without the faces of well-known Hollywood stars or eye-catching special effects, this romantic comedy has achieved the best result of its kind in six years in an environment where the living conditions of literary films have become increasingly difficult: the first A weekly box office winner, 93% positive on Rotten Tomatoes, and even celebrities in the American entertainment industry are recommending the film on their respective Twitters.
Adapted from the novel of the same name by Singaporean-Chinese writer Kevin Kwan, "Crazy Rich Asians" tells an enduring "Cinderella" fairy tale, in which there are even traces of Jane Austen-esque love stories: Chinese Economics professor Rachel Chu (Constance Wu) follows her boyfriend Nick Young (Henry Golding), also a professor at New York University, back to Singapore for his best friend's wedding. The first layer of identity turned out to be the heir of a wealthy real estate family.
Nick wants to take this opportunity to introduce Rachel to his family, but his strong mother Eleanor Young (Michelle Yeoh) doesn't like Rachel's "banana" status as a second-generation immigrant. Without knowing it, Rachel ventured into the old money circle that was once very far away from her, and her love with the Asian version of "Prince Harry" was also hindered.
This is the second Hollywood film to be composed entirely of Asians from director to cast since The Joy Luck Club in 1993 . The original author, Kevin Kwan, was born in a wealthy family in Singapore, and the book describes the life and environment he experienced; director Jon M. Chu grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, and his father was a famous local Chinese chef. Actress Constance Wu, a second-generation immigrant from Taiwan, was well-received for her performance in "Crazy Rich Asians" and was called "the most charismatic" Asian actor; while the male star Henry Golding A Malaysian of British origin, he hosts an outdoor travel show on the BBC. Another important actor in Cass is Michelle Yeoh, who has successfully created the image of a noble and dignified Chinese mother; and the Chinese-Korean mixed-race rapper, actress and Internet celebrity who has studied Mandarin at Beijing Language and Culture University - Oka Awkwafina.
The release of "Crazy Rich Asians" has become a carnival for the Asian ethnic group in North America, especially the Chinese. In the past, Asian audiences who accounted for less than 10% of the audience in the first week of the movie surged to 38%, and the vast majority of them were women. Many people invited friends and companions to watch the show, expressing their demands with actions, hoping that Hollywood can sweep away the stereotypes attached to Asians and give movie characters richer and more diverse depictions.
For a long time, the image of true Asian Americans has been severely absent from Hollywood films, from the controversial "whitewash" (i.e., white actors playing other races), to the fringe stereotypes, cookie-cutter characterization ("soy sauce" single characters), Asian audiences cannot empathize with the portrayal in the film.
The emergence of "Crazy Rich Asians" broke the stereotype under the table. It created Asian characters with unique personalities and rich levels that were different from the past, such as Rachel, who was financially independent, confident and kind. Nick, who is popular with women and has a sexy body, and Eleanor, who is elegant and decisive. These plump characters are more or less with the shadow of friends, family members or colleagues in real life, which makes people feel good. The audience can feel the heroine's mental journey under the collision of different cultures and classes, laugh and cry together with her, be moved by sincere emotions, and resonate with her - this is exactly what a successful romantic film should have. . At the same time, because the story background of the movie is set in Singapore, which has an "exotic atmosphere", the freshness brought by various gorgeous scenes and the grand wedding of the wealthy family also satisfied the audience's curiosity.
In addition, "Crazy Rich Asians" also conveys the helplessness of the second generation of Asian immigrants to their own identity, and the resulting conflict with the first generation of immigrants from their parents. These second-generation immigrants who have been assimilated by the United States are seen by their white peers as Asians with different skin colors and backgrounds, but in the traditional culture of their parents, they have become unfamiliar foreigners. Just like Nick's mother Eleanor's scrutiny and disapproval of Rachel, she thinks she is like an "unrefined banana" (a vulgar banana, yellow on the outside, white on the inside), some unfriendly rich friends even call her "" "a gold digger", these discriminatory labels are all heavy burdens on immigrants.
The last film to explore Asian immigrant identity and the generation gap was The Joy Luck Club 25 years ago, based on the novel of the same name by author Amy Tan. The film, which was well-received in the industry, was resisted by the Asian community because its one-sided portrayal of characters became the representative of the Asian screen image for the next 25 years.
"The Joy Luck Club" describes the complex emotions and conflicts between four Chinese-American mother and daughter living in San Francisco. Four traumatized mothers travel across the ocean to start a new life in North America, but they can't escape the nightmare of the past. Mothers put too much love and expectations on their daughters, and daughters who can't bear it use rebellious ways to declare their independence.
While the film succeeds in revealing the complex and deep emotions between mother and daughter, its portrayal of the chaotic environment in China during the Civil War seems to reveal the scars in the hearts of early immigrants—child brides-in-law, wicked mother-in-law, three wives and four concubines... In the film The status of women is extremely low, while the roles of men are, without exception, very negative and irresponsible. As the first film with an all-Asian cast, it slapped the Asian audience in the face like a slap in the face, making first-generation immigrants feel ashamed.
Although Amy Tan's novels are widely loved by mainstream North American society, critical writers and scholars believe that the detailed description of traditional Chinese culture in the book does not fully correspond to the facts, and her portrayal of Chinese characters caters to the prejudice of white people , contributing to their stereotypes about Asian ethnic groups.
If the publishing and film and television industries in North America have various works depicting Asians from different angles, then the slightly one-sided interpretation of directors Amy Tan and Wayne Wang may not cause strong resistance in the Chinese community. But it is precisely because of the absence of Asian Americans in the mainstream media that "The Joy Luck Club" has become a window for white audiences to understand Chinese Americans, and this film failed to take up this responsibility well.
So, until 25 years later, Hollywood finally waited for the second all-Asian team and Asian-themed movie-"Crazy Rich Asians".
"Crazy Rich Asians" subverts the Asian image and character aesthetics in Hollywood movies: the heroine Rachel has a successful career (no longer attached to men), and the hero is as attractive as "Prince Charming" The presence of power (no longer white as an aesthetic standard). The film uses the theme of "love" to resonate with all audiences, making the collision between different cultures, as well as the conflicts between families and individuals, vivid and interesting. Both white and Asian audiences can resonate and feel happy.
Of course, the movie isn't perfect, and it still falls into Hollywood clichés. However, the success of the box office and the positive response of the Asian community have made the film industry see more possibilities. Movies without white protagonists can also sell well, and Hollywood can have more diverse themes.
"Crazy Rich Asians" lived up to its expectations, proving that Hollywood doesn't have to wait another 25 years to start creating its next movie starring an Asian American. And "The Joy Luck Club", as a difficult "first time", should also come to the time when it can be forgiven by the Asian ethnic group.
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