"Crazy Rich Asians" & "Minari" Review
Written By: Milla Nguyen & Maryssa Orta
"Crazy Rich Asians"
Written By: Milla Nguyen
The film "Crazy Rich Asians" was directed by Jon M. Chu and was based on the novel of the same name, written by Kevin Kwan. As an overview, the 32. story follows Rachel Chu (played by Constance Wu) an Asian American in her late 20s who is an NYU professor living in New York City. The second protagonist is Nick Young (played by Henry Golding) who lives his life as Rachel's boyfriend (posing himself as middle-class and from a humble upbringing). That is until Rachel and Nick are invited to Colin Khoo's wedding in Singapore where Rachel discovers that her boyfriend is the son of Singapore's richest family as he is set to inherit his family's business empire. Rachel is thrown into this world of elitist, richclass Asians. Along the way, the audience meets Astrid Leong (Gemma Chan), Peik Lin (Awkwafina), Mr. Goh (Ken Jeong), Colin Khoo (Chris Pang), Eleanor Young (Michelle Yeoh), and more. Suddenly, Rachel finds herself in the midst of Singapore's social caste, expensive weddings, and wealthy parties. This lifestyle is contrasted to her life as a daughter of a single immigrant mother who had endured domestic violence. Obstacles that Rachel encounter include family gossip, ostracization, and social. sabotage.
Furthermore, I will discuss the similarities and differences in relation my life as an Asian American. First off, I may be biased but I can definitely agree that "Crazy Rich Asians" blew my expectations away. Before seeing it in the theater, I had my skeptics. I believed that the portrayal of the Asian community would circle back to the stereotype of the foolish, nerdy, parent-pleasing characters that have been present in mainstream media all the time. Surely, I was pleasantly surprised and therefore this film had become one of my favorites.
Asian Vs. Asian-American
One similarity that I noticed in Scene 1 was when we're introduced to the lifestyle of Rachel Chu and Nick Young. I can relate in the sense that I live a "average" life as a student with a routine. The course of which this is thrown off by Nick asking Rachel to meet his family for the first time in Singapore without telling her about his actual background. As Rachel and Nick are conversing in a New York café, two radio hosts who are wearing fur coats and clutching designer hand bags, alert all of Singapore's most public figures of Nick's secret relationship in the US. Word breaks out to Nick's mother, a character portrayed as a cold and strict Asian woman; people begin to speculate if Rachel is Nick's special lover. Fast forwarding into the later scenes, there is an open dialogue and theme of the idea of family. Eleanor Young (Nick's mother) (played by Michelle Yeoh) rests her hand on Rachel's chin, telling her that Asian families tend to understand the meaning of sacrifice while American people do not.
In my experience, my family has never made this distinction between Asians and Asian Americans, however, the idea of familial sacrifice has is surely present in my life. My own parents, being Vietnamese immigrants had come to the United States during the war in order to raise my sister and I with a better life: speaking English, going to American school, etc. The idea that an individual sometimes must sacrifice specific ambitions in order to fulfill for their children was not only a common theme in the story but through many Asian Immigrant families.
Love, Family, and Other Things
Speaking of family values, Eleanor Young (Nick's mother) discusses her squabble with Ah Ma, her husband's mother and Nick's grandmother. Eleanor begins to tell Rachel about how Ah Ma is the head of the family, and her decisions reign supreme over everyone else's. Within my family, my grandmother on my mom's side takes a similar role in that she has important say in all family matters. Rachel, Peik Lin (Rachel's best friend/ college roommate), and Nick attend Ah Ma's "Tan Hua" party. One character describes that the Youngs of Singapore throw parties for anything because they have the luxury to-- even in this case, to view the Tan Hua (flowers) to bloom. Though, I can confirm I have never been to a flower blooming party before but I can also say that my grandmother keeps a Tan Hua flower tree in her home. In Vietnam, flowers like Tan Huas and Hoa Sens (Lotus flowers) represent beauty and good health. As the film begins to unravel, Rachel and Nick attend Colin and Araminta's wedding (equivalent to the Met Gala here), Rachel continues to face isolation from the wealthy class. The transitions starts to unfold during the midpoint where Nick's mother is extremely adamant to the idea of her son marrying someone who isn't to par with her family. The main conflict is trying to earn Eleanor Young's approval though it proves difficult. Rachel is faced with the guilt that Nick's family looks down on her and her mother, which causes a rift in their relationship. This leads me to discuss the social workings of dating norms and "rules" that Asian families may have (but I will not generalize all Asian families). Every family differs, including mine, but some people can find that some Asian parents will tend to be guarded and protective of their children in that they believe no can truly deserve them. A part of Eleanor Young's development is that she must move past this and accept that Nick's happiness is more important due to the idea of love. So, after convincing, Eleanor Young gives the final green light for her son to propose to Rachel. And when the pair do reconciliate, they become engaged. The film ends on a happy note.
Stereotypes and Growing Up With Them
Getting into the major meat of my opinion, I find that I have come to appreciate Hollywood's progressiveness in moving past stereotypes of colored people. As per example, the portrayal that Latinx people are viewed as cartel chauffeurs or that Black people must act gangster-like. Audiences must see past this and recognize that while media is a strong influencer, it is not final confirmation that an entire community is a monolith. In this case, not all Asians look the same or speak the same language. Not all Asian parents act the same. In this case, the idea that Asian people for the first time in 25 years in film can be portrayed as elite socialite deities is incredible. They are not their Caucasian counterparts. For example in the film, the characters' personalities vary. As Nick Young describes his family members to Rachel, he speaks of them highly. He mentions that Astrid Leong, his closest cousin, is a fashion icon, the op-of-her-class at Oxford, and is her own reincarnation of Audrey Hepburn. His cousin, Eddie Cheng owns a finance empire in Hong Kong. His other cousin, Alistair Cheng, is one of the biggest Shanghai-based film directors. And moreover, he describes his mother, father, and their arsenal of rich friends as they are described as "Singapore's royalty".
According to Google, the film grossed: "Crazy Rich Asians" grossed $174.5 million in the United States and Canada, and $64 million elsewhere, for a worldwide gross of $239 million, against a production budget of $30 million. In October 2018, it became the highest grossing romantic comedy of the last 10 years, and the 6th-highest-grossing ever." (Wikipedia & Google). After the premiere, students at school around me had spoken about how much they loved it or how mainstream it became on social media. The fact that the writers, directors, musicians, crew, and cast were of Asian descent continued to propel the idea that the Asian community/ Asian countries have their own slew of creatives, makers, and intelligent socialites. Ultimately, this film undermined the entire stereotype that the Asian community's portrayal is meant to stick as nerdy, anti-social, and not capable of gaining a love interest/ agency. The film felt refreshing and made me excited for more similar to it.
"Minari"
Written By: Maryssa Orta
"Minari", a movie directed by Lee Isaac Chung, released last year, tells the story about a family that moves to Arkansas to live the American dream. Of course, along the way the family experiences hardships that prevent them from achieving the “American Dream.” Many Asian immigrants come to America in hopes of finding this “American Dream.” Though it’s very unlikely to happen. Asian immigrants can face hardships due to their race, culture shock, and financial failures. This is something that is really common and can keep families in a cycle of poverty. In the movie, "Minari", Jacob (played by Steven Yeun) has the dream of growing a successful farm with his family. His family faces these financial hardships and culture shock as the movie plays on. This movie gives its audience a great insight into the life of Korean immigrants and the hardships they may face.
This movie is important as it shows just that. There is no definite plot of this movie, but it does a great job at highlighting the Korean immigrant experience in Arkansas, which is a topic that has not been explored much in films. However, the movie’s main message is that no matter what obstacles the family may go through, they always have each other. This is also important to show a Korean American family who sticks together through thick and thin as it opposes the usual stereotypes shown in films such as strict Asian parents or overly-ambitious/ studious children. The family, despite the ups and downs, cget through dire situations (ex: Exhaustion, poverty, failure, sacrifice, and life/death). "Minari", is an important movie that highlights the Korean American immigrant experience in the south. It’s important to show Asian immigrants in unique positions and to show them as people with genuine goals and emotions. Representation allows for people to tell their stories, for others to relate and find comfort or solace in, and to allow others not a part of a group of people to understand experiences they will never go through and develop empathy for.
Written By: Milla Nguyen & Maryssa Orta
"Crazy Rich Asians"
Written By: Milla Nguyen
The film "Crazy Rich Asians" was directed by Jon M. Chu and was based on the novel of the same name, written by Kevin Kwan. As an overview, the 32. story follows Rachel Chu (played by Constance Wu) an Asian American in her late 20s who is an NYU professor living in New York City. The second protagonist is Nick Young (played by Henry Golding) who lives his life as Rachel's boyfriend (posing himself as middle-class and from a humble upbringing). That is until Rachel and Nick are invited to Colin Khoo's wedding in Singapore where Rachel discovers that her boyfriend is the son of Singapore's richest family as he is set to inherit his family's business empire. Rachel is thrown into this world of elitist, richclass Asians. Along the way, the audience meets Astrid Leong (Gemma Chan), Peik Lin (Awkwafina), Mr. Goh (Ken Jeong), Colin Khoo (Chris Pang), Eleanor Young (Michelle Yeoh), and more. Suddenly, Rachel finds herself in the midst of Singapore's social caste, expensive weddings, and wealthy parties. This lifestyle is contrasted to her life as a daughter of a single immigrant mother who had endured domestic violence. Obstacles that Rachel encounter include family gossip, ostracization, and social. sabotage.
Furthermore, I will discuss the similarities and differences in relation my life as an Asian American. First off, I may be biased but I can definitely agree that "Crazy Rich Asians" blew my expectations away. Before seeing it in the theater, I had my skeptics. I believed that the portrayal of the Asian community would circle back to the stereotype of the foolish, nerdy, parent-pleasing characters that have been present in mainstream media all the time. Surely, I was pleasantly surprised and therefore this film had become one of my favorites.
Asian Vs. Asian-American
One similarity that I noticed in Scene 1 was when we're introduced to the lifestyle of Rachel Chu and Nick Young. I can relate in the sense that I live a "average" life as a student with a routine. The course of which this is thrown off by Nick asking Rachel to meet his family for the first time in Singapore without telling her about his actual background. As Rachel and Nick are conversing in a New York café, two radio hosts who are wearing fur coats and clutching designer hand bags, alert all of Singapore's most public figures of Nick's secret relationship in the US. Word breaks out to Nick's mother, a character portrayed as a cold and strict Asian woman; people begin to speculate if Rachel is Nick's special lover. Fast forwarding into the later scenes, there is an open dialogue and theme of the idea of family. Eleanor Young (Nick's mother) (played by Michelle Yeoh) rests her hand on Rachel's chin, telling her that Asian families tend to understand the meaning of sacrifice while American people do not.
In my experience, my family has never made this distinction between Asians and Asian Americans, however, the idea of familial sacrifice has is surely present in my life. My own parents, being Vietnamese immigrants had come to the United States during the war in order to raise my sister and I with a better life: speaking English, going to American school, etc. The idea that an individual sometimes must sacrifice specific ambitions in order to fulfill for their children was not only a common theme in the story but through many Asian Immigrant families.
Love, Family, and Other Things
Speaking of family values, Eleanor Young (Nick's mother) discusses her squabble with Ah Ma, her husband's mother and Nick's grandmother. Eleanor begins to tell Rachel about how Ah Ma is the head of the family, and her decisions reign supreme over everyone else's. Within my family, my grandmother on my mom's side takes a similar role in that she has important say in all family matters. Rachel, Peik Lin (Rachel's best friend/ college roommate), and Nick attend Ah Ma's "Tan Hua" party. One character describes that the Youngs of Singapore throw parties for anything because they have the luxury to-- even in this case, to view the Tan Hua (flowers) to bloom. Though, I can confirm I have never been to a flower blooming party before but I can also say that my grandmother keeps a Tan Hua flower tree in her home. In Vietnam, flowers like Tan Huas and Hoa Sens (Lotus flowers) represent beauty and good health. As the film begins to unravel, Rachel and Nick attend Colin and Araminta's wedding (equivalent to the Met Gala here), Rachel continues to face isolation from the wealthy class. The transitions starts to unfold during the midpoint where Nick's mother is extremely adamant to the idea of her son marrying someone who isn't to par with her family. The main conflict is trying to earn Eleanor Young's approval though it proves difficult. Rachel is faced with the guilt that Nick's family looks down on her and her mother, which causes a rift in their relationship. This leads me to discuss the social workings of dating norms and "rules" that Asian families may have (but I will not generalize all Asian families). Every family differs, including mine, but some people can find that some Asian parents will tend to be guarded and protective of their children in that they believe no can truly deserve them. A part of Eleanor Young's development is that she must move past this and accept that Nick's happiness is more important due to the idea of love. So, after convincing, Eleanor Young gives the final green light for her son to propose to Rachel. And when the pair do reconciliate, they become engaged. The film ends on a happy note.
Stereotypes and Growing Up With Them
Getting into the major meat of my opinion, I find that I have come to appreciate Hollywood's progressiveness in moving past stereotypes of colored people. As per example, the portrayal that Latinx people are viewed as cartel chauffeurs or that Black people must act gangster-like. Audiences must see past this and recognize that while media is a strong influencer, it is not final confirmation that an entire community is a monolith. In this case, not all Asians look the same or speak the same language. Not all Asian parents act the same. In this case, the idea that Asian people for the first time in 25 years in film can be portrayed as elite socialite deities is incredible. They are not their Caucasian counterparts. For example in the film, the characters' personalities vary. As Nick Young describes his family members to Rachel, he speaks of them highly. He mentions that Astrid Leong, his closest cousin, is a fashion icon, the op-of-her-class at Oxford, and is her own reincarnation of Audrey Hepburn. His cousin, Eddie Cheng owns a finance empire in Hong Kong. His other cousin, Alistair Cheng, is one of the biggest Shanghai-based film directors. And moreover, he describes his mother, father, and their arsenal of rich friends as they are described as "Singapore's royalty".
According to Google, the film grossed: "Crazy Rich Asians" grossed $174.5 million in the United States and Canada, and $64 million elsewhere, for a worldwide gross of $239 million, against a production budget of $30 million. In October 2018, it became the highest grossing romantic comedy of the last 10 years, and the 6th-highest-grossing ever." (Wikipedia & Google). After the premiere, students at school around me had spoken about how much they loved it or how mainstream it became on social media. The fact that the writers, directors, musicians, crew, and cast were of Asian descent continued to propel the idea that the Asian community/ Asian countries have their own slew of creatives, makers, and intelligent socialites. Ultimately, this film undermined the entire stereotype that the Asian community's portrayal is meant to stick as nerdy, anti-social, and not capable of gaining a love interest/ agency. The film felt refreshing and made me excited for more similar to it.
"Minari"
Written By: Maryssa Orta
"Minari", a movie directed by Lee Isaac Chung, released last year, tells the story about a family that moves to Arkansas to live the American dream. Of course, along the way the family experiences hardships that prevent them from achieving the “American Dream.” Many Asian immigrants come to America in hopes of finding this “American Dream.” Though it’s very unlikely to happen. Asian immigrants can face hardships due to their race, culture shock, and financial failures. This is something that is really common and can keep families in a cycle of poverty. In the movie, "Minari", Jacob (played by Steven Yeun) has the dream of growing a successful farm with his family. His family faces these financial hardships and culture shock as the movie plays on. This movie gives its audience a great insight into the life of Korean immigrants and the hardships they may face.
This movie is important as it shows just that. There is no definite plot of this movie, but it does a great job at highlighting the Korean immigrant experience in Arkansas, which is a topic that has not been explored much in films. However, the movie’s main message is that no matter what obstacles the family may go through, they always have each other. This is also important to show a Korean American family who sticks together through thick and thin as it opposes the usual stereotypes shown in films such as strict Asian parents or overly-ambitious/ studious children. The family, despite the ups and downs, cget through dire situations (ex: Exhaustion, poverty, failure, sacrifice, and life/death). "Minari", is an important movie that highlights the Korean American immigrant experience in the south. It’s important to show Asian immigrants in unique positions and to show them as people with genuine goals and emotions. Representation allows for people to tell their stories, for others to relate and find comfort or solace in, and to allow others not a part of a group of people to understand experiences they will never go through and develop empathy for.