crazy rich asian Last summer, it made waves as the first Hollywood film to feature an all-Asian cast in 25 years. Around the world, Asians look up to the big screen and find themselves not the stereotypical Asian math geeks or boxers commonly seen in American movie scripts, but real three-dimensional human beings. with a bold personality.
crazy rich asian However, this is not the only film to focus on Asian culture and Asian Americans. With an all-Asian cast and Asian cultural centrality in the plot, it’s becoming the center of attention for good reason. However, there are other films that put Asians first and foremost, especially in the past few years, and as Hollywood continues to grow and change, this list will hopefully continue to grow.
Updated by Mark Birrell on December 25, 2020: While Crazy Rich Asians may have reminded many fans of the severe lack of Asian representation in mainstream North American filmmaking, the filmmakers Asian-American filmmakers have had many successes for movie fans to discover. Building on this, we’ve added more great examples from Asian writers, directors, actors and producers for Crazy Rich Asians fans to enjoy.
Contents
searching
Finding is a horror film about a father’s search for his missing daughter. Although this is a crazy rich asian (You can get as much as a romantic comedy.) It has an equally important message about minority representation. Throughout history, the casting of minorities in films has often required good reason. When one of these characters doesn’t meet typical Hollywood standards, there must be a reason. for it. However, if the plot focuses on an average American family living in California, then a white actor will almost always play the lead role. searching overturns that standard, telling the story of a typical San Jose family who happens to be Korean-American. As director Aneesh Chaganty said in an interview type“You don’t have to protect anyone’s skin color in thrillers, action movies, suspense movies. Let the story speak for itself and hope the people in it reflect everyone who lives in this country. .”
If that’s still not enough for you, the whole story is told on screen. This may seem odd (maybe a little too close to real life), but that’s the point. When learning about the lives of the main characters through interaction with technology, it’s hard not to reflect on the extent to which we live our own lives. my own Directly through the screen.
endless
Never Forever explores the cross-cultural romance between a white American woman and her Korean-American husband. When the couple can’t conceive, the protagonist seeks the help of a handsome Korean immigrant behind her husband’s back… and she pays him to donate her sperm in a way. as frank as possible, if you know what we mean. Needless to say, such an arrangement cannot be without feelings forever, and things get complicated when two “business partners” begin to develop feelings for each other.
Romantic and poignant, the film seamlessly integrates the Korean culture of two men who love each other into the story without focusing too much on it, creating two complex characters who are both handsome and charming. no need to try to break out of the stereotype of Asian asexual in Hollywood movies.
farewell
Following in the footsteps of a Chinese family who decided not to tell their elderly wife that she was dying, farewell It is one of the most critically acclaimed films of the year, with a 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
And if that’s still not enough to draw you to theaters, Awkwafina will be the sole female lead, bringing her usual charisma to a film that balances humor with poignancy while delivering frankness about exploring the immigrant experience.
always my ability
always my ability It tells the story of two childhood friends reunited after fifteen years apart. Like many of the other movies on this list, this is one that represents the important minority precisely because it doesn’t focus on it. Although the film features an all-Asian main cast, which includes Keanu Reeves playing an exaggerated version of himself, which has helped cement his status as an Internet boyfriend this summer, always my ability Let’s take the love story between the two main characters as the focus instead of the actor race. It’s about two people who happen to be Asian.
Equally important is that the film rejects important stereotypes regarding the Asian community. Oftentimes, Asian Americans are seen as the highly successful “model minority,” but this stereotype hurts for a number of reasons. Asians have the highest income inequality of any ethnic group in the United States, a fact that generalizations about “privilege” in the Asian community deny. Perpetuating the idea of an Asian model minority also views the Asian community as an enviable outsider, leading to distrust and discrimination against them.exist always my ability, instead of pursuing a higher education, Marcus King focused on taking care of his father and building his musical group. Sasha Tran succeeds not as a doctor, scientist or engineer but as a chef. These storylines explore broader ideas about what it means to be Asian-American.
Chen is missing
An important stepping stone to greater recognition of Asian-American films in the film industry, Chen is missing is a humorous and uniquely stylish detective story about two Asian-Americans trying to track down the puppet Chen after he took their savings and disappeared.
Released in 1982, it was an early milestone for Asian-American filmmakers, and 13 years later it was selected for preservation by the Library of Congress and listed in the United States Agency. National Film Registry.
guk
Written and directed by Justin Chon, the 2017 film about two Korean-American brothers and their friendship with an 11-year-old girl, set in 1992 by Rodney amid the chaos of the riots. LA due to the King’s brutal case.
The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival to critical acclaim, scoring an impressive 94% on review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes.
face
More suitable for the romantic comedy genre crazy rich asian play very successfully face The film is about an Asian-American woman who tries to downplay her romantic life as a lesbian and the fragile relationship between her when her traditional mother (played by Chen Chong) shoulder) moved in with her.
Released in 2004 based on the personal experience of writer-director Alice Wu, the film achieved modest box office success and launched Wu’s long career in feature films, feature films, and feature films. her latest, halfcoming to Netflix in 2020.
double happiness
Written and directed by Minna Shen, the Canadian film stars Sandra Oh as a woman struggling to live up to the expectations of a traditional Chinese family, especially when it comes to life. love, an area of her life where she is attracted to a woman. combination. White men, not the Chinese men her family arranged for her.
The film was extremely popular and was nominated for 7 Genie Awards, winning 2 (Best Editing and Best Actress).
Lucky Joy Club
movie 1993 this Lucky Joy Club was the first Hollywood film to feature an all-Asian cast, and after two and a half years, it’s one of the few to focus on the Asian-American experience.
A candid account of the relationship between four Chinese immigrant mothers and their Asian-American daughters, Lucky Joy Club It was groundbreaking, allowing Asian Americans to see themselves on screen for the first time as three-dimensional characters rather than stereotypes.
Harold and Kumar arrive at the White Castle
Correct, Harold and Kumar arrive at the White Castle is a movie about two drug addicts riding a leopard, confronting a raccoon, and driving with an amnesiac version of Neil Patrick Harris. But there’s actually an important message written in the film’s subtext (and it’s not “Do whatever you need to do to get that white castle burger”).
Both the main actors are Asian and they broke many of the stereotypes often associated with Asian men. Harold and Kumar are not asexual geeks, but passionate addicts who won’t stop at fast food. It’s a movie about two Asian men, but their race isn’t the main point of the plot. Instead, their adventures with college parties, hang gliders, and impromptu surgery take center stage.
good luck tomorrow
tells the story of a particular group of Asian-American teenagers who get bored and become criminals, good luck tomorrow Explore youth culture and stay relevant in general while breaking stereotypes and addressing specific cultural themes.
Launched in 2003, Good luck tomorrow Voted one of the best films of the year by film critic Roger Ebert, who praised the film as a story in which “The race isn’t the point, it’s just a given.”
To all the boys I’ve loved
high school is hard enough All those secret love letters you’ve written to your partner over the years are mysteriously sent by post. But that’s exactly what happened to Lara Jean Song-Covey, star of Netflix’s teen melodrama. To all the boys I’ve ever loved. While Laura Jane’s Korean-American identity is one aspect of the story, her race is not the main plot point of the film. Instead, the story focuses on her love life and the drama she faces after her true love declaration goes public.
This is important because minority actors are often limited to roles that make their race a dominant part of the story. There is value in exploring the experiences of minorities, but people of all backgrounds have to deal with adolescent pain, anger, and high school drama. Racial restrictions on actors in teen romance (and any other genre) would negate the universality of the human experience. Sweet, funny, and one of the few movies starring an Asian-American woman, To all the boys I’ve loved An important step in the right direction for Hollywood.