Crazy Rich Asians and the Story of the Asian Diaspora
*This article contains a lot of spoilers for Crazy Rich Asians!
In an interview with Jimmy Kimmel on The Late Night Show, Awkwafina explained that there hadn’t been a major motion picture with a predominantly Asian American cast since The Joy Luck Club in 1993:
“If you think about it, that is a 25-year-old adult that is just walking around without representation. And it is so impactful for Asian Americans. Asian Americans come out of the screening and they are crying and they don’t know exactly why and I think it's the power of representation.”
(Source)
I am that generation. After The Joy Luck Club, there was little Asian representation outside of movies fetischizing Asian women (Memoirs of a Geisha) and TV shows demeaning Asian men (Apu from the Simpsons), all through the lens of white men. If there were Asian American characters in films, they were usually small supporting roles or sidekick roles with little to no lines, like Lilly Onakuramara in Pitch Perfect (I had to google her character’s name, she was that silent). As a first generation Filipino American, I have never seen my values or my experience reflected on the silver screen. My family and I aren't rich, I have never been on a private plane or flown first class, and I am not Chinese nor Malay. But I saw a reflection of my experiences and values when I finally watched Crazy Rich Asians.
Weaved into the themes of wealth and family is the experience of the Asian diaspora, which is characterized by a person or a group of people who live away from their ancestral homeland. The main character Rachel Chu, played by Constance Wu, is known as an "ABC" (“American Born Chinese”): while she is culturally Chinese, she grew up in New York, attended American schools, and teaches economics at New York University. She lives in her own apartment instead of with her single mother, who raised her by herself. She is a strong, outspoken, and educated Asian American. Rachel’s character is in itself an example of the diaspora experience.
My family and I aren't rich, I have never been on a private plane or flown first class, and I am not Chinese nor Malay. But I saw a reflection of my experiences and values when I finally watched Crazy Rich Asians.
In one of the first scenes, Rachel’s mother cautions Rachel about meeting her boyfriend (Nick)'s Chinese-Singaporean family and making a good impression. Rachel questions why they wouldn’t like her; after all, they're all Chinese. She emphasizes that she speaks the language, practices the culture, and is even lactose intolerant. However, Rachel’s mother stops her and gently cradles her face, explaining that while Rachel may look Chinese and speak Chinese, “Here-” pointing to her heart “-and here-” pointing to her brain “-you are different.”
As a member of the Filipino diaspora, this is one of the most memorable parts of the movie for me, and it felt like a punch to the gut.
Rachel (Constance Wu) and her mother shopping for a dress to wear to meet her boyfriend’s Chinese-Singaporean family. Photo: Warner Bros.
Once Nick and Rachel are in Singapore, Nick introduces Rachel to his mother, and Rachel proudly states that she followed her passion and became an economics professor. Later, Nick tells his mother that he thought she would be happy that the first girlfriend he introduced her to was a Chinese economics professor. But Eleanor, played by the legendary Michelle Yeoh, deliberately emphasizes that Rachel is a Chinese American. In another scene where the family is making dumplings, Eleanor explains that unlike in American culture, it was an honor for her to make sacrifices and serve her family. She makes it clear that while it may seem impressive for Rachel to be an economics professor at a prestigious university, to Eleanor it is a sign that Rachel is unworthy to be a member of the Young family and unable to raise a family with Nick the “right” way. Eleanor labels Rachel’s pursuit of passion as an American characteristic; in contrast, Eleanor chose her family over her passion. In the following scene, when they are alone, Eleanor gently cradles Rachel's face and says, “You will never be enough.”
Another subtle but strong punch to the gut.
Eleanor telling Rachel that she will never be enough. Photo: Warner Bros.
The question of whether Rachel is Chinese enough is constantly brought up. In the mahjong scene near the end of the movie, Rachel asks why Eleanor believes that she is not good enough for Nick. Eleanor responds by referring to kaki lang, a phrase that means “our own kind”; she calls Rachel a foreigner and explains that Americans only think of their own happiness and do not know how to build things that last.
First generation Americans are also known as the in-between generation. As the children of immigrants, we are raised in our ethnic cultures, but must live and work in American culture. Both sides conflict, and neither are fully satisfied. I eat and cook Filipino food, speak tagalog, shop at Filipino grocery stores, and take my shoes off when I enter a house - I grew up Filipino. But the moment I open my mouth in the Philippines, people know that I am a foreigner. In the United States, I went to American schools, speak perfect English, and eat hamburgers as much as anyone else, but I still get the occasional “ching chong chang” or “go back to your country” yelled at me on the street. I am not native to my ancestral homeland, yet also foreign in the country where I grew up - almost Asian, almost American.
Crazy Rich Asians director Jon Chu (left) and cast in a photo for the New York Times
I am not native to my ancestral homeland, yet also foreign in the country where I grew up - almost Asian, almost American.
As the Crazy Rich Asians cast hit the interview circuit to promote the movie, I see myself not just in the film’s characters but also in the actors and actresses themselves. Most of the cast members grew up away from their homeland. Like me, they are a part of the in-between generation. Onscreen representation matters - not just in the stories of the films, but also in the experiences of the actors and actresses that play the characters. I see myself in Constance Wu, when Ellen asked her where she was from, she simply answered, “Richmond, Virginia”, and the audience laughed. I see myself in the director Jon Chu, who said that he saw himself in the character Rufio (who maybe had five lines) from Hook. And I see myself in Awkwafina (but I am a substantially less cool person) who in an interview with Variety said, “When you don’t have representation growing up, you don’t know how to materialize your dreams. You don’t even know it’s possible.”
Crazy Rich Asians tells a story about a first generation Asian American who is confronted with the age-old question of "Are you Asian enough?", and it's a question that members of any diaspora are all too familiar with.
* We know that Crazy Rich Asians does not represent all Asians nor do all Asian cultures or Asian diasporas share the same values. This article is about how I view my values as a member of the Asian diaspora and as a Filipino American.
