Our Fave Asian American Wins from 2018
In a year of a lot of Asian American records, triumphs, and tears (sometimes all three), a few wins stood out for us at Almost Asian Almost American. But these aren’t just one-time achievements; these are people and projects that resonated culturally. They have bright futures ahead of them - and we can’t wait to see more.
Awkwafina
No, not the water company. At age 15, Nora Lum created Awkwafina as an alter ego to help her find the confidence to say things that she as Nora Lum couldn’t say. The rapper/actress was dubbed by The Washington Post as the breakout star and one of the top scene stealers of 2018. During the summer, she made her blockbuster movie debut in Ocean’s 8 (with a baller cast) and the romcom summer hit, Crazy Rich Asians. Awkwafina became the second Asian American woman ever to host SNL (following Lucy Liu) and the first Asian American woman to host SNL in the past 18 years. Still, we can’t ignore the controversy and allegations of cultural appropriation of black culture. We hope Awkwafina learns from the critiques and we expect to see more of her in 2019.
Hasan Minhaj
Building off of his success from Homecoming King (if you haven’t watched it yet, fix yourself), Minhaj signed a contract with Netflix for a 32-episode web series, Patriot Act. Homecoming King was a first for many Asian Americans - especially brown Asian Americans - who saw themselves and their stories reflected in popular stand-up. Now, with Patriot Act, Minhaj has a John Oliver-esque Netflix special. In its first season, he has already made waves on a range of issues from Saudi Arabia and Amazon to clothing brand Supreme.
Mindy Kaling
Let’s be real. Mindy Kaling is on the list for being Mindy effing Kaling. In this past year alone, she’s starred in A Wrinkle in Time and Ocean’s 8. Although her Hulu series The Mindy Project ended in 2017, she wrote, produced, and acted in her show Champions. In addition, Hulu greenlit an adaptation of Four Weddings and a Funeral to be written and produced by Kaling. And oh yeah, she gave birth to baby girl Katherine Kaling this past December. If Mindy Kaling isn’t the real life Superman, no one is.
Senator Tammy Duckworth
Speaking of superheroes, Senator Tammy Duckworth decided to leave the House of Representatives and run for the United States Senate. During the race, while now-Senator Duckworth talked about her family's history of service, Senator Kirk responded, “I had forgotten that your parents came all the way from Thailand to serve George Washington.” Kirk aimed to point out Duckworth’s otherness and received heavy backlash from Duckworth-supporters who noted that Senator Duckworth’s father’s side of the family has served in the US military since the revolution. In 2018, Senator Duckworth became the first US senator to give birth while holding office. She continues to be vocal in her support for veterans, the differently abled, and in her dislike of the current administration.
David Chang
While David Chang has been killin it in the restaurant scene with Momofuku way before 2018, he is on our list because of his newfound Netflix and podcast fame. Ugly Delicious premiered on Netflix in February 2018 and provided subscribers with a binge-worthy Anthony Bourdain-esque food and travel series. For the series, Chang brought in notable guest like Aziz Ansari and Ali Wong. To close out the year, he was featured on another Netflix show, The Mind of a Chef and has found success with his podcast, The David Chang Show. We know we will be seeing more David Chang in 2019 - Ugly Delicious has already been renewed for Season 2.
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (TABILB)
To All the Boys I've Loved Before is a definite win for Asian American representation; not only does it star Vietnamese American actress Lana Condor, it also has the triumph of being one of the most-watched Netflix original films of the year. In an interview with Trevor Noah on The Daily Show, author Jenny Han explained that producers wanted to make the lead a white character; she refused and held out for producers who would stay true to what she envisioned for the character. The film was released on Netflix a few weeks after Crazy Rich Asians and graced us with #AsianAugust (and now we will never be the same). TABILB already has a sequel in the works.
Nicole Ponseca
This is definitely exposing our own bias, but we had to put Nicole Ponseca on the list. Nicole Ponseca is the owner of Jeepney and Maharlika, two Filipino restaurants in New York City. In addition to running her two restaurants, Ponseca released a cookbook, I am Filipino: And This is How We Cook. She is well known for helping put Filipino food on the map and serving true Filipino food. Like many of us, Ponseca once felt ashamed of Filipino cuisine and realized that shame stemmed from a lack of representation of Filipino culture in the media as well as food culture. Her cookbook is an ode to Filipino culture and the cooks that came before us. The New York Times included the cookbook on their list of the best Fall cookbooks of 2018.
Crazy Rich Asians (CRA)
We had high expectations for Crazy Rich Asians - and Jon M. Chu and the CRA cast delivered. We acknowledge that not all Asians were represented in the movie and that the usage of Southeast Asian actors as the mansion guards was done distastefully. CRA was still a win for representation and was felt throughout the United States as Asian Americans filled theaters and ended the movie with tears in their eyes. The movie kicked off #AsianAugst, followed by Searching and To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, and has been influential in opening doors for other Asian American projects. The sequel to the film is in the works. Read our article on Crazy Rich Asians here.
Constance Wu
There is so much to say about Constance Wu because she has had quite a year. Wu starred in Crazy Rich Asians and functionally made the movie amazing as the lead character, Rachel Chu. She originally couldn't accept the role because the time conflicted with Fresh Off the Boat, but after she wrote a letter to director Jon M. Chu, he decided to push the shooting schedule to accommodate her. Speaking of Fresh Off the Boat - many expected the show to be cancelled after last season, but it was renewed and even guest starred Joy Luck Club alum Ming-Na Wen and CRA alum Jimmy O. Yang. Constance Wu was nominated for a Best Lead Actress Golden Globe for her role in CRA; she is the first Asian woman to be nominated in 44 years. We know who we’re rooting for. Well before CRA, Wu has also been a loud advocate for gender equality, as well as representation and diversity of stories in the media.
Kelly Marie Tran
Kelly Marie Tran is us and we are Kelly Marie Tran. In the summer of 2018, Tran shut down her Instagram and all social media accounts as a result of online harassers (aka white men) who were upset that an Asian woman was given a lead role in Star Wars. In August of 2018, she released an empowering statement via The New York Times. It was heavily relatable to all of us as women of color.
“Their words reinforced a narrative I had heard my whole life: that I was 'other,' that I didn’t belong, that I wasn’t good enough, simply because I wasn’t like them. And that feeling, I realize now, was, and is, shame, a shame for the things that made me different, a shame for the culture from which I came from. And to me, the most disappointing thing was that I felt it at all.”
Read the whole statement here. In 2018, Kelly Marie Tran also starred in the TV show Sorry for Your Loss, which premier at the Toronto Film Festival.
Sandra Oh
Without a doubt, Sandra “It's an honor just to be Asian” Oh definitely makes our list of fave Asian American wins of the year. In 2018 alone, she broke multiple records: not only was she the first woman of Asian descent to earn an Emmy nomination for Best Lead Actress in a Drama Series (for her lead role in Killing Eve), but she also was announced to be the first person of Asian descent to host the Golden Globes ever. Oh, who was also nominated for Best TV Drama Actress, received a Golden Globe for her role in Grey’s Anatomy in 2006. If she wins the Golden Globe on January 6, she will become the second woman of Asian descent to win for a leading TV role in over 35 years, and the first Asian performer ever to win multiple Golden Globes. If that’s not inspirational, we don’t know what is.
There are so many that couldn’t fit but deserve an honorable mention: Aneesh Chaganty and John Cho’s Searching, Ali Wong, Aparna Nancherla, Christina Hodson, Priyanka Chopra (is it Jonas now?), Steven Yeun, Chloe Zhao, and Mitski.
Did we include your favorite Asian American wins for 2018 or did we miss any? Let us know!
