The Complicated Discussion Surrounding Crazy Rich Asians

In this video, I dive into the discussion around Crazy Rich Asians and its role in Asian representation. While it was initially widely praised for its all-Asian cast, it seems like there’s been a souring sentiment regarding the film and what it could’ve been. I try to break down why that is, while also exploring the themes that made people gravitate to the movie in the first place.

0:00 Intro
2:11 #StarringAsians (Representation)
7:47 Across Borders (Cultural Divide)
15:33 Never Enough (Generational Trauma)
21:24 Final thoughts

Sources mentioned:
Aaron Sorkin, reportedly unaware of Hollywood's diversity problem, had many chances to become aware | Chicago Tribune

Simu Liu on Playing Marvel's First Asian Superhero Shang-Chi | Men’s Health

Money (That's What We Want): 'Crazy Rich Asians,' 'Black Panther,' and the Difficulties of Hollywood Representation | The Ringer

One Way That Crazy Rich Asians Is a Step Backward | The Atlantic

Crazy Rich Asians is no racial triumph. It's a soulless salute to the 1% | The Guardian

For Some Viewers, 'Crazy Rich Asians' Is Not Asian Enough | The New York Times

[vikctoryan]

My biggest problem with the movie was Nick. He did not prepare Rachel for anything. He just tossed her into a sea full of sharks and left her to sink or swim. He told her nothing about the world he was from. He didn't tell her about his ex. Despite knowing her financial background she didn't even make sure that she had a dress or transportation for the wedding. Like he knew what his world was like and he completely neglected Rachel. If Rachel didn't have Aquafina's character to help, she would have been even more doomed. And what if Aquafina's character was poor and couldn't afford to help Rachel? Nick claims he loved Rachel but he really set her up to fail.

[henrymqk]

Eleanor was the most complex character in this movie, I feel. When she said to Rachel "You'll never be good enough", I felt that it wasn't so much that she was stating a fact - she was giving her a warning. That this family is cruel to outsiders and she'll likely feel resentful down the line, and much of the bitterness that Eleanor seems to radiate towards Rachel, she was projecting her own resentment for having given up so much for a family that still doesn't truly accept her.

[miriam]

As my first-generation Chinese-American husband said after being thoroughly unimpressed by the movie, “you’ll know you have good representation when you’re not expected to love and defend a movie just because the people in it look like you. No one expects a movie to capture what it’s like to be white.” Say what you want about CRA, there’s no way to meet expectations when one film has to speak for millions of people.

[reflectsonlife]

What's so unique is this movie is about an Asian American VS Asian Asians in Asia, and the cultural conflicts and expectations that ensue. Think about it - it's not even a story told by Asian film industries.

[Cowboy_Carter]

So crazy how when there’s an all white cast for a movie or show, it’s deemed “normal” but when it’s an all black, brown, or tan cast it’s “a statement” or “politically correct”. I’m pretty sure the intentions of the creator of CRA was to just make a normal ass movie with an all Asian cast and people took it to the extreme. Lol. Good video though. Loved you guys’ perspective.

[jemimajanvier]

The only problem that I had with the movie was Nick's failure to defend his girlfriend. I honestly thought he was a really crappy boyfriend who's only attribute was to charm and please.

[syasol]

i think it's a shame that the discourse over henry golding always brushes over his iban heritage and how engaged he actually is in his iban heritage, even completing the iban rite of passage in his 20s (he shot a documentary as well). him being ethnically half white doesn't negate his experiences as an asian man, he was born in sarawak, grew up in terengganu before moving to surrey and then as an adult moving back to malaysia and then moving to singapore. he's a great choice for nick.

[agromchung]

Jon Chu's words - that a film doesn't need to be everything - I'm glad that he acknowledged the shortcomings of the film.

Also, Shang-Chi got fast-tracked in production and converted from a TV series to a movie because of the success of CRA. I'm thankful that we got this movie.

[danyramos]

What liked about the movie is what you said, it doesn't have to be everything, and it doesn't aspire to be. It is just a really well-made romcom, and I'm not saying that in a derogatory way. In a cultural background where romcoms are becoming increasingly scarce or truly bad (looking at you, Princess Switch), Crazy Rich Asians showed how there is a market not only for Asian stories but for good romcoms. The whole plot is something we have seen before, but instead of the superficial will-they-won't-they of most 2000's movies, this movie actually gives reason for them to be unsure of their relationship, and those issues come from identity, social class, economic stance, and cultural heritage like you pointed out. It takes the basic formula and executes it perfectly. It should be remembered for that.

[lhpkazuha]

A big change from the book that I like is Eleanor’s character. Thank goodness they made her much less shallow than the book. Imagine the legendary Michelle Yeoh playing the airhead “book” Eleanor (shudder) (not that she couldn’t do it, she would’ve acted the shit out of it). But Eleanor’s sequences in the book with her yapping friends are excessive and a total drag.
I love that in the movie they show that the mother-in-law/daughter-in-law rivalry runs for generations. It’s classist and sexist. It’s dramatic and poignant. It’s peak Asian.

[tinkergnomad]

I rather liked the plotline with Astrid. Like most of the movie, there was a lot of focus on feminine strength. Knowing that Astrid had a different outcome in the book, I'm thrilled they changed it. She manages to be both strong, *and* kind in a way few of the other characters are.

As you pointed out in the video, it also gives some perspective on the challenges Nick and Rachel will face beyond the "happily ever after, " ending. I kinda hate those endings because they're not real life, and I think rom-com happy endings have misinformed people on the amount of work involved in a real life relationship.

I think Astrid's storyline contributed quite a bit to the overall movie. I don't think the story should be the same without it.

[fangjiunnewe]

I find that after so many years nobody has ever hit on the point that the original books were satire. They were published not as any realistic literary portrayal of Singaporean or Asian life but as chick lit for laughing at, not with, the characters and their crazy shenanigans. When it hit the NYT bestseller list it caused a lot of headaches here in Singapore because people would lose that context and start complaining about oh where's the South Asian representation oh why's Eleanor such a girlboss gatekeeper etc. And then when it came time to choose a story to make into a major Hollywood film to be the "Asian American Representation", they chose the only one on the NYT list, which is absolutely lazy and created another layer of misapplied intention, now using a uniquely Singaporean story to represent Asian American Rachel which of course wouldn't work. They could have chosen some other story to adapt, could have found something centred in Asian American experiences, but they didn't, and now we're in this mess, years later still debating whether it was "good representation". It opened a lot of doors and started a lot of opportunities, but the source material was never meant for this kind of seriousness so the movie adaption really couldn't either, no matter how many improvements were done to it (and there were many, except the accents, all wrong, not bad, just misplaced).

[michaelhegwood]

Are we just not going to talk about how every Southern Asian was some kind of servant or scary bodyguard? I don't know, even as a white dude with no Asian roots I tend to notice the weird difference in treating East Asians and Southern Asians.

[iiireeeneee]

Michelle Yeoh is a treasure and I'm so happy and grateful that we can see more of her

[YBlvr]

It almost feels like the negative response to Crazy Rich Asians from Asians exactly reflects the unrealistic expectations of success that Asian culture is rife with - I'd say this film was an A- in terms of what it wanted to portray, but people want it to be an A++. I agree with you and John Chu - no single film should bear the burden of perfectly portraying every nuance of a culture or race, especially since it would literally be impossible.
Also, in retrospect, I love the decision to focus on the differences in cultural experiences between people in a monolithic country and a second-generation Chinese-American person (Rachel) rather than the extravagance. Framing Rachel as the main character allows the target audience, which I believe are either non-Asians or "third culture" Asians, to be immersed in the experience of being in an unfamiliar culture and struggling to adapt to it. It's a highly effective narrative choice.

[Asfaril]

I think book vs movie is deeper than you lay out. The book is about how money drives class divide, and the use of face is being used to keep up this divide. The intro scene is about the power of money, not racism. The movie flipped this, as Hollywood would not want to make a movie that critics wealth. The subplot becomes weird, because it can't fuel the culture narrative, where it did build up money/face narrative of the book.

[StellaBella]

As a 1st gen Nigerian-American I relate so much to these Asian movies. So many similarities in culture. Specifically, ‘Joy Luck Club’ changed my life and helped me understand my mom so much more.
It’s crazy that now that I’m mother I can see that I’m living such a similar life to mom across generations.

[ryanfitzgerald]

I don't know about storytelling or representation or marketability... I'm just glad Michelle is back. And being treated more like an actress than ever

[ZouMaKanHua]

I think class is the better lens to examine the film through. The scene where they make dumplings bugged me, because the elites in Singapore don’t exactly celebrate their Chinese heritage. It turns out that in the book they make scones?? That makes much more sense because the wealthy elites in colonial countries emulated the British. It’s British-inspired class bigotry that makes them look down on the American. They’d look down on mainland Chinese as well.

[georgiaho]

As a Singaporean, I found the portrayal of Singapore on screen to be a problem. Even if Crazy Rich Asians was focusing on the small subset of Singaporeans who are super rich and from old money and are Chinese, do they not have friends of other races? It's Singapore, after all. And, if they don't have many friends of other races, perhaps it should be portrayed as something bad? Instead, it was just glossed over.

I can understand the 1% just mixing around with each other, and Peik Lin and her father wanting to portray themselves as Americanised since that seems more "atas" or upper class. But Peik Lin could have been a good gateway to showing a more multi-racial / multi-cultural Singapore, and that didn't happen.

Singapore was portrayed as some kind of ultra-Chinese utopia — especially with the Chinese music. Considering how many times I've been asked if Singapore was in China, I hate that Singapore was watered down into another Chinese city somehow. I love rom-coms and I want to love Crazy Rich Asians as a rom-com (and that mahjong scene was great!). But the portrayal of Singapore being reduced to a backdrop (and not a very good one) makes it hard to go back for a rewatch.