Upon the hit’s premiere, supporters and critics alike touted Crazy Rich Asians as a “watershed moment” of representation in the history of Hollywood’s film industry. With the movie's full Asian cast and the portrayal of an Asian as the masculine main character of a romance set in Singapore, ‘The Lion City’ , the movie seemed to hit every single target that the film industry had missed when it typically involves Hollywood’s long marginalized oriental talents. To many, this movie is the West’s attempt at diversity to promote Asian culture through many of the uniquely “Asian problems” the protagonists face during the film.
Sadly, the breakthrough was seen by everyone but the very people it was trying to represent–– Asians. Or more specifically, Singaporeans. Singapore journalist Kirsten Han writes in Vox that the film’s “all-Asian boast,” in her perspective, is “nothing more than a perpetuation of the existing Chinese dominance in mainstream media and pop culture [in Singapore)].” 1 Many Singaporeans are complaining about the movie’s skewed representation of the nation in which it is set in. The movie’s focus on primarily “east Asian” faces is nothing but a crude generalization that builds onto the already existing notion that Singapore’s ethnic makeup is Chinese and Chinese only, some say. Not only does the film exclusively portray the lives of Chinese-Singaporeans, but on top of that, it managed to successfully “screw up” it’s illustration of its own “Asians” (Chinese) along the way.
To understand the distorted representation of Singapore the film has, it is crucial for us to understand the people who make up this society, compared to how the film portrays them. Which ethnicities make up the Singaporean identity? Statistics speak for themselves: “67 percent Chinese, 15 percent Malay, and 7.5 percent Indian.” 2 What the facts say is that yes, although ethnic Chinese Singaporeans make up well over half of the population, there is a very strong presence of other races in the city. Being an international port of commerce, Singapore is well known for its multiculturalism and being the place where East meets West. Yet the film has absolutely no mention of this defining characteristic of Singapore. The other ethnicities that make up the other 33% of Singapore have been effectively erased. What we find in the film are the two protagonists both coming from ethnically Chinese backgrounds and oriental-styled palaces decorated with golden dragons. Nick’s mum and most of the women dressed in traditional Chinese qi pao. The presence of such objects and people in the movie asserts a very strong “Chinese-ness” to the film, which, if the film was to be retitled Crazy Rich Chinese would have been perfectly acceptable. However, the danger of naming the film Crazy Rich Asians is that it gives those less-informed about Asia an incorrect perception of what being Asian truly is. Journalist Cat Wang on The Guardian pointed out that “the movie perpetuates the misguided view that to be Asian means to be Chinese.” 3 As long-held stereotypes of Asians simply being Chinese slowly fade, a story telling a fraction of what was meant to be told by the title, Crazy Rich Asians, may be just another work of western ignorance to a hub of diversity.
Having offended its host country, Crazy Rich Asians backfired upon the group it was trying to help most. If anyone was to pause on the title of the film and think for a second, it would not be long before one realizes the hidden stereotype that exists. It would be equivalent to and as insensitive as naming a movie about Saudis as Crazy Strict Muslims. By adopting such a title, the film does nothing but further engrain the cliché of Asians being the minority of materialistically-minded workaholics. Whereas being wealthy is a positive trait, when films (which are arguably the best at influencing the thoughts of people) associate a specific ethnicity to it, stereotypes begin to form, undermining the authenticity of the group it attempts to portray accurately. Objectively, the middle-upper class of Asians in America is only 11% of the whole Asian-American population. In Singapore, where the film is based, despite having the highest concentration of millionaires in the world (152,000 households qualify), it remains a largely middle-class country where the bulk of the population live moderately in the island’s large public housing program. Cherry-picking the lifestyle of the top one percent of east Asians to display and claiming it to be a representation of ‘Asians’ is a bridge too far. Or worse, it invites those less informed to believe that the top one percent embodies the rest of the ninety-nine.
Although credit has to be given to Hollywood for starring an all Asian cast for the first time in history, those who watch Crazy Rich Asians with the hope of understanding Asia must do so with sharp eyes and critical mind. The movie is misleading in its representation of what it means to be Asian and trips on the same comfortable mistakes Hollywood has been making for decades: falling back on stereotypes. Crazy Rich Asians may have given the Asians of Hollywood an instant high, but it does nothing other than promote to audiences around the world misinformed generalizations through its far-reaching success. Crazy Rich Asians has continued to set up Asians, from East or West, yellow or brown, as targets of ignorance and racism.
Max Zhou
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| (via The Wikimedia Foundation) |
Sadly, the breakthrough was seen by everyone but the very people it was trying to represent–– Asians. Or more specifically, Singaporeans. Singapore journalist Kirsten Han writes in Vox that the film’s “all-Asian boast,” in her perspective, is “nothing more than a perpetuation of the existing Chinese dominance in mainstream media and pop culture [in Singapore)].” 1 Many Singaporeans are complaining about the movie’s skewed representation of the nation in which it is set in. The movie’s focus on primarily “east Asian” faces is nothing but a crude generalization that builds onto the already existing notion that Singapore’s ethnic makeup is Chinese and Chinese only, some say. Not only does the film exclusively portray the lives of Chinese-Singaporeans, but on top of that, it managed to successfully “screw up” it’s illustration of its own “Asians” (Chinese) along the way.
To understand the distorted representation of Singapore the film has, it is crucial for us to understand the people who make up this society, compared to how the film portrays them. Which ethnicities make up the Singaporean identity? Statistics speak for themselves: “67 percent Chinese, 15 percent Malay, and 7.5 percent Indian.” 2 What the facts say is that yes, although ethnic Chinese Singaporeans make up well over half of the population, there is a very strong presence of other races in the city. Being an international port of commerce, Singapore is well known for its multiculturalism and being the place where East meets West. Yet the film has absolutely no mention of this defining characteristic of Singapore. The other ethnicities that make up the other 33% of Singapore have been effectively erased. What we find in the film are the two protagonists both coming from ethnically Chinese backgrounds and oriental-styled palaces decorated with golden dragons. Nick’s mum and most of the women dressed in traditional Chinese qi pao. The presence of such objects and people in the movie asserts a very strong “Chinese-ness” to the film, which, if the film was to be retitled Crazy Rich Chinese would have been perfectly acceptable. However, the danger of naming the film Crazy Rich Asians is that it gives those less-informed about Asia an incorrect perception of what being Asian truly is. Journalist Cat Wang on The Guardian pointed out that “the movie perpetuates the misguided view that to be Asian means to be Chinese.” 3 As long-held stereotypes of Asians simply being Chinese slowly fade, a story telling a fraction of what was meant to be told by the title, Crazy Rich Asians, may be just another work of western ignorance to a hub of diversity.
Having offended its host country, Crazy Rich Asians backfired upon the group it was trying to help most. If anyone was to pause on the title of the film and think for a second, it would not be long before one realizes the hidden stereotype that exists. It would be equivalent to and as insensitive as naming a movie about Saudis as Crazy Strict Muslims. By adopting such a title, the film does nothing but further engrain the cliché of Asians being the minority of materialistically-minded workaholics. Whereas being wealthy is a positive trait, when films (which are arguably the best at influencing the thoughts of people) associate a specific ethnicity to it, stereotypes begin to form, undermining the authenticity of the group it attempts to portray accurately. Objectively, the middle-upper class of Asians in America is only 11% of the whole Asian-American population. In Singapore, where the film is based, despite having the highest concentration of millionaires in the world (152,000 households qualify), it remains a largely middle-class country where the bulk of the population live moderately in the island’s large public housing program. Cherry-picking the lifestyle of the top one percent of east Asians to display and claiming it to be a representation of ‘Asians’ is a bridge too far. Or worse, it invites those less informed to believe that the top one percent embodies the rest of the ninety-nine.
Although credit has to be given to Hollywood for starring an all Asian cast for the first time in history, those who watch Crazy Rich Asians with the hope of understanding Asia must do so with sharp eyes and critical mind. The movie is misleading in its representation of what it means to be Asian and trips on the same comfortable mistakes Hollywood has been making for decades: falling back on stereotypes. Crazy Rich Asians may have given the Asians of Hollywood an instant high, but it does nothing other than promote to audiences around the world misinformed generalizations through its far-reaching success. Crazy Rich Asians has continued to set up Asians, from East or West, yellow or brown, as targets of ignorance and racism.
Max Zhou
Citations and References
1 Han, Kirsten. “Crazy Rich Asians Is a Win for Asian Americans. But It Gets Singapore Wrong.” Vox, Vox, 17 Aug. 2018, www.vox.com/first-person/2018/8/17/17715124/crazy-rich-asians-movie-singapore.
2 “The World Factbook: SINGAPORE.” Central Intelligence Agency, Central Intelligence Agency, 17 Oct. 2018, www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sn.html.
3 Ellis-Petersen, Hannah, and Lily Kuo. “Where Are the Brown People? Crazy Rich Asians Draws Tepid Response in Singapore.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 21 Aug. 2018, www.theguardian.com/film/2018/aug/21/where-are-the-brown-people-crazy-rich-asians-draws-tepid-response-in-singapore.
“Land Reclamation in Singapore.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 11 June 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_reclamation_in_Singapore.
