This is a sports blog, but sometimes, I have to write about other things that are important to me. And we will dive into the world of “Crazy Rich Asians.”
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I remember telling my friend that this movie was going to be my people’s “Black Panther” in which all the Asian folks will flock the theaters and be so proud of their heritage. This movie had so much high expectations for me. I wanted it to be that important for my people. And even though it won’t live up to the hype of T’Chala and Wakanda, I couldn’t have asked for a better movie for my people.
The hype leading up to the movie’s release was the same narrative: First major Hollywood film with an all-Asian cast since “The Joy Luck Club” 25 years ago. And that narrative needed to be repeated over and over again. I was too young to even know about “The Joy Luck Club” and the portrayal and representation of Asians in American pop culture is so minimal. There are few leading roles and they’re a lot of stereotypes. And also there are a lot of whitewashing Asian roles. It’s a hard thing for me to grow up with not having any true representation.