The Power of Representation
A couple years ago, I was watching the movie musical Allegiance about the Japanese American Internment during WW2. Sitting in the theater, I was horrified by the racism that Japanese and other Asian Americans faced during the time period, and I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the screen. Near the middle of the movie, a new wave of emotion washed over me. At first I thought it was a response to the emotional story before my eyes, but suddenly it hit me. It felt like this was the first time I saw someone on screen who looked like me and acted like me.
I had never felt this way before, and tears formed in my eyes. I may not be Japanese American, but as a Malaysian American of Chinese descent, I could relate to the way they looked and the way the families interacted with each other. The representation made me feel ecstatic, but I was even more overwhelmed by the fact that I had never seen myself represented in such a complete way on the big screen for almost twenty years of my life. For the longest time, Asian/Pacific Americans were hardly ever in mainstream movies. If they were, they were often caricatures, not complete human beings. Those characters made me feel embarrassed that others thought of me and my people in that way. Since I couldn’t relate to those characters, and I was forced to find myself in stories of whiteness. Allegiance opened my eyes to an entirely new way to feel. This is what I was missing??? I couldn’t believe that this is how people in the majority feel on a daily basis.
Representation allows us to feel seen. It has the power to validate our experiences and make us feel human, instead of making us feel like a spectacle or an oddity. If I had grown up with representation in the media, I would have experienced a lot less cultural confusion and anguish. Everyone should experience the power of representation.
Asian/Pacific American representation has made strides in the past couple years, but it still has a long way to go. In honor of Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month, here are some of my favorite movies with Asian Pacific American representation!! All of these movies impacted me greatly and moved me in ways I never expected. If more of us recognize & care about these issues, we can bring more diverse stories and people onto the big screen!
1. Moana
I love this movie so much that I saw it THREE times in theaters! As a lover of musicals and animation, I was already primed to enjoy this movie. They highlighted the Tokelauan language Foa'i, Samoan, and Tuvalu, and it reminded me of my own family’s Hakka language. Even more exciting was the fact that they cast an entirely Polynesian group of voice actors! They also set the movie in a land that reminds me of Malaysia. I was sold! I am not Polynesian, and I acknowledge there are many shortcomings of this movie (that you can read here), but it felt so good to see a movie I could relate to in ways I never imagined.
2. Crazy Rich Asians
Loved the Southeast Asian representation!! The movie is set in Singapore, but they filmed most of the movie in my parent’s home country of Malaysia. It was so cool to see the sites, language, and foods of my people! It was wonderful to see Asian love treated with respect. I was thrilled to see lots of new Asian American stars make it to the big screen. In the future I would love to see a movie set in Malaysia or Singapore that features actors not just of East Asian descent. Those countries contain a lot of diversity, and there are a ton of people there of South Asian and Malay descent. To only show people of East Asian descent is to only show part of the story of this amazing region!
3. To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before
One of my favorite rom-coms of all time! This is one of the few teen coming of age movies that I can completely relate to! As someone who grew up in an almost all white community, I remember being being young and confused and crushing on white boys. I love that the main character Lara Jean she is a middle child like me, and her sisters remind me of my own!
4. The Big Sick
This movie was written by Kumail Nanjiani and his wife Emily Gordon, and it is loosely based on their own lives. South Asian men are typically typecasted into specific roles, and here Kumail gets to plays the romantic hero. This movie is extremely touching and an emotional rollercoaster! Also, friendly reminder, don’t forget that Asia is bigger than just China, Korea, or Japan.
5. Hobbs and Shaw
If you’re a Fast and Furious fan, you know exactly what you’re in for. What makes this movie special is that it highlights Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s Polynesian heritage by setting part of the movie in Samoa! This movie cast many Polynesian actors, featured scenes where actors conversed in Samoan, and honored a culture that doesn’t typically get much love in American mainstream media. This is not a perfect movie, and there are more nuanced critiques of this representation, but I still walked away from this movie feeling excited and impressed!