#18: "Crazy Rich Asians" and Asians in my film

My opinion on Crazy Rich Asians (2018)

    Crazy Rich Asians was the first studio film featuring a dominantly Asian descent main cast, after more than 2 decades since The Joy Luck Club's (1993) premiere. It was a smash in the global film industry, a romantic comedy that has grossed over $230m worldwide in the era of Marvel's superheroes. Yet its flop in the Asian market (with China's total box office of only $1.5m despite the film's attempt to incorporate Chinese culture) has shown that the film did not have such an impact on this continent's audiences.

Why?
      I think Asian audiences share what I thought of Crazy Rich Asians. It somehow reminded me of Black Panther. The world talks about African backwardness and Black Panther bringing in the high-tech world of Wakanda. I suppose that is intentional. It irritates me though, to how an advanced world like Wakanda chooses its king in such a primitive way when the two men fight until one died. So I start to wonder: Is there any chance that they choose to depict it this way in relation to how they think about black people? Could it be considered as offensive to certain people?
In some way, it is the same case with Crazy Rich Asians. The film features a higher-class society with Asians, while there's a lack of such portrayal in the media. Many praise it for taking this risk. Yet as an Asian, I was unable to feel related to Crazy Rich Asians, it does not represent me. That Asian society in the film is still viewed through the preconceived prism of the Western world.

    It is most evident by Eleanor character - which is literally the main biggest obstacle for Rachel and Nick's love. What she represents? I guess "the traditional Eastern mom and her conservative opinions on love and family". In contrast with Eleanor was Rachel, who though with yellow skin and black hair, everything in her, Rachel's personal values, behaviours and education are westernised (I don't think Asian people like me can see ourselves in her!). 
"Why Westerners or people who have been exposed to Western culture always portrayed as having a liberal conception of love (and other things) while Asian people being traditional?". It's something that exists in the film, a view which I do not really agree with.

    I was also confused with the case of Henry Golding (Nick Young) - a controversial cast choice in Crazy Rich Asians. He was half British - half Malaysian. He made it to the main character - who is a SINGAPOREAN - an Asian, purely Asian (With his father's heritage, he is undeniably fit into the Western standard of beauty). Why not an actor with traditional Asian beauty: single eyelid and maybe flatter nose? Well...there's certainly some doubt about that. 

"Asians in my film"

   My target audience is millennials and Gen Z globally. The term 'globally 'makes it a broad scale, but I think it is something I can aim for as the story of my media product invests in emotions - which we as humans all have, not just any specific group. Though  I'm Vietnamese, my film's cast is fully Vietnamese, meaning there are all "Asians in my film" - I think it doesn't really matter to the audiences' experience in consuming the film.