The Complexing Relationship of Race and Media
TW: Race, Police Violence
This August we have seen such a surge in the complex topic of 'Asian & Asian American representation' in conversations online and in person. Crazy Rich Asians and To All The Boys I Loved Before are adding some needed spice to this topic that is currently as bland as white rice.
Out of the two, I've only seen one (so far). To All The Boys I Loved Before is the movie giving me life right now! If you haven't seen it yet, set aside 1 hour and 40 minutes to be dazzled by this adorable and extremely relatable rom-com that will take you back to high school (Yikes!). Lara Jean, the leading lady played by the amazing and actually Asian American Lana Condor, is the person I wish I was. Seeing her develop from the stereotypically shy, quiet awkward girl into the woman who actually feels things and GETS THE BOY (sorry for the spoiler, but it's a romcom) while playing with the morals and family values she has grown up with was a refreshing perspective often highlighted by White-on-White love. Though I won't get into the story here, this film has urged folxs to ask "Why not an Asian love interest?" which, to me, is not relevant to nor important for this film. Let me explain:
Asian Males: Timid, awkward, not sexual, your 'typical' nerdy boy attached to his computer games, destined to be a doctor or something like that. After going to and being a staff member at a Chinese culture camp and living as an Asian American, Asian people have a wider, more complex spectrum of being than White people. From physical differences like skin tone to intangibles like cultural norms and language, there is no one stereotype to fit all people that self-identify as Asian. Though much of the media has caused us to think 'Chinese, Japanese, Korean' as the strict labels put on an "Asian" character's appearance, those are just 3 of the ethnic groups of the hundreds. Indians and Pakistanis are the 'forgotten' Asians, Vietnamese people are constantly mislabeled as something they're not because "it's all the same thing," and the colorism within groups are all tragic fallacies emphasized by decades of racist history, ironically ignored in today's media.
The story Jenny Han, the author of the book the film is based on, tells through the book is not always specific with what characters look like (what color their skin is). This ambiguity is addressed in the movie by changing some names and making the difficult decision to cast roles based on Han's direction and their producers' interpretations and goals for the film, knowing race adds a complex layer to their final product.
I don't believe casting the role of Peter with an Asian boy would have been good since that is not Han's story.
Changing the narrative to fit what people are looking for is untruthful and a dishonest to the lives lived by the people who actually experienced and continue to experience it. Twisting the truth so it gives into what people say they want can be damaging, since the attention drawn from what is now a fable and untruthful is not the reason why it was shared. Changing the facts of our experiences should not have to be to please the people with the biggest voices. If a story happens to occur in a certain way, there is no justification to change it to make it more innovative or cutting or progressive. That's lying. That's dishonesty. And, the truth always finds it way out.
Aside: Forcing an Asian actor into the role of a love-interest for Lara Jean could not fully accomplish diversifying the portrayal of Asians in media right now. Though an Asian Peter Kavinsky or Josh Sanderson would have gotten me feeling all sorts of things, the story would have gotten too complex for today's audience/the people with money, while truthfully telling the story and giving it justice. Having to explain everything behind the ethics and values derived from their environment would have made the film 10+ hours long if it were to be done right. By making some of the characters White, the film becomes digestible for the audience while giving us a complex Asian American that is changing how little girls see themselves.
(If I were Lara Jean, I would choose Josh. Sorry, Sister!)
For the next few months, talking to any Asian person about either of their films will spark a meaningful conversation. Scoping out, the depiction of any minoritized identity group is difficult. There's an expectation to depict the writers' real stories and pressure to make it fit everyone who shares that commonality with them. Whether that be ability, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or gender, intersectionality and our surroundings make every person's story unique to them. The emotions and feelings that are sparked by these experiences may be common, but their story is only theirs.It does not belong to anyone else, even if they were there. The truths that everyone holds cannot be completely believed by others, because they will never know how exactly you felt about something.
Scrolling through Facebook, beautiful Black bodies are decorated in bright yellow and denim, and magnificent and empowering hijab-wearing women are standing in places they have not been pictured in before (e.g. government, at the Olympics). Though efforts to widen the range of descriptions that our identities elicit, we still hold prejudices against the people around us. I don't think that this will ever be solved since we have been engulfed in the trend of making one story the truth for the rest of us.
Travyvon Martin. Sandra Bland. Philando Castile.
Just to name 3 of the many fallen, media sources have portrayed these victims as the amazing beings that were making a positive difference in their communities while painting them as the dangerous, angry, and violent people that the US had to chain and whip to control for centuries. "Standing their ground" was what they called it.
Their common life experiences and bubbly personalities were boiled down to their skin color. In the media storm, we lost the stories about their favorite foods to eat, their favorite color, their favorite songs. All we got was the story of the people who killed them and the narrative shown in the video moments before they left their bodies if we were unfortunate enough to witness it.
This all leads me to wonder if no representation has been better than 1-dimensional depiction?
Resources: https://www.indiewire.com/2018/08/to-all-the-boys-ive-loved-before-netflix-jenny-han-no-asian-male-love-interest-1201995975/
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