#shangchiweek

[marvelvsmarvel]

I wanna be clear here that I want to amplify Shang Chi as much as possible but I want to remind the community to look to it more as a launch pad as opposed to a pinnacle. Yes this is a triumph and a reclaiming of Asian representation and martial arts in film but WE are capable of so much more than sticking to the stereotypes “they” expect of us. Our storytellers like Bong Joon-Ho (Parasite) Lee Isaac Chung (Minari), Jon M. Chu (In The Heights), and Eternals Director Chloé Zhao (Nomadland) TO NAME A FEW are among the very best with the former two depicting Asians living out the universal experiences of life, love, family, etc. nowhere near martial arts films and the latter two not even narratively about asians hell Chu directed a nearly entire hispanic cast! Our faces like Henry Golding (Crazy Rich Asians), Gemma Chan (Eternals), Steven Yeun (The Walking Dead), and Lana Condor (To All the Boys) TO NAME A FEW are sexy, elegant, heartfelt, funny, relatable, etc. not confined by what they look like or where they come from. Our heroes like Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Lucy Liu, and Michelle Yeoh TO NAME A FEW are still among the greatest and most badass martial artists to ever grace the silver screen with their gifts of pure physical motion entertainment no VFX required to kick your ass and look good doing it. The point is. WE are a people among the seen but not heard. Our stories have often been told for us because media considered us either too passive or too foreign to share them ourselves. Shang Chi is out here ready to reclaim so much ground for us lost to the appropriation of martial arts and to share even more of our story as Asian Americans. But it is still just a surface level starting point for our greater representation in media. There are still many more Asian experiences, storytellers, faces, and heroes for the world to know and to inspire a whole new generation of acceptance and inclusion.

[marvelvsmarvel]

SE/Eastern Asian Representation in MCU Films and Their Stereotypes

Consider this list with the character’s given (“Specialty” - “Stereotype”) in parentheses. Note that this list is for the MCU Film characters only not including TV characters.

Lead Hero:

Simu Liu as Shang Chi (Master of Kung Fu - martial artist)

Team Hero:

Dave Bautista as Drax the Destroyer (Kick Names - alien)

Pom Klementieff as Mantis (Take Ass - alien)

Gemma Chan as Eternal Sersi (upcoming)

Don Lee as Eternal Gilgamesh (upcoming)

Sidekick:

Benedict Wong as the Wong of Kamar Taj (Sorcerer - funny asian friend)

Jacob Batalon as Ned Leeds (Guy in the Chair - funny asian friend)

Randall Park as FBI Agent Jimmy Woo (Certified Magician - funny asian friend)

Minor Characters:

Claudia Kim as Dr Helen Cho (top tier geneticist - brainy asian)

Tadanobu Asano as Hogun of the Warriors Three (Spiked ball-and-chain flail Weapon of Choice - violent death)

Remy Hii as Brad Davis (Good Looking High School Student - doesn’t get the girl)

Hiroyuki Sanada as Yakuza Akihiko (Samurai - villain/violent death)

Others: I know I am missing a few like Michelle Yeoh and more of the Shang Chi cast but their roles for this purpose are still more undefined. Others like Tiffany Espensen’s Midtown High Student Cindy or Michelle Lee’s Red Room Defect Oksana were very minor but still very nice to see. Kenneth Choi as both Howlin’ Commando Jim Morita as well as a suggested grandson Midtown High Principal Morita is a very special character with historical context of Asian American discrimination during WWII and then was able to reprise a role to establish a beautiful legacy.

Stereotypes: I am sure you have seen other examples of some of these outside of the MCU but maybe some you never even considered. Yes Simu Liu is the MCU’s first asian lead hero but there is a point in him being a martial artist because while it is to be celebrated and a reclaiming of culture it also puts us in a box that in order for an asian to be a hero they must know martial arts. The stereotype of aliens/monsters to be cast with people of color goes for all minorities and is a long running trend in Sci-Fi usually expressed as leveraging on distinct facial features or skin color. The funny asian friend derives from teen flicks whether the friend is funny looking, fat, etc. they are definitely intended to make the lead look better and are usually the token asian of the film. Being brainy or smart does not read negatively but when growing up it is projected on you that you should be brainy, should belong to brainy clubs, should pursue brainy professions, etc. the negativity is heavily underlying and undermines us. By Hollywood standards asians males have been stigmatized as not attractive, not romantic leads, and not to get the girl in films, etc. Violent deaths was one I learned about later in life but in just looking at these examples it is glaring how gruesome in comparison asian deaths were where the narrative says its more easily accepted to see minorities killed. And ultimately white heroes vs poc villains is age old an especially crude depiction of superiority when you depict a legit Samurai by trade like Sanada being bested by the sword.

The Hope: There is plenty to be upset about but in looking at this list I am also happily surprised just how many SE/Eastern Asians there have been on the big screen in the MCU (not to forget the badass tv character’s from Chloe Bennet’s Agent of SHIELD/Inhuman hero Quake Daisy Johnson to Jessica Henwick’s Daughter of the Dragon/Iron Fist Colleen Wing, and more! Or our Middle Eastern and Pacific Island neighbors). And the range of representation in film has been evolving. Brad Davis was described as having “all the girls want him”. Jimmy Woo not only mastered close up magic but also expanded being more than a by the rule agent but someone who will literally fight for good (not with martial arts). Simu Liu promises to deliver a hero who embodies the Asian American experience demonstrating why we are not some vastly different/foreign people while depicting the importance of heritage. The Eternals promise to give us a new voice in terms of romance and strength through the given characters Sersi and Gilgamesh respectively. Again Shang Chi is a triumph but it should be looked at as a launch pad NOT the pinnacle. May his continued growth in the MCU along with future representation depict us more and more outside of stereotypic norms telling more of our stories.

[marvelvsmarvel]

Representation Matters to Me

In honor of the release of Shang Chi I wanted to share my own personal story about representation and why it matters. Growing up my favorite actor was Dante Basco ever since his role as Rufio in the 1991 cult classic Hook. I followed his career from his various smaller roles to his voice acting career from American Dragon Jake Long to Prince Zuko from Avatar the Last Airbender. He’s honestly not the best actor so what was the hook for me? He looked like ME. As a young Filipino American I just enjoyed seeing him on screen but it wasn’t until adulthood that I realized that it was that sort of cognitive racial basis: I saw MYSLEF in HIM. A badass warrior swordsman and leader of the Lost Boys. Getting to be romantic twice (Fresh Prince of Bel-Air & Fakin’ Da Funk) with the childhood crush Tatyana Ali. To being the voice behind the GREATEST REDEMPTION ARC OF ALL TIME!!! (Which happened to be the one of the few actual asian voices of the entire series). You see as MCU fan I can look at Captain America and I could hold some of his beliefs and I could see myself in him and tell myself that golden quote from Into the Spider-Verse “Anyone can be Spider-Man. You can be Spider-Man!” subbing in “Cap” for “Spidey” and then cry in the theaters when Steve hands the shield over to Sam “How’s it feel?” Like it’s someone else’s. “It isn’t...” and continue to say thank you under my breath because I believe I can be Captain America. This is the truth of these characters. These superheroes. WE CAN BE ANYONE WE WANT TO BE within our hearts and within our minds. WE CAN ACHIEVE ANYTHING we put our time and effort into. But believe me when I say IT IS DIFFERENT to actually see someone who actually looks like you being celebrated on the big screen in front of the masses. It is DIFFERENT to know that people of all different backgrounds can ACCEPT someone that looks like you as a hero or romantic lead, etc. and can find a sense of inspiration or even just some relatability. It’s even more meaningful when this favorite actor stars in a film called The Debut that focuses on Filipino American teenagers who struggle with identity between being whitewashed versus embracing your native culture and knowing that their was a whole generation that was experiencing these things with you. It means the most when that very actor was born and raised in the same area as you and defied the odds of the environment and industry and racism to earn all of this success and passing on so much hope and inspiration not as a character... but as himself... It means the world to me that young black children get to grow up seeing themselves as Spider-Man and Captain America too. But they firstly got to see themselves as the Kings and Queens of Wakanda. Shang Chi even if not directly the “same asian as me” gets to represent me and inspire a whole generation of kids who look like him and live a life like his allowing them to get to see themselves as superheroes! I hope everyone of all ethnic backgrounds get to have that experience. I hope everyone will celebrate this achievement with us and that the asian community will show anyone who wishes to be like Shang Chi or Simu Liu and learn more about their culture OUR culture that we show them that good asian hospitality. Thank you all for sticking through and reading this!

[marvelvsmarvel]

Shang Chi Prediction

It is finally upon us! I hope everyone that has hung with me has enjoyed my little #ShangChiWeek to share my thoughts on Asian representation in media. With the movie coming out in most places tonight it is time to drop my prediction before it is debunked or confirmed with my own eyes when I watch it on Saturday! There have been several fan predictions that I won’t claim as mine but I want to elaborate on.

Shang Chi The Dragon:

With the most recent trailer showing a legit dragon its leading many to believe that they will retcon Shang Chi once more to make him “on par” with the Avengers by making him part dragon. I have issue with that because it is joined by the idea that one of if not both of his parents were part dragon and for those who do not see the problem understand that the phrase “Dragon Lady” is derogatory towards Asian women. The clip of a fight scene within some greenery between a woman fighting with special abilities against The Mandarin Wenwu with the Ten Rings that give him powers would suggest that Shang Chi’s mother would be the dragon half. It sounds fun but I would not be a fan of this concept given the stereotypic connotation.

Shang’s Chi:

You see what I did there? This one has more to do with the transferring of Chi Energy. As the MCU has established that all matter of power whether energy or magic is a transferring of energy whether through Stones or from other dimensions, etc. the Ten Rings are no more than another tool to do so. Consider Ego’s arc in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 and consider that the Ten Rings give Wenwu powers that originally flow from the dragon in the trailer. Alone Wenwu does not have the strength to channel enough Chi to complete his mission whether that is to kill the dragon or take over the world (or both). So he needs his son Shang Chi to help him wield the Ten Rings equally to amass enough Chi Energy for whatever he needs making them (or whoever wields the Rings) this ultimate power. This explains why Wenwu trains Shang so young and then waits for him to be grown to act on this mission.

My Prediction:

There was a promo that showed previous MCU heroes with what sounds like Michelle Yeoh’s narration saying “Those who came before us made us who we are today” and the focus is Thor’s Hammer, the Arc Reactor, and Cap’s Shield not necessarily the heroes themselves. This film is subtitled Legend of the Ten Rings. I think Wenwu has lived a long nearly immortal life and is reaching a point where he is ready to let go and to pass his legacy and his power to his son (explaining the initial bad blood between Shang Chi and his sister Xialing). There was a report that Tony Leung would have a sexy scene and would be a different type of villain. I think Wenwu legitimately loved Shang’s mother Leiko Wu and these his children which is why he let Shang go live a life of his own for a while but now he wants him to take over not just the power of the Rings but the Ten Rings (villain) organization. The secret villain becomes the masked henchman in the trailers who in this case wants the Ten Rings for himself having been by his side for so long which is why he is trying to kill Shang early on. The final battle occurs because Wenwu’s forces push him to act and either attack this dragon for more power (maybe more rings?) or to take over the world and even as powerful as Wenwu is he goes along with them rather than oppose them in his old age. The battle ends when Shang Chi overtakes the Rings and then destroys them which ends Wenwu’s immortal life giving him peace. The dragon then sees this sacrifice of this power and then gives Shang extraordinary ability through his own Chi making him all powerful without the need of Rings. When I mention the promo at the top it’s because I’m reminded of these quotes:

“If you’re nothing without the suit you shouldn’t have it...”

“Are you Thor God of hammers?”

“Symbols are nothing without the women and men that give them meaning...”

Shang Chi’s power is who he is and those in his life that helped make him who he is. His family and friends and his father. Shang resolves the battle breaking up the Ten Ring organization and ending the legend.

End Credit Scene Prediction:

Wong who will appear in a steel cage match against Abomination will be returning to the Sanctum Sanctorum. Strange isn’t there but Wong can feel that there is an ominous being watching him. From that perspective something rushes up behind Wong and surprises him-

[marvelvsmarvel]

Shang Chi Week!!!

Leading up to the release (I already got my ticket for Saturday!) I will be putting out some posts on Asian Representation in media (mostly MCU/Shang Chi related). I am one of the many SE/Eastern Asian American stories and to be able to share some of it while amplifying the importance of an Asian American superhero is something special that I want to be a part of.

There’s plenty of people who do not know the character from the comics. I’m not even the most knowledgeable there either. But I know what he stands for. I know the cinematic martial arts heroes who came before him. I know what he already means to me. Teaching people about THAT is more important than them simply learning about a character who will entertain them. Please share some of your stories too with #shangchiweek and I’ll try to amplify and encourage our community! And for the comics fans who ARE more knowledgeable on the character please do the same so we can continue to build the hype!