#wu lee

[69liu69]

Children.

[mijulanwings]

🖌ROY THE ART / ROY TRINH (roytheart_)

[n3ptun3st4rs]

(You've probably already seen this but slides this here anyways. Sorry)

Oop hehe.. 😳🤭 PS: I love all of your drawings, especially your ChanZhou stuff :)

[tempestimes]

A Ramble About Diversity in Turning Red

*Spoilers for Turning Red*

I feel like not everyone quite understands how amazing it is to watch Turning Red when coming of age stories for the past who knows how long have been centered around white kids.

Diversity has been improving in the past few years in regards to POC (main) characters in animated media (I'm mainly thinking about TV) but being able to see a full length movie from a huge studio like Pixar is indescribably amazing. This film is centered around a Chinese-Canadian girl who is proud and loud about her identity, who loves her parents and her best friends, who's just figuring herself out as she grows up like any other kid would, and it's beautiful. She doesn't try to hide her identity as a Chinese-Canadian girl (although it could be argued that the red panda represents the family's cultural heritage and Chinese roots, and how the ritual was representative of the commodification and palletizing of the family's culture, which I do think is a very good point). Not to mention, this film was made by Domee Shi, Pixar's first female Asian director! She's said herself that Turning Red is semi-autobiographical (minus the giant red panda part) and drew heavily from her own experiences growing up as a Chinese-Canadian girl.

Side note: I'm AFAB (pronouns: they/them) and Vietnamese-American. Growing up, the only animated characters I saw in movies (namely from Disney) who looked like me were Silvermist and Mulan, and I didn't relate to them incredibly. I remember dressing up as Mulan for Halloween because she was a Disney princess who vaguely looked like me. Then, there were always the stereotypes of the "smart, perfect Asian kid" that I kept on seeing everywhere (I could go into the model minority myth and how it plays into this film, but that's for another time). Years later, I sit down to watch Turning Red, and my heart soars to see Meilin (who I see so much of my younger (and current) self in) and her family.

I laughed during the scene introducing Jin because my own dad cooks a lot in our house, and when he first got glasses, they'd always fog up as he cooked over the stove. The makeup worn by Ming (and all of the outfits for Meilin's aunties and grandmother) reminded me of my own extended family (my grandmother wears incredibly similar makeup to Wu's). Look at the jade jewelry! Look at the temple!! Look at Chinatown!! My heart broke seeing Meilin ask during the ritual what her aunties and grandmother were saying because she didn't understand Cantonese because that was me sitting in a Vietnamese Buddhist temple with my own family. I remember mouthing the words even though I didn't know them because I wanted to fit in, and I wanted to understand.

And it's not just Meilin.

One of my friends will not stop talking about Priya who looks just like her! The morning after the film came out, she woke up and started texting our Discord server, saying "Guys!! They turned me!! Into a Disney character!! That's me!!" There were hijabi girls, and Abby would burst into Korean when angry (we stan our bilingual little fireball!) I've seen the posts about the patches for insulin pumps all over Tumblr! And honestly, 4Town is probably the most diverse boy band you'd find in the early 2000's (/lh).

The fact we're getting these characters in a major film is a big deal, especially when some other films surrounding POC characters can palletize or exotify their cultures. This feels like the most honest representation of an Asian family and an Asian tween growing up and finding herself in animated media ever.

One might think this sort of inclusivity and diversity in the characters is just a silly little thing, but people notice. If you've grown up surrounded by media that centers around people who look just like you, then you won't bat an eye at this movie. But when you haven't been able to see a character like you, you will absolutely latch onto a character you see who looks just like you.

There's this sentiment where people go, "Oh great, here we go: a movie about an Asian kid who's all up in my face about how she's Chinese. Ugh, she's acting so childish. Ugh, I can't relate to her at all. Next movie please." But that's not true. I want to note the fact that even if you aren't AFAB and/or POC (specifically Asian), you can still relate to this film. If you've gone through puberty, had arguments with your parents, snuck out to concerts or parties, had to be "the perfect child," or had a blast making small businesses or just hanging out with a group of close friends, you will likely relate to this film. I'm not saying it is guaranteed, but it is very likely. These are universal themes permeate across so many different cultures. So if the reason you're not giving this a watch is because "you just can't relate," give it a shot. You might be surprised to how much you can relate to a Chinese-Canadian girl who can turn into a giant fluffy red panda.

So yeah. Turning Red. Good movie.

[brainemptyjustwords]

[ramblingguy54]

Turning Red: Setting The Stage For A Dramatic Third Act.

MAJOR SPOILERS FOR TURNING RED BELOW.

     The falling out scene Turning Red had really surprised me on what it sets out to do. Didn’t know what to expect in the third act of this movie, but damn they capitalized on on showing said dangerous element of not having real control over your emotions. Ming Lee arriving at the scene right when Mei pounced on Tyler was a brutal way to foreshadow why exactly she’s so over protective of her daughter’s safety, as well as other people too. Turning Red, while being this cheeky heartfelt study about blossoming womanhood, is a haunting reflection surrounding complications when you’re not in control of your own anger. Forcing your feelings inward becoming a state of passiveness doesn’t help dealing with the bigger problem of this manifesting in their lineage Red Panda gift.

      Ming Lee seeing Mei bruise up a defenseless boy stirred up all those traumatic events when she lashed out at her own mother. Ever since that fateful day Ming viewed their gift as an unsightly curse needing to be expelled. Ming wanted nothing more than to protect Mei from the Panda’s Curse and prevent it from ever showing up again to cause more destruction in her life. Ming already dealt with all the selective control her mother had, so now yet another factor interferes adding to an already absurdly stressful existence? Knowing the reality of what it could do for her daughter, Ming was driven by an understandable empathetic fear protecting this child from landing herself in some awful worst case scenario. 

     What if she hadn’t gotten there in time? Would Mei in that blinding rage have seriously injured Tyler, or outright unintentionally kill him due to not knowing her own super strength? Throw in the authorities getting involved creates a more painful narrative for what’s exactly at stake here. It would’ve resulted in ruining Mei’s life forever, if things did reach that kind of volcanic eruption. Ming felt terrible about leaving a scar on her mother’s face from their intense falling out, so if her precious kid had killed someone, due to the Red Panda, there’s no way she would’ve ever forgave herself for any of it.

     This wasn’t only a matter of, “These friends of your’s are a bad influence!”, but one steeped in years of regretful family conflict. Ming distanced herself from her mother because every time she sees that scar it’s a deeply painful reminder. A painful reminder the crucial lack of control Ming lost sight of, given her severe fight she had with Wu Lee over marrying Jin Lee. She attacked someone who, despite having bitter feelings of never being able to live out a childhood of her own, Ming still obviously cares about. It’s a serious gut punch for Ming to see Mei assault someone in such a vicious manner because Wu Lee warned her before this to be very watchful of the child. Even after all the frustration, grief, and anger Ming has carried, this woman still wants to show Wu Lee how capable she is. Generational trauma at its finest, ladies and gentlemen.

     You can easily see where Ming is coming from here because while sure it was an ancestral gift used to help others in their time of need, this ability can be deadly in the wrong hands. After all, that destruction Ming causes to the 4Town stadium in her own enormous Panda form speaks for itself right there. The Red Panda, if not controlled by someone with stable emotions, can transform into something downright terrifying endangering others’ well being. Something Mei internally reflects on after the event happens wondering if she’d be better off without having it at all. How will it affect the pivotal relationship with her mother? Are Ming Lee & Mei going to become distant like what happened with her grandma? Can she find a way to make her Red Panda work in the daily routine without it becoming a serious hindrance on Mei’s future lifestyle?

     One of the biggest praises I gotta give Turning Red is how seamlessly it blends drama and comedy together in the story they’re trying to convey. One second Mei is swooning over Devon in Red Panda form tapping her foot fast, like Thumper from Bambi. The next she’s breaking down in tears overhearing her mother express tremendous concerns about how they’re going to handle this current predicament. Ming Lee never wanted Mei to go through what she experienced because getting thrust into the responsibility of, “You need to control our ancestral gift, or else it could have permanent effects on your life.”, had awful consequences on the way her mother views herself. She thought there wasn’t any way to make up to Wu Lee about giving her that scar. All those years Ming Lee drifted apart from Wu Lee not just because of her Red Panda incident, but it was due to all the unfair expectations her mom wanted, overall.

     There are plenty of red flags in Ming behaving similarly to her mother. This isn’t to say Ming Lee is emotionally cold to her daughter, of course. I’ve seen plenty of posts recently comparing Ming Lee to Abuela Alma from Encanto. Which, while yes, there’s much to be discussed about how Turning Red & Encanto share the thematic weight of generational trauma, Ming does behave differently in some fashion from that story’s respective elderly character. Abuela I’d argue is much harsher toward Mirabel, than Ming Lee ever was to Mei. Ming was controlling, overbearing, and wanted perfection, where those attributes can be lumped in with Abuela’s intentions for her own family. However, the key defining difference here is Abuela rarely wanted to spend time with Mirabel, considering she saw her as more of a disappointment, than real family.

     Ming Lee always wanted Mei to be apart of her life, despite the ridiculous lengths she goes in ensuring happiness. Ming & Abuela certainly are comparably written well intent extremists, but how these two are characterized helps put stuff into better perspective for their own films’ end goals. Abuela’s endgame destination was understanding Mirabel has always been good enough to be apart of their family, gift or none at all. Ming Lee’s final destination, on the other hand, is realizing she had been implanting exactly what this woman was trying to escape from, immensely unfair cultural expectations. Ming never allowed her daughter to blossom into who Mei wanted to truly become, showcased in why she goes behind her mother’s back to do the 4Town Concert fundraiser deal. None of that would’ve happened had Ming actually kept an open mind about it all. Mei tried to open up about her own interests and got automatically shot down by Ming because she always believed family came first before themselves.

     Turning Red manages to have it’s conflict and ideas culminate into a very profound message of growing up being hard because you must reexamine parts of your own life. Mei had always believed she couldn’t excuse herself from inherited family responsibilities. That she always had put their needs before herself, given everything Ming had put into her head. Mei was indeed brainwashed not just by her mother, but a common issue in Asian culture. Granted, not every Asian family is obviously like this, although there is a painful truth behind it all. Perfection, studying hard, and family are three things their way of life has preached to above and beyond. It’s a severely double edged sword sometimes bringing out good results sure, but this mind set can just as well as have great consequences on future generations. The cycle needs to change in order for people to freely live their own life and help family when need be.

     I sincerely felt for Mei’s conflict against her mom, as someone who has dealt with parental differences the more I’ve grown into adulthood over these years, too. A bittersweet element of life is you’re going to think more differently from what your own parents believe, depending on whatever defining experiences we’ve had. No matter how much you love your parents, sometimes they need to be called out when any father or mother alienates events that have shaped ourselves. For this important reason alone I couldn’t have a greater appreciation for what Turning Red set it out to tell in its story and especially the way it executed said messages, in general. Turning Red is truly an excellent addition to Pixar’s library of animated gems because not only will many young girls will strongly relate to this film, but so will plenty of adults. 

     Don’t judge a book by its silly cover, as Turning Red has plenty of underlying dramatic writing for anyone to mull over in their minds. It’s not just about some young girl going through a clever allegory for puberty, but a tale of the emotional conditioning one’s culture, not to mention past family conflicts, defining a person’s struggles. Turning Red is a story about overcoming and coping to become better. 

[n3ptun3st4rs]

My GTA fixation is back since I've watched all of the cutscenes in GTA: Chinatown Wars aughhhhh Okay, now call me a damn weirdo, but... Is it just me or...

dilf (or uilf) material (ImsofuckingsorrymanIjustcanthelpitmyfantasyisatitagain)

[mcgomega]

Random "Turning Red" thought/theory/headcanon

It might be just my interpretation, but... Does anybody else thought that when Mei's mother Ming was her daughter's age... she didn't have any friends like Mei did? She probably went to a private school if the uniform is any indicator, definitely was a straight A student, meaning she spend a lot of her time studying and no chance for socialising. Also, if we assume that in the movie she's in her 30ies - 40ies, that would mean that she was 13 in 1975-1985. That would be safe (and sad) to assume that she was most likely bullied for being a straight A student/wearing glasses/being Chinese. That would leave almost no chance for making any friends. So Ming would've had only her family to confide to, despite her mother's strict parenting and demand to be "perfect". That would make sense why she was so aggressive when her mother didn't approve of Jin - he was probably her very first friend that accepted her the way she is. That would also explain why Ming is so clueless about modern social environment that her daughter leaves in - she has no one to talk to to get the memo - she might still has no friends because she is so devoted to her job as the Temple Administrator and her family. How sad must it be to be in her prime age and have no support group like Mei has... I hope she would at least get along with the girls' parents. I might be wrong about this. Feel free to correct me.