Crazy Rich Asians -milestone for Asian-American representation. But that's not what makes it great

https://www.vox.com/2018/8/8/17663950/crazy-rich-asians-movie-5-things-to-know

Based on Kevin Kwan’s best-selling 2013 novel, which spawned two sequels, Crazy Rich Asians is the first major studio movie in 25 years to feature a cast that’s majority Asian-American and Asian. And none of them are playing scientists, martial artists, assassins, or courtesans — the kinds of roles Asian and Asian-American actors are frequently reduced to playing. Instead, Crazy Rich Asians is the rare American movie that allows Asian men and women to be objects of affection, glamorous wealthy villains operating in society’s most elite circles, and players in a sudsy, soapy tale of love and all its discontents

In America, the struggle for Asian Americans is often one of assimilation, of being seen as American, a struggle made even more difficult by the xenophobic undercurrent informing the nation’s current political climate.


Crazy Rich Asians shines a light on a related but less explored idea: that people in Asia don’t see American life as worth assimilating to. And the vision we get of their sophisticated, successful lives in this film suggests they might be onto something.

Rachel is faced with this split between her Asian and Asian-American identity. Even though she doesn’t seem like she should be an outsider with Nick’s family, she’s never fully accepted because of her American cultural identity. Some of the most affirming and thought-provoking parts of Crazy Rich Asians happen when it’s exploring this duality.