This year, 2 major Hollywood movies featuring an ASIAN LEAD & ASIAN CAST will be released. Im talking about #shangchi and #MortalKombat

This should be seen as major wins in Asian-Am communities, but it seems that this isnt the case due to them being martial art films. A thread:

I understand that there is an ongoing sentiment that we need to show the world there is more to Asian culture than just martial arts. That’s very true.

However, we are over looking the HUUUGE historical milestones that these films are making, which I want to break down.

Let's talk about why people should care about Shang-Chi, ESPECIALLY the AAPI community. First, the cast

Awkwafina - Crazy Rich Asians, The Farewell, Nora from Queens
Michelle Yeoh - Crazy Rich Asians, Star Trek
Simu Liu - Kim's Convenience
Ronnie Chieng - The Daily Show, CRA

These are all amazing people who are fighting for more Asian representation in Hollywood & western media. The movies/shows theyve worked on also made huge strides in Asian representation in western cultures.

They wouldnt take on just any typical role. Lets support their work!

The director, Destin Daniel Cretton, is Asian-Am. He’s not a white guy.

Whats awesome about him is that he also directed "Just Mercy," a movie about the civil rights movement w/Michael B Jordan. He'll do a good job tying in values of diversity and proper representation in this.

Ya’ll remember how Disney f*cked up Mulan? Likely because their production crew was predominately white smh

This isn’t the case for Shang-Chi, as screen writing and art direction are all ASIAN led. The team mentioned they were very sensitive to not enter stereotypical territory.

Marvel's goal is to tell an Asian-Am themed story through Asian filmmakers, like they did w/ Black Panther and black culture.

Few years ago, ppl were calling Crazy Rich Asians “the Asian’s Black Panther.” Imo not accurate. However Shang-Chi is literally set to embody this title.

This is a movie that will finally give young Asian children an Asian superhero that they can identify with. Imo it’s also fitting that this hero fights with an Asian art form.

Remember that Batman literally mastered martial arts too (though less emphasized i know)

I haven't forgotten about Mortal Kombat! Though it's less likely to explore themes of Asian American identity, it does feature a predominantly Asian cast... and non-white washed characters. It also gives more new Asian-Am actors the opportunity to perform on the big screen. WIN.

Furthermore, try naming the last Hollywood martial arts movie that featured a full cast of ASIAN-AMERICANS/WESTERNERS. You probably can't.

If these movies are successful, these Asian-western actors are more likely to have opportunities to move to roles outside of the genre.

Back about the topic of martial arts and these movies: there’s definitely a lack of support from the Asian community… to the point where other communities are more supportive and making bigger noises than us.



 https://twitter.com/TheLewisTan/status/1380633285504667651

Maybe it’s cuz of trauma we felt with our association with MArts. Or how other ppl fetishize it. Overall, likely tired of it. Growing up, we’d often hear “You look like Jet Li” to mock us. However, I personally refuse to let these experiences change the way I appreciate the arts.

Martial Arts brought many communities of color due to themes of fighting oppression. Also brought forth some of the greatest collabs between the Asian and Black community:

Jackie Chan & Chris Tucker
Jet Li, Aaliyah & DMX
Bruce Lee & Kareem Abdul Jabbar

Yes I agree there needs be more Asian led films that aren't martial arts related. I think we're closer than ever to getting there, but in the meantime let’s celebrate Asian Americans getting on the big screen, for any role!

(and their source characters not being white-washed!)

Let’s do our part as a community and support our fellow AAPI members appearing in #MortalKombatMovie and #ShangChi