The movie Crazy Rich Asians, based off of the book by Kevin Kwan of the same name, is a fictional romantic comedy about the elite and insanely rich families of Singapore. The son of one of these prominent families, Nick Young, comes home for the first time in a few years for his best friends wedding, and brings home his Chinese-American girlfriend, Rachel Chu, to meet his family. The movie was not only revolutionary because of its entirely Asian cast in a Hollywood blockbuster, but it also shined a light on a portion of Asian society that is not often portrayed in American movies.
Crazy Rich Asians creates discussions about many of the topics the we have covered in ways that are not obvious in American Society. It raises questions about Othering and the power dynamics in the Asian high society based on not only wealth but also ethnicity and cultural beliefs. Rachel Chu was raised by a single mother in America, so although she is Chinese, she is very westernized in her beliefs. This becomes a prominent issue between Rachel and Nicks family, primarily his mother, because of the difference in beliefs and traditions between their eastern views and responsibility and family. Although the disagreements appear to resolve at the end of the movie, it leaves a lot of questions about how the deep family cultures of many Asian countries mix with the more individualistic ideas in western society.
The director and writers do an immaculate job showing many of the positive and negative aspects of both cultures, while using comedic relief to accomplish this. Although they work to show some of the race and cultural clashes and how to overcome these, it is difficult to know if the audience will be receptive to this. I believe that they suggest that their is common ground between our cultures if we only look for them and remember to stay humble.
All of these conflicts culminate in an internal struggle for Rachel throughout the movie. She identifies and Asian in America, but she is not accepted or welcomed into the Young family or their portion of society. Rachel must fight for her acceptance and overcome many obstacles both in the relationships she forms and the mental battles that she faces because if the challenge to her identity. She even mentions in the beginning of the movie that she’s a Chinese economics professor, and therefore they must love and accept her, so the defiance she faces is shocking and forces Rachel to grow and learn to accept herself for who she is. Crazy Rich Asians generates questions and discussions about racial identity and Othering from a unique perspective.