Something that never struck me until I met my Vietnamese best friend in 5th grade, was how white the world was. I never saw a problem with having (mostly) all white fairytale princesses, or that there would only be a token character in shows that I loved watching. She helped me see the world is full of diversity and that it should be celebrated and encouraged. It wasn’t until years after we met, that the show ‘Fresh off the Boat’ staring an almost all Asian cast aired on ABC. I didn’t think much of it, although it quickly became one of my favorite shows. After the season ended, I was talking to my friend and she said in passing that she felt it was going to get canceled; she had become used to this happening to shows with a very diverse cast. While the comment she made wasn’t intended to make a giant stand against white Hollywood, it really stuck to me. Thankfully, the show is still on the air and in passing years I am proud to see that Hollywood is finally adopting a more racially rounded cast list. Recently the movie ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ came out and I was so excited for what this meant for diversity in Hollywood. Producers are taking risks to help showcase different stories and world experiences. When this movie first came out, I was hearing the backlash that the movie was highlighting only a small percentage of Singaporeans and that the movie should have focused on being more diverse. Hearing this feedback really upset me because movies about rich white people never receive the same feedback. White movies never get that response because there are already thousands of movies that showcase diversity among gender, class and many other defining characteristics. Why ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ was such an important movie was because it was the first step in creating this broad spectrum on what it means to be Asian. While it started with a tantalizing story about a rich family, this sort of success can only lead producers in Hollywood to want to take chances on different stories. What is so encouraging about this movie is that it was wildly popular instantaneously. Within its first five days at the box office, the movie grossed $35 million. This success paves the road for a bright future in more diverse films and might be the nudge Hollywood needs towards funding these movies. I might not be Asian nor know what it is to grow up as a second or third generation immigrant, but with more stories like this being told I can be exposed to different cultures and gain an appreciation for them. Obviously, this movie nor any other can give me the life experience of someone else, but it can help bridge the gap and make the world a more open-hearted place.
XOXOHC
-Jamie