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When I was in high school
I got told to "go back to China"
On almost a monthly basis
I'd be speaking with my Chinese classmates at a bus stop
And some random strangers would yell at me, saying
"On est au Québec, parle en français" (We are in Quebec, you speak French)
Luckily, these encounters eventually stopped
Partly because I grew up to look like a serial killer
Yet, at the end of the day
These people have won
Because I've become very apprehensive
About speaking Chinese in public
Whenever I show myself like that
It means trouble
The message is clear
That my culture, my language, and my skin color
Are not welcome, here
The fact is, I don't feel particularly at home in China, either
When I go back
I have to live in a hotel
And I'm just... visiting
Chinese people would instantly recognize me as someone from outside
They don't really know which outside
But they don't really care, either
When Shang-Chi was announced
And was presented as this big "Asian representation" movie
I was really hoping it would be a story about a man
Being sandwiched between a world that doesn't welcome him
And a world that doesn't love him anymore
It would be an exaggerated representation
Of what many Asian-Americans have experienced in the United States
But instead, what we got is a movie more eager to represent China
Than it is to represent Asian Americans
So, yeah
That was my one nitpick with Shang-Chi
Let me explain
[Shang-Chi and the Perpetual Foreigners]
[Chapter One]
In Black Panther
Killmonger, the villain of the film
Visits the Museum of Great Britain
He points to an artifact
"How do you think your ancestors got these?"
"Do you think they paid a fair price?"
"Or did they take it, like they took everything else?"
This is an incredibly powerful scene
Especially for those who came from a country exploited by colonialism
Through the eyes of Killmonger
Black Panther explores the history and consequences of the Slave Trade
The African American experience
Of facing centuries long systemic oppression
And it was a huge success
Marvel would step up their game in their Disney+ series
Falcon and the Winter Soldier
In which it introduces Isaiah
A Korean War vet and a super soldier
Much like Captain America
But instead of becoming the next American symbol
He was thrown in prison
Being experimented on by the government
And had his name erased from history
"They will never let a black man be Captain America."
"And even if they did..."
"No self-respecting black man would ever wanna be"
Through him
The series explores the topic of prejudice against Black Americans
And government exploitation of the community
It was also a huge hit
With this
I was fully expecting Phase 4
To be tackling much heavier issues in life
"but, what is grief"
"If not love persevering"
Shang-Chi tells the story of a man who was trained by his father
To be an assassin since he was a child
Unable to accept his destiny, and his abusive father
Shang escaped to San Francisco
And live there as an ordinary Shaun for half of his life
Until one day, he is summoned by his father
To help him with his criminal empire
When the film begins
It is actually really good
Shang-Chi is just vibing the city
Doing Asian American stuff
Hanging out at a bar
Going karaoke
Disappointing your elders
You know, good stuff
But the moment the movie enters Act 2
Shang immediately leaves America to China
And for the rest of the runtime
The movie does its best
To show us an authentic magical Chinese world
In, what I can only assume
An attempt to appeal to the Chinese market
The "American" side of Shang-Chi's "Asian American" identity
No longer matters
The film wants to be a Chinese film
More than an Asian American movie
As a result
Outside of the small moments in the beginning
Shang-Chi never engages with America
His identity as an outsider is not challenged
To him And to the film
Going to China is, indeed, going home
Despite living in San Francisco for more than a decade
Shang-Chi is still presented as an outsider
And that's somehow "normal"
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[Chapter Two]
Anna
May
Wong
Was nothing short of a miracle
Despite her Asian ancestry
She was able to climb her way to Hollywood stardom
In the 1920s
Back when Hollywood was about as white as a KKK meeting
She was the only Asian American actress to receive a star
On the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Until 2019, when Lucy Liu received hers
Yet despite recognition for her talent and beauty
One thing that was rarely recognized
Was her identity
She was almost never perceived as American
Both on and off-screen
Despite she was born and raised in L.A.
Wong was almost exclusively referred to by the press as "Chinese"
On-screen, her roles were often a stereotypical "Dragon Lady"
An oriental woman of mystery and deceit
A femme fatale not for men to understand
But to conquer
Whenever Hollywood talks about Asians
It's frequently an exercise in flirtation with the exotic and foreign
The more alien, more mystic
The more charming
Because of this fetishization
Whenever an Asian American actor is on screen
The film would immediately highlight our "otherness"
"Of course, Stu. That is cool"
And it was only recently that this trend has been challenged
Unless you count Star Trek
In an amazing bit of counter-trolling
In 1936
Anna May Wong actually went to China
For the first in her life
And, perhaps unsurprisingly
With her 5 foot 7 stature
Chinese people instantly recognized her as a foreigner
She was an outsider
To both worlds
Almost a century later
Anna May Wong's experience remains stubbornly relatable
Asian Americans, along with many other ethnic groups
Are still perceived as "perpetual foreigners"
If someone asks me, "where are you from?"
And I answer with "Montreal"
The next question would more than likely be...
"But where are you REALLY from?"
The same question was probably asked to Anna May Wong
And the same question has probably been asked to Simu Liu
The emphasis on Shang-Chi's more "exotic" heritage
Isn't offensive
Indeed, many second-generation immigrants are curious
To connect with their roots
So, it is a relatable theme
But it nevertheless feels like a tired trope
As if the movie is saying that Chinese Americans are more Chinese
Than they are American
After what the Asian community has been experiencing over the past years
This, sadly, is not good enough
[Chapter Three]
George Takei
The actor who's famous for playing Mr. Sulu in the Star Trek series
Spent years of his childhood living in American internment camps
America was at war with Japan at the time
And Japanese-Americans were deemed a threat to America
Because, to the American government
Japanese Americans were more Japanese
Than they were Americans
In 1982
American draftsman Vincent Chin
Was killed in a racially motivated attack
The two killers, who were working in the automotive industry
Assumed Vincent is Japanese
And assaulted him
Blaming him for the success of Japan's auto industry
Chin was Chinese-American
Being perpetual outsiders
People only see our differences
And since people see themselves as humans
Asian Americans must be, somehow, less human
It makes people less willing to understand us
It makes people less willing to sympathize with us
It makes people...
More willing to attack us
And it can lead to...
Nightmarish tragedies
Shang-Chi does its best
Its intention is good
And it does a very good job at humanizing Asian-Americans
For that, I'm happy
But putting nearly all emphasis on how we are different
To continue exoticizing our ethnicity
Without actively engaging on how Asian-Americans are excluded
May not be as helpful today
Marvel had done it well before
And Marvel had done it even better recently
I know Shang-Chi can do better
To truly live up to its potential at "Asian representation"
So, at the risk of sounding like an Asian parent
"What happened to the other 2%!?"
[Conclusion]
An Asian American focused kung fu movie
Doesn't have to be hard
Or Heavy
Rumble in the Bronx follows a group of Chinese immigrants in New York
Struggling to live in peace
It's a Hong Kong movie
Yet it depicts the lives of a vulnerable community
With such authenticity
They are clearly Chinese
But also American
It's approachable
Yet fascinating
It's a real shame
Because Shang-Chi already has everything else
It has some seriously impressive fights
And I love how the camera is also part of the choreography
Hopefully, it gets more refined in future installments
Because it has a lot of potential
The score is excellent
The world is authentically Chinese but still Marvel
I enjoy both the action and the plot
And that's more than can be said
About a lot of other Marvel movies
But ultimately, Money speaks
With Mainland China being the biggest film market right now
I guess Disney just thinks it makes better sense to represent China
Than it is to represent Asian Americans
News flash
Chinese people watch American films
To see Americana
Asian Americans ARE Americans
They are part of the United States
Why go so far back into our past to look for stories
When we have plenty of stories to tell
Right here