representation matters

In the spirit of #AsianAugust, I must talk about Crazy Rich Asians. At the time of this writing, I have seen it 3 times! I watched it twice during its Gold Open, and again this past Friday. I seriously can’t get enough of this movie! 🙂

The theater was packed when I watched it the first time (actually, all 3 times!), and it was filled with predominantly Asian people of all ages. You know when you go somewhere and you can feel the energy in the room? What I felt in that theater was akin to every opening night showing of all the Marvel movies I’ve been to. It was contagious. People cheered, laughed, cried, and cheered some more. I took my parents who are both notorious for falling asleep during movies, and I’m happy to say both stayed up for the entire show. They were really excited to see Kris Aquino, a popular talk show host and actress in the Philippines, who played Princess Intan. I was excited to see Nico Santos reppin’ Filipinos, too!

As an Asian American, my emotions were even more heightened when watching this film. And it’s not just because I’m a super sappy and emotional person to begin with. It’s because for the first time in a long time I saw people on the big screen who look like me and my kin, and talk like me and my friends, front and center rather than in the background. They weren’t the stereotypical nerd, kung fu master, dragon lady, or subservient Asian tropes that Hollywood often portrayed us to be, but more so relatable (besides the crazy rich part). I saw parts of my culture reflected on the big screen in an authentic way, and I haven’t felt like that about since The Debut, an indie Filipino American film that starred Dante Basco (aka Rufio from Hook). The Asian diaspora experience isn’t something I’ve seen on screen very much either, which made Rachel Chu’s story, played by Constance Wu, relatable, too.

Growing up, I hardly saw anyone who looked like me in the movies and tv shows I watched. Claudia Kishi from the Baby-Sitters Club and Trini from Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers were the few fictional characters of Asian descent out there, and I truly saw myself in them. The lack of representation often made it feel like my story or my culture didn’t matter. So when I see characters like the Tico sisters in Star Wars, Ming Na Wen in everything she does, and now Crazy Rich Asians AND To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before… it’s a phenomenal feeling that I don’t quite know how to describe.

I’ve seen a lot people online say Crazy Rich Asians shouldn’t be considered “monumental” and that it doesn’t represent all Asians. Others are referring to it as the “Asian Black Panther.” Those who are criticizing it for its representation have valid reasons, and I won’t dismiss them. But we simply can’t expect one movie to sum up the Asian experience. It’s vast. We have so many stories that need to be told. And to those saying it’s our Black Panther — no, it’s not. To say that is to say each culture will have its own Black Panther — that one movie we can claim. We should all have multiple movies that we can celebrate. If white people can have a plethora of movies, why can’t the rest of us? Crazy Rich Asians is a step in the right direction, and with its success, I can only hope that Hollywood will wake the fuck up and stop whitewashing our roles and letting us be the ones who tell our own stories… which brings me to my outfit…

As usual, I came dressed in theme! Wearing my Asian AF white savior t-shirt was a no-brainer. It bares the names of white actors who have taken on roles of characters who are either of Asian descent or just a straight up white savior: Scarlett Johanson for Ghost in the Shell, Emma Stone for Aloha, Tilda Swinton for Doctor Strange, and Matt Damon in The Great Wall. I wanted my outfit to be somewhat decadent, so I paired it with my Kate Spade statement necklace, yellow floral skirt, and a Gucci bag that I inherited. It is by far the boughiest thing I own. So you bet your ass I stuffed a bag of Shrimp Chips and Hello Panda inside of it.

Unbeknowst to me, a Mandarin cover of Coldplay’s “Yellow” plays during a pivotal scene in the movie. It almost didn’t make the movie, but I read a letter that director Jon M. Chu penned to Coldplay to get permission to use the song. Now knowing the intention behind it and how the song’s lyrics helped Chu reclaim the word yellow moved me even more when I watched it the second and third time. Wearing my yellow skirt was like a happy accident 🙂

::OUTFIT DETAILS::
t-shirt: Asian AF | necklace: Kate Spade
skirt: ModCloth (buy here) | shoes: Report | belt: Old Navy
Purse: Gucci

I feel like I could go on, and on, and on, and on about Crazy Rich Asians and how representation matters, and how awesome it is the see Asian men as hot love interests because they always get the short end of the stick, or the sweet justice I felt when I found out Crazy Rich Asians beat a Mark Walhberg movie senseless at the box office during opening weekend, buuuut I think I’ve written enough… for now 🙂 Have you seen Crazy Rich Asians yet? Were you just as emotional as I was when you watched it? How many times have YOU seen it?! Let’s talk about it in the comments!

Cheers,
Nina

Bodhi Rook is one of my faves in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, so it was pretty upsetting to see how he got (and still does get) the short end of the stick when it comes to being represented in Star Wars merch. ‘Cause if you know me, I’m the perfect consumer; I want to buy all the things that feature my favorite characters! Plus, knowing that the ensemble cast was comprised of so many POC actors was so important to many Star Wars fans, myself included. And the fact that they cast Riz Ahmed, a Muslim actor, in a heroic role rather than a stereotypical terrorist one is of utmost importance. POC of all faiths and ethnic backgrounds want to see themselves represented in the types of stories we love (in roles that aren’t one dimensional and stereotyped) because it makes us feel like we matter. And when it’s something as epic as Star Wars, we want the merch too!

#REPRESENTATIONMATTERS

It’s been a couple years since Rogue One came out, but even now his absence on merch featuring the core team is absolutely noticeable. Even when Disneyland had their Season of the Force event going on in Tomorrowland a few years ago, every character from Rogue One could be found in banners and displays except for Bodhi. He played an integral role in Rogue One — he’s the one that delivered Galen Erso’s message about how to destroy the Death Star and came up with the Rogue One call sign a.k.a. the movie’s damn title for eff’s sake!

So one day last year, I tweeted about it:

After that one tweet, Alice, who I became friends with through Instagram, retweeted it and CC’d s her sister Cat. And Gladys, who I’ve been internet friends with for years, also chimed in on her disdain for the lack of Bodhi. I remember Syl, another longtime internet homie, chimed in too, but I can’t find her tweet!

From there, the Bodhi Brigade was born! Its members include myself, Syl, Gladys, Alice, Cat, Laura, and Amber. Originally, we had a few other members but they have since left (we still have much love for them though!). We didn’t officially christen ourselves with the Bodhi Brigade name until months of back and forth tagging each other in every single Bodhi/Riz Ahmed related thing we came across (shout out to OG member Gwen for coming up with the name); we eventually made a private chat on Twitter to make it easier to share all the Bodhi/Riz news 🙂

Sometime before the private chat was made, I proposed that we start a Bodhi related gang complete with denim jackets/vests, because I sooo badly wanted to be in a cool girl gang with the apparel to show it off, and we practically were one, so why not?! Luckily, everyone was on board with the idea! Alice and Cat (I think) found the perfect vests that were reminiscent of Bodhi’s jumpsuit at Target, and I searched Etsy for a place to make a custom patch (WrightCreationsPA made our gang name banner, half Rebel/Empire, and Bodhi backpack patches!).

A majority of us were going to be at SDCC so we decided to meet up and debut our awesome Bodhi swag! Laura came through and made a life-size Bodhi cutout so we could take pics with “Riz.”

The Bodhi Brigade is still going strong! Our love for Bodhi Rook/Riz Ahmed brought us together, but our love for Star Wars, passion for representation of POC in the shows and movies we love, porgs, and Rose Tico are a few other things that’s brought us so much closer. And through sickness and personal triumphs, we’re all constant cheerleaders in each others lives and I couldn’t be happier to call these women my friends and sisters ❤

Follow my fellow Brigade sisters on social media:

Amber – IG: @ambernwest | Twitter: @amberwest
Alice – IG: @akangaru | Twitter: @kangaru
Cat – IG: @catherine | Twitter: @cfnchng
Gladys – IG: @usagimylene | Twitter: @usgaimylene
Laura – IG: @lsirikul | Twitter: @lsirikul
Syl – IG: @syllykay | Twitter: @syllykay
Me (just in case you don’t already!) – IG: @lefancygeek | Twitter: @lefancygeek

Some of us will be back at SDCC next week too, so don’t be too shy to say “hi” if you see any of us! 🙂

Cheers,
Nina

PS: Riz Ahmed totally saw us on Twitter last year and retweeted Laura’s tweet and this has been written from the great beyond because we are all dead and are just wandering around as ghosts.