#misrepresented

Arthur W. Pink

The Hope: There is plenty to be upset about but in looking at this list I am also happily surprised just how many SE/Eastern Asians there have been on the big screen in the MCU (not to forget the badass tv character’s from Chloe Bennet’s Agent of SHIELD/Inhuman hero Quake Daisy Johnson to Jessica Henwick’s Daughter of the Dragon/Iron Fist Colleen Wing, and more! Or our Middle Eastern and Pacific Island neighbors). And the range of representation in film has been evolving. Brad Davis was described as having “all the girls want him”. Jimmy Woo not only mastered close up magic but also expanded being more than a by the rule agent but someone who will literally fight for good (not with martial arts). Simu Liu promises to deliver a hero who embodies the Asian American experience demonstrating why we are not some vastly different/foreign people while depicting the importance of heritage. The Eternals promise to give us a new voice in terms of romance and strength through the given characters Sersi and Gilgamesh respectively. Again Shang Chi is a triumph but it should be looked at as a launch pad NOT the pinnacle. May his continued growth in the MCU along with future representation depict us more and more outside of stereotypic norms telling more of our stories.

Source: https://oceana.org/sites/default/files/National_Seafood_Fraud_Testing_Results_Highlights_FINAL.pdf

In honor of the release of Shang Chi I wanted to share my own personal story about representation and why it matters. Growing up my favorite actor was Dante Basco ever since his role as Rufio in the 1991 cult classic Hook. I followed his career from his various smaller roles to his voice acting career from American Dragon Jake Long to Prince Zuko from Avatar the Last Airbender. He’s honestly not the best actor so what was the hook for me? He looked like ME. As a young Filipino American I just enjoyed seeing him on screen but it wasn’t until adulthood that I realized that it was that sort of cognitive racial basis: I saw MYSLEF in HIM. A badass warrior swordsman and leader of the Lost Boys. Getting to be romantic twice (Fresh Prince of Bel-Air & Fakin’ Da Funk) with the childhood crush Tatyana Ali. To being the voice behind the GREATEST REDEMPTION ARC OF ALL TIME!!! (Which happened to be the one of the few actual asian voices of the entire series). You see as MCU fan I can look at Captain America and I could hold some of his beliefs and I could see myself in him and tell myself that golden quote from Into the Spider-Verse “Anyone can be Spider-Man. You can be Spider-Man!” subbing in “Cap” for “Spidey” and then cry in the theaters when Steve hands the shield over to Sam “How’s it feel?” Like it’s someone else’s. “It isn’t...” and continue to say thank you under my breath because I believe I can be Captain America. This is the truth of these characters. These superheroes. WE CAN BE ANYONE WE WANT TO BE within our hearts and within our minds. WE CAN ACHIEVE ANYTHING we put our time and effort into. But believe me when I say IT IS DIFFERENT to actually see someone who actually looks like you being celebrated on the big screen in front of the masses. It is DIFFERENT to know that people of all different backgrounds can ACCEPT someone that looks like you as a hero or romantic lead, etc. and can find a sense of inspiration or even just some relatability. It’s even more meaningful when this favorite actor stars in a film called The Debut that focuses on Filipino American teenagers who struggle with identity between being whitewashed versus embracing your native culture and knowing that their was a whole generation that was experiencing these things with you. It means the most when that very actor was born and raised in the same area as you and defied the odds of the environment and industry and racism to earn all of this success and passing on so much hope and inspiration not as a character... but as himself... It means the world to me that young black children get to grow up seeing themselves as Spider-Man and Captain America too. But they firstly got to see themselves as the Kings and Queens of Wakanda. Shang Chi even if not directly the “same asian as me” gets to represent me and inspire a whole generation of kids who look like him and live a life like his allowing them to get to see themselves as superheroes! I hope everyone of all ethnic backgrounds get to have that experience. I hope everyone will celebrate this achievement with us and that the asian community will show anyone who wishes to be like Shang Chi or Simu Liu and learn more about their culture OUR culture that we show them that good asian hospitality. Thank you all for sticking through and reading this!