Watching the movie, Crazy Rich Asians, for the first time in theaters back in August, I felt a sense of pride and happiness seeing a film produced and starring a majority Asian American cast. Growing up, I rarely saw Asian Americans/Asians being represented in media. I felt overwhelmingly proud of being represented on screen in a film that rejected stereotypes and explored the Asian Culture. Crazy Rich Asians is a film that breaks the barriers of a white-dominated portrayal of romantic comedies.

Crazy Rich Asians is a huge step in breaking the boundaries of having Asians being represented in the film industry. This movie is so powerful in that fact that it transforms the portrayal of Asian men and women in the western media and film industry, It is not only a film that defies the white-dominated portrayal in media by highlighting the Chinese culture, but it also pushes into breaking Asian stereotypes. It is not a movie that is based on “nerdy Asians” that only care about math and school, but it is a movie that is real and depicts Asian-Americans in a very real light. They are not all doctors and lawyers. Neither were they fetishized as “hot” Asian American woman or a martial arts expert. There is a certain pride in Asian American culture that only Asian Americans could really really understand. There were jokes in the movie that only we could really understand. They had life lessons and stories that Asian Americans could really relate to and finally see on screen. All throughout history, Asian Americans have been singled out as the nerds or doctors or lawyers. But in this film, they are seen as successful professors, businesswoman and businessmen.

Crazy Rich Asians highlights a whole new platform for Asian Americans to share their stories. Through the genre of romantic comedies, Asian Americans have shown to be more relatable characters and not the typical stereotypical characters we see on screen. They are recognized as funny, sarcastic, fun, and beautiful people with relatable personality traits that make them seem more real. There has not been a film in hollywood starring a majority Asian American cast since the Joy Luck Club. Crazy Rich Asians is the leading film today breaking barriers for Asian Americans in a mainly white dominated film industry. I feel hopeful that this film will create an entryway for more Asian Americans to share their stories.