As some of you may know, May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in the United States. Although Asian Americans make up just over 7 percent of the U.S. population, Asian American is a diverse term that includes Asian Americans of all types of culture in more than 24 countries, including the United States. Only Asian Americans who are officially counted in the census are included.
The history behind the term “Asian American” is complex and does not do justice to such a diverse and diverse group of people. But in the centuries since the first Asian immigrants arrived in the United States, people from many nations have left an indelible mark on American culture.
Even if this list is short, it’s because Asian American art is still in its infancy. However, if you want to look back on AAPI Month and enjoy the incredible contribution AAPI artists make to culture, these are the places to start.
Note before the list: We’ve done our best to keep our focus on Asian-American media in particular, as distinct from foreign-produced pop culture hits, so we’ve made some great 2019 releases. Don’t expect a movie like ‘Parasite’ which is a Korean movie. Not Asian American.
Everything at once, wherever you are
There is a recent Academy Award winning 100% Asian-American film, Everything Everywhere All at Once. Directed by Daniels, this gonzo multi-world adventure combines his stirring sci-fi with a rebellious tale centered around a Chinese-Asian American family. The film garnered public acclaim for its bold action and eye-popping visuals, but it also tackles the heavy theme of immigration. The American dream never materialized for the Wong family, and the film also portrayed the stress that can arise between parents and their first-generation children as a result of immigration.
It might be easy to think of Everything Everywhere All at Once as a reinterpretation of common Asian-American tropes like strict motherhood, but the film is steeped in nuance. Raymond Wong, in a turn from the award-winning Ke Huy Quan, is at the heart of this film, laying the groundwork for what could easily be just another sci-fi extravaganza, but that’s also true.
Life is Strange: True Colors
There are many games featuring Asian-American characters, but let’s take a moment to think about how many games feature Asian-American characters. Chun-Li and Ryu may be well-known icons in the game, but they are not part of the Asian-American diaspora. There’s still a long way to go before there are enough games with Asian-American protagonists to fill the list, but one of the recent highlights is that Asian-American heroine Alex Chen plays her older brother. Life is Strange: True Colors attempts to uncover the mystery behind the death of .
The writers of Life is Strange: True Colors didn’t make Alex’s Chinese ancestry a major part of the story, nor do they need to. The Asian-American characters are prohibited from bringing up their traditions every five minutes or, if they wish, from incorporating them into their lives at all. But even if she doesn’t say it aloud, her culture is there and always present, especially in scenes with her family.
Not all Asian American characters have to be ninjas or samurai. In some cases, they’re just music geeks from Colorado who like Radiohead.
overwatch 2
Still, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to play as a Ninja Warrior. Overwatch 2 features playable heroes from several of his AAPI countries including South Korea, Japan, Thailand, China, and India. These characters aren’t Asian American, so I’m cheating a bit, but the world of Overwatch is interconnected in a different way than our real world, so I wonder if there’s such a thing. It’s hard to say as an Asian-American in the world of Overwatch.
Still, Blizzard has done a great job of not only including diverse characters of Asian descent in their cast, but also hiring the right voice actors and ensuring that the backstories for these characters are nuanced and three-dimensional.
Moana
One of the best Disney films of recent times, Moana pays homage to Pacific island cultures with a large Polynesian cast. Disney consulted ocean trust Anthropologists, cultural practitioners, historians, and linguists from Samoa, Tahiti, Moorea, and Fiji collaborated on the development of the film to ensure it was as authentic as possible while still being a Disney film.
With a compelling soundtrack and a starring performance from Dwayne Johnson as the Maui god, Moana stands above the rest.
turning red
turning red is Technically Asian-Canadian film directed by Dommie Shih. Set in 2002 Toronto, it centers on the relationship between a young Chinese-Canadian girl and her mother, who runs a temple in the city’s Chinatown. The film depicts a very different mother-daughter dynamic from Everything Everywhere All at Once, and is given to its Asian-American characters, even though it should. It further expands expressions that do not exist. Whereas the mother-daughter relationship in Everything Everywhere All at Once is defined by disappointment, in Turning Red Mei Ling’s desire to live a normal, cool youth becomes hilarious. Conflicts with maternal overprotection in a heartfelt way.
Oh, and check out Shih’s previous Pixar short, Bao.
fast and furious franchise
With modest roots in Los Angeles car culture, the series has become one of the world’s biggest action series and features an amazing amount of AAPI goodness, but it’s not what you might think. is not.
First of all, the late Paul Walker was a big fan of Japanese sports cars, and the introduction of sports cars into the series was largely due to his passion, which led to the introduction of Han Lu in the third installment, Fast and Furious. It led to Tokyo Drift. in the family.
When it comes to AAPI characters, there is only Han. A much-loved character in Tokyo Drift, the film series literally bent its own timeline to bring even more Han to the series. And then revived him to keep the fun going.
Fast and Furious isn’t an AAPI series, but its achievements in AAPI pop culture can be measured by the Asian-American creators behind the camera. Justin Lin and James Wan have both helmed major films in the series, and some would argue that Fast and Furious and Fast and Furious 7 are the best. While its on-screen representation is most prominent, Fast and Furious helped pave the way for Asian-American directors. He begins working on blockbusters such as Star Trek and Aquaman.
As we wrap up AAPI Heritage Month, consider checking out some of these titles as a way to celebrate all the contributions AAPI creators and artists make to pop culture.
See also: Mashable’s 14 Best TV Shows by Asian Creators to Watch on Netflix. And if you haven’t seen it yet, beef season 1 But Steven Yuan and Ali Wong give their best performances of their careers, playing raging lost souls who change each other’s lives, so we need to get it right now.
Matt TM Kim is Senior Editor at IGN.you can contact him @lawoftd.
