Asian Superheroes: Shang-Chi and Representation in Film
Over the past few years, the Asian American community has been graced by a plethora of new Asian representations in film: From dramas like Crazy Rich Asians to comedy movies like The Big Sick, and even YA romance movies like To All the Boys I Loved Before all have Asian American main characters. And unlike previous movies, this new wave of film rejects the stereotype that Asian actors should only be limited to the role of “quiet, nerdy side-character”, or the even worse stereotype of goofy foreign-exchange students, like Sixteen Candle’s Long Duk Dong. Instead, these movies use their platforms to highlight Asian cultures and how they intertwine with American values. One of the said recent films is Shang-Chi & the Legend of the Ten Rings, a Marvel movie with the martial artist protagonist Shang-Chi. (spoilers ahead!)
Despite my being an avid Marvel fan, I can admit its imperfections regarding diveristy, especially since most of its major characters are white men. This, of course, is typically countered by the argument that the Marvel Comics characters the Avengers were based on were white, but this doesn’t answer other questions: if Marvel was so keen on staying true to the comics, why hadn’t they pushed for Shang-Chi earlier? Where is American Eagle? Dust? Silk? And more comic-accurate POC characters?
Though Marvel can still work on its diversity and inclusion, they have made recent efforts in the DEI direction (e.g. Black Panther, Ms. Marvel, America Chavez, and more). Even before Shang-Chi, Asian characters such as Mantis, Wong, Daisy Johnson, and more have appeared in the MCU; but they always played supporting roles, never the center of attention. Today, I wanted to focus on Shang-chi because he is the first Asian character, and second POC after Black Panther, to be the center of a movie.
To start, I just wanted to say, I’ve already written an article for my school newspaper detailing my review of the movie (linked). In that article, I wrote about the stunning visuals of the movie, its ties to the rest of the universe, and its shortcomings in the Asian representation department. But now, I wanted to use Literary Lazy Susan to talk about it from another angle.
I honestly felt like Shang-Chi’s actual experiences as an Asian American were cut quite short. While a lot of Chinese audience members got to understand to the idioms and recognize certain mythological Chinese creatures, the American aspect and experience were lacking. For example, we only really see Shang-Chi interact with American society for a few minutes in the beginning, and the rest of the movie focuses on Shang-Chi in Chinese society. However, I don’t think that’s necessairily a bad thing because it is incredibly beautiful to see Shang-Chi reconnect with his Chinese heritage. In fact, Asian Americans come with a variety of backgrounds, with some more connected to their American side, and others with Asian culture.
While I wouldn’t consider this movie representative of the overall Asian American experience, I love how it wove Shang-Chi’s heritage seamlessly with some of his American quirks. So, how well do you think Marvel executed that balance between “Asian” and “American”?
Something else I noticed about this movie was the element of family. It’s no secret that the Xu family is not the healthiest: a killer tyrant dad, a dead mom, a run-away son, and a sister who started a fight club in retaliation against misogyny. In fact, the entire premise of the movie is for Shang-Chi and Xialing to fight against their own disillusioned father, Wenwu. However, contrary to the typical Asian movie where the family ends up reconciling, this movie takes it in a slightly different direction. In the end, Wenwu sacrifices himself and his dreams of his wife’s revival as a way of redemption, and we get no regular family reunion. You might even say all members of the Xu family had to give up their immediate family in the end. Despite the tragic nature, I liked Marvel’s twist on the Asian perspective of family: using something as “sacred” as family and destroying it to demonstrate each character’s personal growth (Shang-Chi coming to terms with his family history, Wenwu sacrificing himself for family, Xialing leaving family to reach her full potential, etc).
I personally thought the overarching theme of family was pretty relatable and tragically beautiful, but what are some of your thoughts? Do you think this movie actually showcased this family in a typical Hollywood manner? Or do you think it broke apart the norm of reunion and the “blood is thicker than water” mentality?