The first Marvel movie to feature a predominantly Asian cast, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings was released in theaters on Sept. 3. A few recent, notable movies about Asian American life (Crazy Rich Asians, The Farewell, and the like) have openly grappled with the trope of younger-generation Americanization (individualism) struggling with parental and ancestral ideals, immigrant ideals, the kinds of stories that make the children of immigrants feel caught between two worlds. Shang-Chi doesn’t sidestep those tensions. In Shang-Chi, family matters; ancestry matters; and young people are expected to make something of themselves.
According to a comprehensive 2021 study from USC’s Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, Asian and Pacific Islanders accounted for less than 6 percent of speaking roles and less than 4 percent of leads and co-leads in Hollywood films. Traditionally, as Rajgopal (2010) points out in her study of Asian women in films, when Asians are given roles in Hollywood, they are often stereotyped. Men are stripped of their masculinity, and women, whose sole purpose is to pleasure the white male lead and sacrifice herself, are painted as submissive, fragile and servile. One development Shang-Chi has is including complex characters with Chinese names, incorporating Mandarin dialogues, and weaving real Chinese martial arts. As Hollywood is relying more and more on the Chinese markets to make profits on movies, Marvel released Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings with China in mind. Notably, producer Jonathan Schwartz asked the film’s director, Destin Daniel Cretton, who his dream choice was to play the villain — Wenwu, who is the estranged father of the film’s hero. Since Wenwu presents various roles — a stylish underworld boss, an ancient Chinese warrior, and a high-powered modern man, Cretton needed someone with range. “Tony Leung (one of Cretton’s favorite actors), but he’ll never do it,” Cretton said. It turns out that one of the movie’s most brilliant choices is casting Tony Leung. In attracting Hong Kong and mainland China audiences to the theaters, Leung’s role in the film was pivotal. With the same silent passion and stillness that made In the Mood for Love and many romances and dramas in Hong Kong, Leung destroys armies, raises a family, and struggles to resist the destructive grief of losing his wife in Shang-Chi.
For blockbusters, mainland China is the major market to win, so Disney has submitted the movie for release there. However, Shang-Chi has been controversial for some readers of Shang-Chi comic books since the 1970s. They cited the racist origin of the character Shang-Chi’s father, since he was originally named Fu Manchu, an image that evokes the stereotypes first pressed upon Asian immigrants a century ago. First appearing in 1910 in British author Saxon Rohmer’s novels, Fu Manchu was imagined as a master of disguise, master of chemistry, and all-round evil genius. The books were published around 30 years after the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act in the US prohibiting the immigration of Chinese laborers. Built upon the Page Act of 1875 that prohibited the recruitment to the United States of laborers and women, the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act was enforced primarily against Chinese. Importantly, Fu Manchu embodied “Yellow Peril”, the racist idea that Asian cultures threatened Western society. Nowadays, Marvel no longer had the rights to Fu Manchu and did not want them, so Cretton and his team needed an entirely new character and they humanized him by making him a devoted family man instead of a sinister character. The movie still has found some resonance with Chinese audiences who have seen the film. For instance, Jin Yang, a Chinese film producer based in Beijing, said that “It’d be great if Chinese audiences could see this film that combines Chinese and Western cultures so well… It’s amusing that it’s Americans’ turn to read subtitles in a Marvel film.”To sum up, the film Shang-Chi is a turning point of Asian American representation, although Disney is still far from reaching parity and has room for improvement in promoting diversity. From Parasite and its explosive success, to Minari and The Farewell landing major acting awards for their casts, more attention is being paid to both diversity and fully fleshed-out characters. It is significant for children of every race and culture to see themselves portrayed in mainstream movies like the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
References
Philips, Maya, 2021. ‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’ Review: House of Hidden Dragons. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/01/movies/shang-chi-and-the-legend-of-the-ten-rings-review.html
Tan, Shally, 2021. Shang-Chi and the fight against yellow peril, the Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/interactive/2021/shang-chi-asian-tropes/?pwapi_token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWJpZCI6IjI5MzgwNDQxIiwicmVhc29uIjoiZ2lmdCIsIm5iZiI6MTYzNjQxMTk0NywiaXNzIjoic3Vic2NyaXB0aW9ucyIsImV4cCI6MTYzNzYyMTU0NywiaWF0IjoxNjM2NDExOTQ3LCJqdGkiOiI4NWQ3MzllOC0zNDFmLTQ5MDUtOWE2ZC0wMGQ1MGQyMWIzYjAiLCJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczovL3d3dy53YXNoaW5ndG9ucG9zdC5jb20vYXJ0cy1lbnRlcnRhaW5tZW50L2ludGVyYWN0aXZlLzIwMjEvc2hhbmctY2hpLWFzaWFuLXRyb3Blcy8ifQ.K4xT2A0OE5WZY7kQ3UjpoyUxF3b2gO2MjHJcglYw1ok&itid=gfta Young, Jin Yu, Chien, Amy Chang, and Paybarah, Azi, 2021. ‘Shang-Chi’ Wins a Warm Asia Greeting. Then There’s China, the New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/17/business/shang-chi-china-marvel.html
Author: Iris Guo
