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Crazy Rich Asians presents a whole new wave of stereotypes Crazy Rich Asians presents a whole new wave of stereotypes
(14 days later)
When I was growing up, there were only a handful of stock media representations of Asians, my ethnic group. The Pearl Cream commercial lady. Mr Miyagi from The Karate Kid offering up laconic "Confucius say" platitudes, which read like slips from fortune cookies. Bruce Lee – who admittedly had schoolyard cache – until he was bested by Long Duk Dong, the Fresh Off the Boater from Sixteen Candles whose one-liners – such as "What's happenin', hot stuff?" – have proved more lasting than most Americans' pension plans.When I was growing up, there were only a handful of stock media representations of Asians, my ethnic group. The Pearl Cream commercial lady. Mr Miyagi from The Karate Kid offering up laconic "Confucius say" platitudes, which read like slips from fortune cookies. Bruce Lee – who admittedly had schoolyard cache – until he was bested by Long Duk Dong, the Fresh Off the Boater from Sixteen Candles whose one-liners – such as "What's happenin', hot stuff?" – have proved more lasting than most Americans' pension plans.
Needless to say: it was slim pickings for Mongoloids everywhere.Needless to say: it was slim pickings for Mongoloids everywhere.
But with Kevin Kwan's debut novel Crazy Rich Asians, we've left the familiar waters of kung fu fighting for a whole new wave of stereotypes. Kwan delves into the world of the Singaporean "overseas" Chinese – an elite breed sporting Huntsman blazers and matching Queen's English accents, who shoot off to island getaways in their private jets.But with Kevin Kwan's debut novel Crazy Rich Asians, we've left the familiar waters of kung fu fighting for a whole new wave of stereotypes. Kwan delves into the world of the Singaporean "overseas" Chinese – an elite breed sporting Huntsman blazers and matching Queen's English accents, who shoot off to island getaways in their private jets.
Crazy Rich Asians follows the story of Singapore golden boy Nick, who brings home his naiver than thou "ABC" – American-born Chinese – girlfriend, Rachel, to the dismay of the whole clan; comedic culture clashes ensue. Kwan presents a belly-aching feast of stereotypes, rivaling only the sumptuous fusion fare heaped throughout the novel's never-ending banquets.Crazy Rich Asians follows the story of Singapore golden boy Nick, who brings home his naiver than thou "ABC" – American-born Chinese – girlfriend, Rachel, to the dismay of the whole clan; comedic culture clashes ensue. Kwan presents a belly-aching feast of stereotypes, rivaling only the sumptuous fusion fare heaped throughout the novel's never-ending banquets.
Here's but a small sampling of Kwan's Asian stereotypes: Hennessy-swirling, cigar-puffing fat-cat Asian tycoons; fortune-hunting "Taiwanese tornadoes"; Hong Kong fashionista men ("dandies in the truest sense of the word"); ABCs ("overconfident and overfamiliar" types who "grew up drinking Vitamin-D calcium-fortified American milk"); Chuppies (Chinese yuppies); Henwees (high-net worth individuals); old amah kitchen hands; an assortment of marriage-scheming mothers, aunts and in-laws; bitchy shopaholic party girls; blinged out Hong Kong ladies who lunch; un-blinged out Singaporean ladies who lunch (they "wore less jewelry since they were always so scared of being robbed"); Japanese ladies who lunch (with "sun visors and fanny packs" who "looked like they were on the way to the golf course"); penny-pinching Asian immigrants; penny-pinching old-money overseas Asians; spendthrift old-money overseas Asians; spendthrift new-money mainland Asians; "self-hating" Asian-Americans who "feel that the ultimate act of assimilation is to marry into the dominant race"; and the Asian men who size them up, "quantifying every inch ... by a completely different set of standards than [they] would use for non-Asian girls".Here's but a small sampling of Kwan's Asian stereotypes: Hennessy-swirling, cigar-puffing fat-cat Asian tycoons; fortune-hunting "Taiwanese tornadoes"; Hong Kong fashionista men ("dandies in the truest sense of the word"); ABCs ("overconfident and overfamiliar" types who "grew up drinking Vitamin-D calcium-fortified American milk"); Chuppies (Chinese yuppies); Henwees (high-net worth individuals); old amah kitchen hands; an assortment of marriage-scheming mothers, aunts and in-laws; bitchy shopaholic party girls; blinged out Hong Kong ladies who lunch; un-blinged out Singaporean ladies who lunch (they "wore less jewelry since they were always so scared of being robbed"); Japanese ladies who lunch (with "sun visors and fanny packs" who "looked like they were on the way to the golf course"); penny-pinching Asian immigrants; penny-pinching old-money overseas Asians; spendthrift old-money overseas Asians; spendthrift new-money mainland Asians; "self-hating" Asian-Americans who "feel that the ultimate act of assimilation is to marry into the dominant race"; and the Asian men who size them up, "quantifying every inch ... by a completely different set of standards than [they] would use for non-Asian girls".
The reader almost needs an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of who thinks what of whom, and why.The reader almost needs an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of who thinks what of whom, and why.
Crazy Rich even offers a playful riff on the trope of all Asians being good at math, when Chuppies at a bachelorette spa weekend run the numbers before convincing one of their own to dump her "poor" boyfriend. After projected income taxes, mortgage and property taxes, school fees, Swedish au pairs, Sri Lankan maids, dresses, shoes, facials, manis, pedis and Pilates, the girls have (in their heads, anyway) "already spent $470,000 of Simon's salary". It's the sort of lighting-quick computations I haven't seen since the SATs.Crazy Rich even offers a playful riff on the trope of all Asians being good at math, when Chuppies at a bachelorette spa weekend run the numbers before convincing one of their own to dump her "poor" boyfriend. After projected income taxes, mortgage and property taxes, school fees, Swedish au pairs, Sri Lankan maids, dresses, shoes, facials, manis, pedis and Pilates, the girls have (in their heads, anyway) "already spent $470,000 of Simon's salary". It's the sort of lighting-quick computations I haven't seen since the SATs.
The book has been the blockbuster beach read of the summer, so clearly these stereotypes are resonating with the masses. Hunger Games producer Nina Jacobson has optioned the film rights. Vogue, Vanity Fair, Wall Street Journal – media outlets as prestigious as the designer name-brands flaunted throughout the novel – have all touted their praise.The book has been the blockbuster beach read of the summer, so clearly these stereotypes are resonating with the masses. Hunger Games producer Nina Jacobson has optioned the film rights. Vogue, Vanity Fair, Wall Street Journal – media outlets as prestigious as the designer name-brands flaunted throughout the novel – have all touted their praise.
The great irony – and pleasure – of Crazy Rich Asians is that those being stereotyped stereotype right back. Call it a reversal of the collective gaze. Yet for all the stereotypes it exposes then skewers, there are others peddled so earnestly that the reader can't help but wonder at Kwan's agenda. Take, for example, Rachel, the least glamorous character in the book. A 29-year-old tenure-track professor of economics at NYU, she eschews the "crazy rich" world, yet still boasts an elite academic pedigree. A pedigree Kwan goes out of his way to tell us, in a manner devoid of all wry commentary: "She went to school at two of the nation's top universities – Stanford and Northwestern." This coming from an author who name-drops Elie Saab, Patek Philippe and Anderson & Sheppard without a whit of explanation. Add to that her (naturally) pretty face, kind heart and "sexiest legs on the planet", and Rachel makes the perfect stereotype of the bride-to-be. The main character Nick, an Oxbridge-educated New York University history professor with boy band good looks, a massive fortune and do-the-right-thing attitude, is so vanilla he barely comes alive off the page.The great irony – and pleasure – of Crazy Rich Asians is that those being stereotyped stereotype right back. Call it a reversal of the collective gaze. Yet for all the stereotypes it exposes then skewers, there are others peddled so earnestly that the reader can't help but wonder at Kwan's agenda. Take, for example, Rachel, the least glamorous character in the book. A 29-year-old tenure-track professor of economics at NYU, she eschews the "crazy rich" world, yet still boasts an elite academic pedigree. A pedigree Kwan goes out of his way to tell us, in a manner devoid of all wry commentary: "She went to school at two of the nation's top universities – Stanford and Northwestern." This coming from an author who name-drops Elie Saab, Patek Philippe and Anderson & Sheppard without a whit of explanation. Add to that her (naturally) pretty face, kind heart and "sexiest legs on the planet", and Rachel makes the perfect stereotype of the bride-to-be. The main character Nick, an Oxbridge-educated New York University history professor with boy band good looks, a massive fortune and do-the-right-thing attitude, is so vanilla he barely comes alive off the page.
The novel also places a disturbing emphasis on eugenics. The noble-hearted are descended from the noble-hearted. The old-money characters are tall, chiseled and handsome; yet their counterparts are not – like Wye Mun Goh, a day laboring mainlander turned millionaire, whose entire bloodline has unluckily inherited his dark, squat, "pixieish" features. Crazy Rich Asians is as steeped in the stereotypes it seems to rail against.The novel also places a disturbing emphasis on eugenics. The noble-hearted are descended from the noble-hearted. The old-money characters are tall, chiseled and handsome; yet their counterparts are not – like Wye Mun Goh, a day laboring mainlander turned millionaire, whose entire bloodline has unluckily inherited his dark, squat, "pixieish" features. Crazy Rich Asians is as steeped in the stereotypes it seems to rail against.
But ultimately, novels like Kwan's can be taken as (small) signs of progress – they expand our portfolio of how Asians are perceived in the media. There's also something refreshing about this appropriation of self-representation. It almost makes me envy this new generation of Asians, who at least get an upgrade on the stereotypes they'll now face.But ultimately, novels like Kwan's can be taken as (small) signs of progress – they expand our portfolio of how Asians are perceived in the media. There's also something refreshing about this appropriation of self-representation. It almost makes me envy this new generation of Asians, who at least get an upgrade on the stereotypes they'll now face.
And there's one more thing Crazy Rich Asians achieves that has yet to be addressed. A male author – an Asian one at that – has pushed past the velvet ropes of race, culture and gender, to tap that exclusive genre: chick lit. A move arguably more ambitious than breaking into Singapore's moneyed elite.And there's one more thing Crazy Rich Asians achieves that has yet to be addressed. A male author – an Asian one at that – has pushed past the velvet ropes of race, culture and gender, to tap that exclusive genre: chick lit. A move arguably more ambitious than breaking into Singapore's moneyed elite.
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