china

YANG | Not All Chinese Here Are Americans (Obviously) and That’s Fine

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I remember my palpable disappointment when I first watched the movie “Crazy Rich Asians.” It turns out that most of my fellow international Chinese friends also judged this film that way, as well as the general public in China. The movie flopped in China, both in the box office and in reviews. The aggregated score from 83,054 public reviews on Douban (豆瓣), the Chinese equivalent of IMDb, is a mere 6.1 out of 10. A common thread of criticism toward the film is a lack of authenticity, with many Chinese moviegoers begrudgingly calling it “General Tsao’s Chicken,” a particularly cruel title if you realize that this famous and delicious Chinese food is actually an invention linked more to America. So, you can perhaps imagine my bewilderment at first when I realized that “Crazy Rich Asians” is actually a cultural phenomenon in America, having a deep impact on the Chinese-American community in particular.

Opinion

WANG | Tackling LGBT Topics as a Chinese American

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When I was younger, I found myself in a Shanghai bookstore looking up at a tall bookshelf that seemed to be only that large to mock me. Oddly, I had an urge to get to the top shelf. So, I climbed. Well, it ended poorly. I only got a foot on the shelf before wiping out and bringing down with me an impressive amount of material.