Crazy Rich Asians

The recently extremely popular movie Crazy Rich Asians was a monumental movie release for the asian community in not only America, but for Asian communities all over the world. Hollywoods lack of asian roles and asian presence has been extremely noticeable within their films and has been a growing issue over the years. In 2018, with the release of Crazy Rich Asians, people felt that Hollywood was making a statement that with this movie's release they would change the issue of asian presence and support those communities more. Wrong.

I felt that the movie Crazy Rich Asians was a way to appease the general public on the lack of asian presence in Hollywood films. I personally did enjoy the movie and felt that it was a step in the right direction, however the level of orientalism present within the movie is astounding.

The movie revolves around a couple in love, Nick Young and Rachel Chu, who travel to Singapore to visit his family who are crazy rich asians, extremely family oriented, and very traditional. Throughout the movie there are exotic parties, a tropical wedding, and an array of colors throughout the movie. The movie really highlights the craziness of rich asians and portray it materialistically along with the personality and actions of a crazy rich asian. All in all, throughout the entire movie I felt that orientalism was at work because it made asian culture look bad.

When Nick Young and Rachel Chu break up do to his family's tradition and family oriented beliefs, it makes it seem as if being family oriented is bad and prevents having a full life. In the ending scene when Nick Young does eventually acquire his mother's blessing and there's the scene where he and Rachel are reunited, it's further degrading asian culture and supporting western individualistic beliefs. This is seen in many scenes, not only in the love scenes. Another scene where they're representing asians badly is when Rachel is at the bachelorette party and the girls gang up on her and put a dead fish in her bed and write in blood "Catch this you gold-digging bitch". This scene plays into the theme savagery and portrays the asian women as savages. The orientalism is subtle and well hidden, however it's presence is there.

Once again, I'd like to reiterate that I did enjoy watching the movie Crazy Rich Asians and did appreciate the fact that Hollywood released a movie consisting of mainly an asian cast. However, from my perspective, Hollywood still has a long way to go in portraying Asians correctly and respectfully and breaking away from orientalism.

"Barbaric, But Hey, It's Home"

When I was little I would try to wake up at 6:00am almost every Saturday morning just so I could beat my brother to the TV for his Saturday morning cartoons. Yes, I did love Tom and Jerry, The Jetsons, and The Flintstones but if I ever got to the TV first, I would instead insert a Disney princess movie. My favorites were Mulan, The Little Mermaid, but especially Aladdin. In my five year old mind Jasmine was the best princess. I mean, she lived in a gorgeous castle, rode on a magic carpet, and had a pet tiger!!

However, Aladdin is a clear embodiment of Orientalism. The movie opens with the famous song "Arabian nights" immediately planting heavy stereotypes into the viewers minds. The lyrics state: "Where they cut off your ear if they don't like your face, It's barbaric, but hey, it's home." This depicts the east as "barbaric", completely "uncivilized" compared to the west. The "dangers" of the east are implanted into our minds consciously and unconsciously.

Jafar, the primary villain, maliciously inflicts harm on others throughout the movie, embodying the stereotype of cruel Arab villains. This extends beyond Jafar into the eastern stereotype that masculinity is defined by violence. The scarce representation of women is shown through a orientalist image of the Arab woman. Either submissive like the servants in the palace or exotic and lustful like Jasmine. To prevent this dangerous mindset, we need to look at eastern countries through an open mindset and not let our preconceived notions cloud our judgment.

The Princess Bride: Romance, Comedy, or Romantic Comedy?

The Princess Bride is a comedy that has stood the test of time and is known for its great storytelling. It begins with a boy who is home sick and his grandpa comes to read to him. As he reads, the viewer then watches the story, so much so that you forget it’s even being told. Within the book, Wesley, a farm hand, is in love with a girl named Buttercup but he is sent off to sea where he becomes the “Dread Pirate Roberts” in secrecy and fakes his own death. Buttercup’s heartbreak makes her vow to never love again. Then there are Inigo, Vezzini, and Fezzik. These are three con men who want to start a war between Florin and Guilder by kidnapping the princess to-be, Buttercup. Throughout the rest of the movie these main characters become friends, enemies, lovers, and teammates.

The Princess Bride shows characteristics of almost all types of comedy, the first being farce. Although it uses satire and a deeper sense of comedy, there also still those comedic moments when, for example, the Albino gets hit on the head so hard he becomes unconscious, Inigo falls face first into his food, and when Fezzik and Inigo play childish rhyming games. If The Princess Bride was only a farce, it would still be a fantastic movie, but they take their comedy even further.

The Princess Bride is also a romantic comedy because the heart of the story is love story between Wesley and Buttercup. However, because of the funny lines, exaggerated action, things that clearly are not real or are clearly staged, The Princess Bride isn’t just a romance movie.

The Princess Bride is clearly a satirical movie. From the beginning, the movie has many fairy tale elements: princesses, castles, true love, happy endings, but they are mocked and the story doesn’t turn out the way a normal fairy tale would. The wittiest character is by far Wesley, who is constantly shooting others down with his sarcasm and mockery. With each clever line, Wesley has the audience cracking up by the ends of his scenes. The movie also does a great job of pulling the reader into the “fairy tale” story, but right when you become really devoted to it, it flashes back to the reality of the grandpa and grandson. These two characters add a lot to the comedy of the movie because they mock and judge the story, emphasizing how much it isn’t a fairy tale.

Finally, almost every character is changed by the end of the movie. Every character has a motive that drives them forward, avoiding any flat characters. For example, Inigo wants to avenge his father’s death, Wesley wants to reunite with Buttercup, and Prince Humperdink wants to take over both the lands as king. The only flat character is Buttercup, the damsel in distress, who really serves no purpose other than being saved.

The Princess Bride is anything but unadaptable to the modern era. The jokes and comedy have stood the test of time and never fail to make the audience laugh.

Must Love Dogs

According to Aristotle, in order to qualify as a comedy, all that is required is a happy ending.

In the movie Must Love Dogs, the main character Sarah, a preschool teacher divorcée, is a vulnerable mess struggling to return back to the world of dating. With the help of her sisters, an online dating website, and serendipity, she eventually meets a man named Jake. They decide to meet in a dog park where they find that they have a chemistry unlike any other. Sarah finds that after their first encounter she is unable to stop thinking about him, but finds that another man is interested. However, despite the complications experienced on both sides by Sarah and Jake, they end up together.

Throughout the movie Must Love Dogs, comedy enhances our understanding that love is complicated. It is a process that is mysterious and unpredictable. Throughout its stages, humans experience an array of emotions from obsession, depression,  irrationality, felicity, and etc. This is only one of the many movies out there that depict an ordinary man and woman falling in love. It's definitely not the funniest movie out there, but it is a feel good movie that most definitely satisfying to watch.