Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021) - Aileen Cha

 

Marvel had never had an Asian lead in the 25 movies they made until Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings came out last year in 2021. Starring Simu Liu, a Chinese-born Canadian actor, and directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, a half-Japanese American filmmaker, Shang-Chi is one of the most prevalent films in film history in terms of Asian representation. Or it is supposed to be. Shang-Chi, along with The Joy Luck Club, Crazy Rich Asians, and Mulan are the only films produced by a major Hollywood studio to have a predominantly Asian cast, however, I will argue that Shang-Chi does nothing to advance positive Asian representation in Hollywood. In fact, I argue that it only confirms the notion of Asians as being perpetual foreigners in American society. The idea of perpetual foreigners is based on a racist and xenophobic ideology where naturalized and even native-born citizens are perceived by the majority as foreign because they belong to a minority group, usually Asian, through a form of systemic racism and stereotyping. In regards to Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, members of the Asian American community may be excited to finally see themselves represented in one of the most popular genres of film, but once watching, they may notice that all of the negative stereotypes associated with being Asian is racially reaffirmed throughout the entire film in subtle and not so subtle ways. Before I even dissect components of the film itself however, it is important to point out the fact that before the film was released in 2021, all of the media and press surrounding the film when it was announced was all about selling the fact that it featured an all Asian ensemble cast, featuring an Asian lead playing a superhero for the first time in Marvel history, as well as film history. The need to emphasize the extravagance and glamor of finally having an Asian superhero film is performative as it almost feels like Marvel is trying to prove their “diversity” credit to the public. By constantly pushing the fact that this is the first all Asian cast for an MCU film and how that is supposedly so exciting, only reemphasizes the fact that this movie is different and “foreign” compared to all of the other MCU films because it holds an all Asian cast. From the start, Shang-Chi was painted as the perpetual foreigner of the MCU as soon as Marvel decided to constantly advertise and promote the film as a groundbreaking historical advancement in their studio because this film joined only three other films featuring an all Asian cast in Hollywood, and is the only film in the MCU with an Asian superhero lead. The emphasized “Asianness” of the film immediately set it apart from all other films in the MCU, and encouraged the audience to perceive the film as different and foreign instead of simply another exciting superhero movie created by the MCU. Now, when examining the components and plot of the film, Shang-Chi fails to challenge Hollywood’s standard racist and stereotypical portrayal of Asia and Asians in general. For example, by utilizing a storyline of the main character Shaun (played by Simu Liu), also known as Shang-Chi, leaving his “homeland” where his father ruled a strict monarchy and expected Shaun to take over after him, the film only reaffirms Hollywood’s usual and subtle negative portrayal of Asia having traditional, unchanging, and strict values in their culture that is frowned upon or questioned by those with the Western values of change, adaptation, and progressiveness. Apart from Shang-Chi, Katy (played by Awkwafina) is a character that undergoes a lot of development as she eventually helps Shang-Chi in the final battle of the film, but even she is subjected to all of the Asian stereotypes Hollywood loves to portray and reaffirm constantly. For example, the racist stereotype of all Asians being smart may seem like it will not be prevalent in a superhero film especially when the two main characters (Shang-Chi and Katy) are valet drivers, but the film manages to point out that Katy graduated from Berkeley with honors and Shaun speaks at least 4 languages. On the bus, Katy sees a woman writing a research paper, and subtly utilizes the “dragon mother” Asian stereotype when she comments on how her mom wishes that Katy was like the woman on the bus. Scenes like these undo the potential a film with an all Asian ensemble cast can have because if a film is supposedly going to advance positive representation for an underrepresented minority group, the actual scenes of the film should reflect this goal instead of reaffirming negative stereotypes of said group. These stereotypes about Shaun and Katy are unnecessary for developing a superhero storyline of Shang-Chi having to confront his past and fight his father, the leader of the Ten Rings organization, to prevent the release of a terrible power into the world. However, because it is a superhero film with the first all Asian cast and even though there are over 20.6 million Asians in the US, Asians are subtly meant to be portrayed as “foreign” in films, and those stereotypes allow for the reaffirmation of the film being the perpetual foreigner of the MCU. Additionally, the biggest Asian stereotype for Shang-Chi lies in the entire premise of the film: martial arts. The stereotype of Asians being associated with martial arts and kung fu seems like the only storyline that Hollywood allows Asian actors and films to thrive with. So, of course the first Asian led superhero film had to be about martial arts because how else can an Asian fight? When a film that supposedly holds great representation for a minority group is painted as the perpetual foreigner of a cinematic universe, it follows that the minority group will also be painted and perceived as perpetual foreigners in society. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings did exactly that, and with its marking in film history as the first Asian led superhero film, the film used its platform to reaffirm negative Asian stereotypes, and Marvel only proved the fact that Asians are seen as perpetual foreigners in American society.  

AMST215, Lecture Interracial Intimacy and the Civil Rights Movement, Sept. 8, 2022