“crazy rich asians” is important for black culture (go watch!)

black creatives are being acknowledged heavy these days.
it’s truly a great time to be alive.
with this boost,
other races are trying to get their work out there too.
a recent ig post from lena waithe had me in confusion tho.
it was about the movie,
“crazy rich asians”,
and this is what she had to font about it…

“it’s just as important as black panther and a wrinkle in time…”


now i didn’t get to see “a wrinkle in time”,
but how so?

i saw the trailer when i went to the last purge movie:

…and it looked like a typical rom-com to me.
so did i miss something?
sure…
there isn’t a lot of push for asian movies,
but where do we as black folks come in?
i mean,
besides awkwafina and her blaccent.

in wondering where this push from lena was coming from,
i found my answer a few posts down on her ig:

okay,
make sense.
“a favor”.
so if that was the case,
why not font:

“guys,
check out the new movie,
crazy rich asians!
it’s a good movie i think you’d enjoy.”

…instead of all the extra?
to put a rom com on the same level as black panther,
a movie having a black super hero with an all 98% black cast,
not to mention a black director,
was absolutely ludicrous to me.


asians have their own successful market of entertainment.
they practically dominate in their forest,
and now in this one,
with k pop.
black acts don’t get nearly half that push.
blacks struggle in this country to be taken seriously,
even by our own at times.
so i don’t see how “important” this movie is for us,
especially for “the culture” as lena claims,
but maybe the foxhole can help me understand.

lowkey: lena went and bought out an entire theater for this movie…

i mean,
was it that good?
maybe she meant it was important for white folks to see it?
i’m trying to make sense of it all.

24 thoughts on ““crazy rich asians” is important for black culture (go watch!)

  1. It warms my heart seeing all the tweets and IG posts from Asian Americans who talked about crying in the theater watching this film.Representation Matters and with the success of this film hopefully it won’t take another 25 years for a film with a mostly Asian cast with an AA lead actress to be made by an American studio.
    Just like Black AMERICANS want to see themselves reflected on the big screen so do Asian AMERICANS.

    1. I forgot to mention a lady on HLN explained why she cried because she said many Asian Americans can’t relate to Asian films,it’s a different culture,many times AA don’t even speak the language of their parents or grandparents.So seeing this film, contemporary film, showing an AA woman who she can relate to moved her to tears while watching a romantic comedy.

  2. I didn’t know that my opinion was so drastically different than a lot of other black people lol. The argument of China having a huge market comes with the assumption that all Asians want to watch those movies and that all asians are chinese and/or speak chinese. We are talking about representation in America, the melting pot of the world. That’s like a white person asking a black person why do we need more representation since we have tons a movies, music and BET. I’m only asking that people think about this situation with an open mind.

    Comparing this movie to the cultural significance of Black Panther was a bit misguided, but I do understand it. If we want change in this world, we are gonna have to stand for each other, A lot of Chinese people in France have joined Black lives matter in support, but we don’t hear about that do we.

  3. Are we going to act like China isn’t the next biggest movie market after the U.S.?

    Asians literally have their own billion dollar movie industry. There’s a difference between wanting inclusion because of lack of representation and just wanting to get into another market.

    Ain’t no such thing as POC solidarity. My ass is black.

  4. How about letting people choose whether they want to see it instead of guilt-tripping an entire demographic to go out and support another demographic who are historically notorious for their anti-black sentiments.

    I studied Pop Culture in Japan & East Asia during my 2nd semester of college last year and anti-blackness has been extremely rampant in their culture for over a century. Blackface is still considered normal to these people & it’s still performed there to mock black people (specifically Black Americans). I’ve heard from Black Americans themselves saying that they were turned away from clubs in China just because they were black. Wasn’t an Asian nail salon in the US recently put on blast after they were caught on video unapologetically beating a black woman?

    I attach this to Asian Americans because many of them are 1st, 2nd or 3rd generation so they aren’t exactly exempt from this either since the vast majority of them have immediate connections to their families in Asia. They are not removed from their historic anti-black culture. They are known for worshipping whiteness while shitting on darker skin.

    Don’t let this POC Kumbaya stuff fool you, other POC are only for solidarity whenever they are concerned, however when its for black people they will turn a blind eye because in their eyes we are below them within the hierarchy system so our problems aren’t viewed as their problems. The same goes for the Hispanic community in general.

    We need to put ourselves first and stop letting others eat off our plate & hardwood whenever its convenient. This is the exact reason why the white-washing of Hip Hop & R&B is happening before our own very eyes.

  5. Jamari,I agree with you 100% and every word. And I like KJD’s comment, particularly this:

    “Neither the director (Jon M. Chu), the lead actress (Constance Wu), the lead actor (Henry Golding) or the author of the damn BOOK (Kevin Kwan) ever tweeted and told the Asian community to go see Black Panther! And yes, I checked all 4 of their Twitter timelines going back to 2/17.”

    Neither Asians nor Hispanics nor white women endured 250 years of slavery or 100 years of Jim Crow.

    Black people go for this “People of Color” BS while we lose, lose and lose. For example, due to illegal immigrants (mostly Hispanics), blacks are out of between 600,000 and 1,950,000 jobs. Yet, there are many blacks who support illegal immigrants to the hilt.

    For example, Asian Americans have average incomes of about twice that of African Americans and Asian Americans routinely are against Affirmative Action for Blacks. And Asian Americans have average life expectancies of about 12 years more (that’s more than a decade) than African Americans.

    Some want to include women in this People of Color Kumbaya. Yet, white women are the chief beneficiaries of Affirmative Action–.and 53% of white women voted for the pussy grabber in chief, Donald Trump.

    Black people go for the OKIE DOKE time and time again! No wonder we are lose time and time again and no wonder we are at the bottom of the barrel year after year and decade after decade.

  6. I agree with KJD and Jamari… I’m sorry but I work hard for my coins and I’ll use them to support and uplift my people as I see fit. When I buy my Chinese, Japanese or Thai meal then they’ll get my coins, when I go for my mani and pedi then they’ll get my coins and when I need some hair products then they’ll get my coins. They get rich off me in many ways while I never have a chance to support blacks because most of the time we don’t have anything unless I want some Jamaican food. Black Panther was very important to support across the board. But I’ve also supported Sorry, Get Out, Moonlight, Hidden Figures and I’m going to see BlackKklansman. This movie seems cute and maybe if I had a date then I would be more inclined but oh well.

    Hopefully this doesn’t come off as racist lol

  7. Asians didn’t care until a cop did it to their own. She’s a bit extra. I support all minorities.

    However the harder being Asian than Black above was ridiculous.

    Being part of a culture where everyone is considered smart, is a lot of pressure, but compare that to Black children allowed to slip through the cracks of the educational system.

    Let’s NOT make it a “My life is worse” and support those who support us. Keyword: WHO SUPPORT US.

  8. She’s really reaching. If opening the door to more Asian lead movies is important to the Asian community, then they will show up and show out like we did for Black Panther. They have the numbers. They can make it happen without our help. Why is she putting the responsibility of the success of this movie on us?

    This sounds like just another black person caping for another race that has consistently shown us that they don’t like us because all I’m seeing is Asian men beating up black women at beauty supply stores and nail salons. They laugh and talk about us and take our money while they doing it.

    So a movie that showcases the only “non-white” people on the planet whom have the same privileges as white people living a life of excess, is just as important as young black boys/girls seeing themselves represented in a positive light and as super heroes? FOH

    Black Panther and Wrinkle In Time were important because black people made it important. If Asians want to do the same for Crazy Rich Asians then they need to do it themselves. I saw BP like 8X in the theater so I’m going to need for them to come with that same energy if it’s so important. I’m tired of non black PoC riding our coat tails and the negroes that co-sign them.

    Neither the director (Jon M. Chu), the lead actress (Constance Wu), the lead actor (Henry Golding) or the author of the damn BOOK (Kevin Kwan) ever tweeted and told the Asian community to go see Black Panther! And yes, I checked all 4 of their Twitter timelines going back to 2/17.

    I also suggest that some of y’all google some reviews from Asians about Black Panther because according to them the movie had too many black people and was “too dark.”

    So y’all can keep believing in this PoC solidarity fantasy, but I’m staying my black ass home. I’m not supporting the Asian community who are notoriously anti black, especially when they would never and haven’t done the same for us.

    Also,mark my words, I guarantee that if this movie doesn’t do well watch all the Asians y’all caping for blame black people for it.

  9. Im definitely down for this. Asians get absolutely no love unless it’s a karate action flick. They are horribly typecast as much as blacks if not worse. When was the last time you saw an Asian when an Oscar. Asian super hero? All most Americans know is Jet Like, Jackie Chan and Lucy Lui.

    I adore Asians…lol….(whispers: “And I love Blasians” 😛)

    Besides, Blacks and Asians have a LONG history and they both share that trait of having beautiful and flawless skin..until Huckleberry Finn decided to stick his hands in the Kool-Aid.

  10. It’s not about the genre or theme of the film.This is the first Hollywood studio film, set in modern day, to have an ALL Asian cast and an Asian American lead actress in 25 years,since The Joy Luck Club.

    25 years!

    I saw an interview with the lead actress Constance Wu and she got emotional when she was asked it what it was like growing up as an Asian American girl and rarely seeing an Asian American woman as the lead in a major film with an Asian cast.In most Hollywood films Asian Americans are generally a co lead or a supporting character surrounded by a mostly white cast.So that’s why this film is important even if it’s ” just” a rom-com for the people who rarely see themselves represented.

    IMO Asian American representation should matter just like Black American representation should matter.BTW I love the TV show Fresh off the Boat,I think it’s refreshing to see a show about an Asian American family.☺

    1. ^how is it possible that asians don’t have representation when they have their own studios with tons of movies and stars?
      we don’t have nearly enough representation in our own culture.
      latinos,
      indians,
      and asians have their own forms of entertainment.
      black people are now being taken seriously in our own country with our creativity.
      i didn’t see this push from any other racists when it came to black panther.
      i did see others complain why they were in the movie tho.
      personally,
      i think our priorities are mixed up so i’m very confused in this logic.
      i’ll agree to disagree.

      1. That’s fine we disagree

        BTW Asians and Asian Americans are not the same.The Asian Americans that I know mostly 2nd or 3rd generation Asians most aren’t even fluent in an Asian language.They are not watching Chinese,Korean,Japanese films.Like I said in 25 years there hasn’t been an Asian American lead actress in a major Hollywood film.

        Just like I know Mexican Americans ,including a former roommate, whose parents didn’t make them learn Spanish.They are not watching Telemundo or Univision or Spanish language movies.They still identify as Latino and like to see Latinos on American TV shows,films…

        Lena has close friends who are Asian American,her agents are Asian American and she is supporting her friends and their community.

        1. ^and that’s fine,
          but she shouldn’t be guilt tripping blacks to see a movie.
          say the movie is a good and ask us to check it out.
          don’t use one of our biggest movies as incentive to see that movie,
          especially when i didn’t see any other races going hard for it in the beginning.

          nope 👎🏽

  11. I saw the film on Wednesday. Partly to support representation and partly because i like romantic comedies. It was a cute film. I can get her encouraging black folk to support. That’s the same thing I said to my friends whenever the trailer played…”we need to get behind THIS movie, too”

  12. As far as cultural significance, no, there is no comparison to black panther. As far as representation, I see the comparison. Asian people are treated so badly in hollywood that they change their own last name to something American sounding so they have a chance at getting cast. KPop is a niche and only typecasts asian people further.

    The struggle of an Asian person in the US is pretty bad. Think about it. Asian men are seen as unnatractive by default and Asian women are objectified to hell. They are definatley taken less seriously than black people.

    So I feel like we should support each other as minorities.

    1. “They are definatley taken less seriously than black people.”

      Keep lying to yourself. Black people are the race who are dehumanised to the worst degree.

      Those Asians are never here for our struggles and Asians are the most anti-black group after White people. They generally are not here for black people & are worse than Hispanic people when it comes to this.

      You can support them, but don’t encourage the rest of us to.

    2. Asians are literally viewed as the “model minority” in America above the Latin & Black community. They’re doing good without our help & look at us the same way White people look at us.

      I’m not saying every single Asian person is racist but as a collective, the community is pretty racist and very individualistic (like Jews are). They’re only about helping their own (which I don’t fault them for) so I don’t see why we should rally up and jump on their bandwagons when they are doing fine without us.

  13. Kid Fury mentioned it on The Read last week… he really enjoyed and and urged his listeners to go see.

      1. I was just talking with a Dominican/Brazilian friend about how we(black folk) always out here on the front lines of everybody else’s issues… marching and championing their causes and issues like or own, but you’ll be hard pressed to find them at anything for the culture(black culture), excluding Black Panther. I how the movie does well but I ain’t going to see it.

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