Marvel Movies in the Eyes of a Chinese American
Tags: Shangchi, Chinese, Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Asian American

Although Black Panther (2018) received a score as high as 96% on Rotten Tomatoes, it did not gain such high praises in Asia. In fact, Asians were pretty critical about the movie with a general rating of only 6.5/10. One viral post on Douban (a Chinese movie review app like Rotten Tomatoes) talks about what if Asians were acting in the movie instead of Africans. After reading the post, I concluded two main points. First, some Asians disliked the movie because they felt that the white investors behind the movie produced it only as a means to patronize the black community. Second, the majority of Asians were enraged and asked this single question: when is it our turn?

Tadanobu Asano as Hogun in Thor (2011)

As a Chinese American myself, I empathize with these people. When is it our turn? Although I love the MCU from the bottom of my heart, I have to admit that Asians have always been mis- or underrepresented in the Marvel movies. We can say that the Marvel Cinematic Universe truly starts from the movie Iron Man (2008), but it wasn’t until two movies later in The Incredible Hulk (2008) was there finally a glimpse of an Asian face. Daniel Dae Kim, a Korean American, acted as Aide in The Incredible Hulk, but his clip only lasts a few seconds long. Japanese actor Tadanobu Asano as Hogun in Thor (2011) and Thor: The Dark World (2013) was somewhat relevant in the movie, but still a really unimpressionable character. The same thing went with famous Chinese actress Bingbing Fan as Jiaqi Wu in Iron Man 3 (2013). The diversity metric went down to virtually zero in The Avengers (2012), Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) and Guardians of the Galaxy (2014).

Pom Klementieff as Mantis in Guardians of the Galaxy 2 (2014)

But Guardians of the Galaxy 2 (2016) was a huge hit in Asia, with a never before seen score of 8.0/10 on Douban. One reason was the casting of Michelle Yeoh, a beloved Hong Kong international movie star. Not only people of Chinese heritage, but people around the world have recognized her for the internationally well-known movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000). Although her appearance in the movie was short-lived, it’s reasonable to say that she was an impactful factor for the high gross of the film in Asia. The second and I believe the most important reason was the introduction of the character Mantis, casted by Pom Klementieff, whose father is Russian-French and mother is Korean. What’s so different about her and other Asian characters before her was her multifacetedness. The Asian characters before her like Hogun or Jiaqi Wu were one-dimensional, flat characters. Don’t get me wrong, that’s okay, because they are unimportant, background characters that directors don’t and shouldn’t have the time to develop in the films. And that’s what is so subversive about Mantis, it’s that she is not just some random background character; as an Asian representative she has finally stepped up to her game in becoming the sidekick of the hero in this story (in this case it’s Star-Lord). She was created to be a three-dimensional, relatable character. Her personality stood out and is very lovable. I mean, she is a cute, telepathic insect-girl who can be slow to react sometimes. The director also cared to give her a background story, and we all know that a character’s background story is essential for building a bond between the character and the audience. What’s better is that she was given an actual purpose: born with the powerful ability of being able to change other people’s emotions, Mantis struggled to find her place in the galaxy; but throughout her adventure with the Guardians of the Galaxy, she finally found her own identity and aspiration in life. I remember walking out of the movie theater after watching Guardians of the Galaxy 2 and hearing other people talk about Mantis. The character was so lovable that she outshined other sidekick characters. It was a success, and Marvel studio had finally won over some good impressions from their Asian audiences.

Benedict Wong as Wong in Doctor Strange (2016)

Then came Doctor Strange (2016). The movie had spectacular visual effects and it was such a fun movie to watch in 3D. It’s also notable to mention that the whole concept of Kamar-Taj and the Mystic Arts Doctor Strange is training for has some really deep roots in Buddhism. But let’s talk about Doctor Strange’s loyal sidekick in the movie — Wong. Wong, casted by Chinese British actor Benedict Wong (they even have the same name), wasn’t as popular of a character as Mantis. Well why is that? I personally feel that this is the pivotal point where Asian audiences started to feel that Asian sidekicks are not enough. They start to pick on Wong’s appearance. They think Wong looks too stereotypical of what a white person would think an Asian guy looks like: small eyes, short and buff stature, and always a loyal sidekick. Some people were also frustrated and thought it was unfair that Asians are always the sidekicks, or subservient to the white superheroes. The Asian characters in these Marvel movies were merely an apparatus to add diversity to the casting crew. Their Asian culture or values were never acknowledged or shown in the movie, so Asians never felt truly represented in the MCU. This is an issue that the Black community have also had over the years, and they received their own movie Black Panther in 2018. That is when Asians’ voices were finally pushed to the peak:

“when can we get our own Marvel movie?”

Simu Liu as Shang-Chi, Awkwafina as Katy and Meng’er Zhang as Xialing in Shang-Chi and the Legend of Ten Rings (2021)

The time has finally come when Marvel announces its casting choices of the first Asian-led superhero movie Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021) in 2019. However, Asians, specifically Chinese, were not impressed at all by the casting choices. The overall opinions of the Chinese can be reflected by an interview video made by Asian Boss called “Is The Asian Lead For Marvel ‘Too Ugly’ For Chinese People?” Since Shang-Chi represents the entire Chinese ethnic group in the MCU, Chinese people think that they deserve to have a say in the casting choices, and they only wished for two things. First of all, they wish that the actor representing them could be a renowned Chinese movie star. For example, someone like Eddie Peng or Nicholas Tse. Simu Liu (the actor casted for Shang-Chi), on the other hand, has no recognition in China and doesn’t have any well-known works before Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. This makes the Chinese people feel that they are not being taken seriously by the Western industry. Secondly, they wish for an actor who could break the Chinese stereotype to lead the role. This conflict between the East and the West fundamentally comes down to the differences in beauty standards. Simu Liu might be considered attractive in the West, but he does not fit with the general Chinese beauty standards at all. To the Chinese, Simu Liu has small eyes, single eyelids and flat facial features, everything that fits with the model of a stereotypical Chinese person in the Hollywood industry. What the Chinese people want is someone who is generally accepted to be good looking in their culture to represent them in the international industry. Like what the girl in white t-shirt said in the interview, Chinese people want someone with prominent facial features to represent them in order to rebut the myths that “all Chinese look the same”, “all Chinese have small or single lidded eyes” or “all Chinese are unattractive”. Unfortunately, in the Chinese people’s opinions, Simu Liu’s outer appearance not only lacks the ability to break the Chinese stereotype, but reinforces it further (“Is The Asian Lead For Marvel ‘Too Ugly’ For Chinese People?”).

Tony Leung as Wenwu and Fala Chen as Li in Shang-Chi and the Legend of Ten Rings (2021)

All these reasons above led Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings to be unfavored by the Asian audiences even before it was shown in the movie theaters, but the reputation of the movie did not improve after it was released. The Chinese people are clearly unsatisfied with the film, with a rating of only 6.2/10 on Douban. The movie wasn’t racist in any way; in fact, I personally think it is very considerate of Destin Cretton (the director of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) to create a Marvel movie in which half of the time the characters are speaking Mandarin. However, most people dislike the movie for being infused with too much Western cultural values. To put it this way, watching the movie feels like eating Chinese cuisine made by Americans to the Chinese people. Let’s talk about one of the major themes in this movie — — patricide (the act of killing one’s own father). This ideology once flourished in Greek mythology, and have since then heavily influenced the Western literature and film culture. Many popular movies or TV series we watch today are embedded with the concept, such as Oedipus Rex, Game of Thrones, Star Wars, and even The Guardians of the Galaxy 2. In these movies or TV shows, the killing of one’s father allows for the transformation of the character into a whole new self. For instance, take Tyrion in Game of Thrones, or Starlord in The Guardians of the Galaxy 2. Killing their own fathers serve the purpose of cutting off their roots and embracing their true self, of shedding the old and adopting the new. Shang-Chi attempts to do the same here. By killing his obsessive father, he can finally let off the painful burden of his past and live up to his stronger self. However, it is important to acknowledge that the ideology of patricide is a very Western concept. In China, we have an old saying: “filial piety is one of the virtues to be held above all else”. There is no murder more horrendous than patricide in the Chinese culture. It doesn’t matter how bad the father has treated his son or how evil he is, one should always be grateful for the life their father has given to them. Although such arbitrary and traditional values are no longer promoted in Chinese culture, they are still deeply rooted in most people. Thus, the ideology of patricide is looked down upon and fundamentally very anti-Chinese. What this means to the Chinese people is that Shang-Chi is simply a character with a shell of an Asian appearance, but in actuality he still represents the Western culture and values.