Obviously Asia doesn't have a problem with their own representation, so those films weren't gonna be anything special over there. If anything they're trying to replicate BP's success in the states with Asian Americans, and Crazy Rich Asians was a hit over here for the record.
And they might as well have pulled nobodies considering Chris Hemsworth was almost unheard of going into Thor, and Evans wasn't a major actor either. Holland was basically off the street as well, only known for plays and bit roles. Maybe an unpopular take, but I think it's a bit easier for White males to blow up into popular leading men then POC actors. Adam Driver looks as unconventional as my local pizza delivery guy, but yet he still has a sizeable fanbase of women lol
Hollywood has far more practice at elevating White Dude #342 into a Star, and their audience likewise, since it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy and cyclical system. That’s what both systemic racism and an insistence on one demographic appeal over all else causes.
Adam Driver vs John Boyega is an excellent example; both are fantastically talented actors who are considered attractive, and compared to Daisy Ridley, were more established in that they both had at least one cult role that had raised their profiles to JJ Abrams and Kathleen Kennedy when making The Force Awakens (though yes, Driver’s profile was larger because he’d been in a premium series rather than a cult classic like Attack the Block). And of the two of them, Boyega naturally delivered a more substantial, complex, and “firm” performance - not because he necessarily did a better job than Driver, but because in TFA, the role of Finn is written to be more substantial, complex, and “firm” as a lead role.
…But then the larger LFL powers-that-be, a “pre-programmed” Hollywood, and a “pre-programmed” audience made a play in The Last Jedi to replace Boyega as the lead with Driver - and not by giving Driver more complex material to work with, but simply by shunting Boyega to the side in a lazy and sloppy way, and recontextualizing the story into worshipping Driver’s perceived “natural” archetype as a moody bad boy… even at the expense of the lead, Ridley.
Like action, adventure, rogues, and outlaws? Like anti-heroes, femme fatales, mysteries and thrillers?
I wrote a book with them. Outlaw’s Shadow: A Sherwood Noir. Robin Hood’s evil counterpart, Guy of Gisbourne, is the main character. Feel free to give it a look: https://read.amazon.com/kp/embed?asi...E2PKBNJFH76GQP
He's an Asian dude that does kung fu and has weird mystical powers, and that's not even getting into all the stuff with the Mandarin, his name doesn't even mean anything in Chinese. Representation in media only matters if people feel they are being represented well, and there's nothing about Shang-Chi that suggests it'll be anything more than the kind of generic kung fu movie we've all seen dozens of times before. If this is the best that Hollywood can do when depicting Asians on screen, I would rather they just not even try, and evidently there are a lot more people that agree with me than the tiny handful of people who get giddy over Asian people showing up in movies at all, regardless of how they are being depicted.
Eh, the type of person who would get excited about Shang-Chi would probably watch anything that had Asian people in it, no matter how ridiculous, but there are not nearly enough of them to sustain a blockbuster film. Crazy Rich Asians had a comparatively tiny budget and its box office take wasn't anywhere near what would be a acceptable for a MCU film.
Last edited by PwrdOn; 08-10-2021 at 11:23 PM.
eh, they are selling Shang in the US as an MCU movie. They aren't selling it as an Asian movie. It is MCU meets Kung Fu. They are counting on the brand just like they did with all the other "new" heroes.
I agree with PwrdOn overall point that you can't sell an "asian" movie to Asia and not have it be authentic. Disney doesn't seem to understand that after Mulan it seems. You also can't go into a place known for Martial Arts/Kung Fu movies and make an inferior product and expect it to sell well (Mulan). If hte choreography isn't up to China's standards, they wont like it.
... which is probably why they have a dragon in the movie, ten rings, abomination and such lol. They are trying to not make it a pure "kung fu" movie because they can't win over there with that.
It is all moot anyway, because of covid, it isn't making any money at all overseas anyway. It is 100% gonna bomb
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I do wish they'd choose a non-martial arts/mystic type of character for an Asian lead, or at least feature more in team settings. Jubilee of the X-Men, Grunge (though change that name, it's almost 30 years past its expiration date) of Gen 13, just somebody whose power isn't kung fu. But I suppose I shall have to watch and then judge. Maybe it'll be quippy and have bad '70s music like Guardians.
Well, there was Omac, who was essentially DC's hulk. I always found it a little funny that Marvel can't make Superman and DC can't make a Hulk. Though it seems to be a tradition that Omac be their version of a marvel thing. The original was Captain America in the future, the Omac androids were essentially sentinels, and Kevin Kho was an electric blue cyborg hulk.
There was New Super-Man, I liked him a lot too, but now that Connor is back and Jon's a teenager I'm never going to see him or the Justice League of China, again who had a Sammo Hung Batman.
Edit: Shang-Chi's going to be a marvel movie, quipping is all they know how to do, maybe it won't be as egregious as Thor: Ragnarok where nearly every dramatic or sincere moment was undercut by a joke. Thor lost his home, his hammer, and his father, and he was barely phased by it.
Last edited by Overhazard; 08-11-2021 at 05:45 AM.
I hope they don't do too much dad rock. The MCU is already over the top with it.
Anyway, I share your sentiment. I'd like more Asian-descended heroes in general, and not just be martial artists. But I think, as others have pointed out, this isn't purely a martial arts movie, and the crew seem to be somewhat aware of the problematic history of the main characters of this movie from the comics, so I think they'll at least do an ok job. And I presume he will join the Avengers at some point. At least, I hope so.
Marvel needs more Asian-descended heroes overall, but some of the recent ones, like Amadeus Cho and Silk, aren't martial artists and could get adapted at some point. Silk is already getting a tv show. I can't see someone like Jubilee being a main lead, though. What's she going to do? Sparkle and wear a stupid costume?
Tbh, why would DC need a Hulk. I like Bruce, but his power is fairly limited. I'm not sure what DC would gain from that.
MCU doesn't own Silk. And is "genius asian kid" really that different of a stereotype (cho)
The East Asian options at Marvel are SLIM.
Shang is cool. Y'all are trippin. I don't care about avoiding stereotypes, Shang deserves a solo movie. There hasn't been an MCU kung fu movie either. Give me some kung fu + comic book crap and inject it in my veins.
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