A year of 'wins' for Asian American representation in movies and TV

Under the Radar Podcast

In 1993, "The Joy Luck Club" was a surprise hit. The poignant story featuring an all-Asian cast broke barriers at the box office.

Would "The Joy Luck Club" inspire more stories drawn from the Asian American experience? No, as it turned out — it took 25 years before 2018’s “Crazy Rich Asians,” another film featuring an all-Asian cast, became a breakout global hit.

Last year, Asian representation got its biggest boost since “Crazy Rich Asians” when the movie “Everything Everywhere All At Once” reaped top box office receipts as well as near-universal acclaim from critics and fans.

This year, Asian representation in TV and movies presents us with "the biggest menu yet," says Elena Creef, professor of women’s and gender studies at Wellesley College. "I am so thrilled to see the most diversity across genres of storytelling for Asian-American stories — I think ever."

Jenny Korn, research affiliate at Harvard University, celebrates the focus on the intersectional identities of Asians in this year's catalog, including the film "Joy Ride."

"I will say this movie has the greatest amount of queer visibility for Asians," she said, adding that "of all the movies that we're discussing today, [it] does the most explicit job of declaring authenticity for Asians and intra-Asian across ethnicities."

In this special hourlong discussion, Under the Radar looks at a broad sample of new Asian-American representation in movies and shows like "Past Lives," "BEEF," "The Brothers Sun" and more.

GUESTS

Jenny Korn, Research Affiliate and Founder and Coordinator of the Race, Tech and Media Working Group at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University.

Elena Creef, Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies at Wellesley College. specializing in Asian American visual history in photography, film and popular culture.