1. In the essay Of Myths and Men: Better Luck Tomorrow and the Mainstreaming of Asian America Cinema, University of London’s School of Oriental and African studies and lecturer of Chinese studies Margaret Hillenbrand, highlights the struggles of Asian American masculinity in cinema as a lack of identity and frustrating misrepresentations of their characteristics. Hillenbrand describes the representation of Asian American males in films as secondary characters doing laundry, being in an academic decathlon, or even being in kung-Fu clubs. These stereotypes of being academically inclined to school or practicing martial arts portrays Asian American males as being either one or the other with no in between. However, Hillenbrand utilizes the film Better Luck Tomorrow, directed by Justin Lin, as a way to highlight how an Asian American film in Hollywood can portray both the exaggerated stereotypes of Asians in a satirical fashion while also highlighting the problems of racial engagement that perpetuate throughout the Hollywood cinematic industry.
2. A major issue that Hillenbrand reiterates throughout her essay is the struggle for proper representation of Asian American males in films. She states that due to the occurrence of identity politics in films, “the result is a frustrating impasse, in which Asian American masculinity is overrepresented in some quarters, yet denied the most basic representational rights in others” (55). This imbalance of representation and lack thereof depicts the sense of confusion in the media about how Asian American males are to act in films making them more likely to be criticized due to the lack of rigid guidelines. However, Hillenbrand argues that the film Better Luck Tomorrow “bashes stereotypical representation in order to ‘tell the truth’ about the model minority” (60). The film contains multiple layers of cliché Highschool trends such as the pressure of prom night, partying, drinking, doing drugs, the main girl of interest being a high achieving cheerleader, and the bullies being stereotypical jocks. However, with the main characters being Asian and acting out stereotypical western High School patterns often seen in films aimed towards teenagers, Hillenbrand states that “the awkwardness with which Ben and his gang act ‘white’ as a joke not on them but on those audiences that prefer ethnicity to be served straight up and stereotyped” (66). This commentary on the audience’s preferences of viewing such stereotypes on films emphasizes Hillenbrand’s point on the power of the parody in Hollywood. She states that “it’s the strategic use of ‘bad’ parody – the Asian American who can never fit in however hard they try – is all about this pernicious inconsistency” (68). The film was protected from much harsher criticism from viewers because the film was garnered as satirical and a parody, meaning it was not meant to be taken seriously yet it exists as layers of racial commentary on Hollywood’s portrayal of Asian Americans in the media.
3. A recurrent key term Hillenbrand references throughout her article is the term “mimicry”. By definition, mimicry is the action or art of imitating someone or something, typically in order to entertain or ridicule. In this case, the film Better Luck Tomorrow somehow manages to do both in the form of a parody. The films apparent cast of Asians struggling to assimilate into the western High School norms becomes the center for entertainment as they attempt to simulate gangster-like behavior that ends up getting them caught up in a whole mess of conflict and combat whilst simultaneously portraying the blatant real racism that is projected towards Asians in society. Another definition of mimicry is in terms of evolutionary biology which defines it as a similarity of one organism, usually an animal, to another that has evolved because the resemblance is selectively favored by the behavior of a shared signal receiver that can respond to both. This may also apply to, in general, the struggle for Asians to “blend in” into an American society by changing the way they dress and behave in order to avoid standing out be and seen as “foreign”.
4. The struggle for Asian American males in finding their own identity in an American society bears similarity to the 1961 film adaptation of the 1958 Broadway musical the Flower Drum Song. In this film, the lead Asian American males Sammy Fong and Wang Ta both struggle to really identify themselves as Asian Americans due to their conflicting natures in both the entertainment industry and within their own families. Sammy Fong is the owner of the Celestial Garden nightclub in San Francisco (similar to the real Forbidden City nightclub) and is involved in an arranged marriage to the illegal immigrant Mei Li, however, he wants to break both the marriage contract arranged by his mother and the tradition of arranged marriages in order to pursue his true love Linda Low who is his leading showgirl in his nightclub. Similar to Sammy Fong’s situation, Wang Ta also wants to break the tradition of arranged marriages by also pursuing the love and affection of Linda Low, however, he is obstructed by his strict father, Master Wang, due to his obedience to Chinese culture and rejection of the ideals of American society. In the end however, Sammy Fong and Linda Low as well as Wang Ta and Mei Li all get married in order to display that true love and affection should not be decided by someone else. In replacement of the western High School scene present in Better Luck Tomorrow, Flower Drum Song portrays the more cultural and love drama aspect of American society while also still displaying the struggle of Asian American males in conforming to American ideals, especially with the topic of marriage.
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