Margaret Hillenbrand “Of Myths and Men: Better Luck Tomorrow and the Mainstreaming of Asian America Cinema”
- Hillenbrand first analyzes and explains the barriers specific to Asian American men breaking out of a emasculated stereotypical mold as well as historical events that have contributed to them. She then categorizes the bulk of Asian American films into three categories (close-focus empiricism, political grandstanding, art house avant-gardism) and discusses why these films haven’t been effective in breaking into the mainstream cinema market and dispelling stereotypes. Finally, she uses the films Better Luck Tomorrow and Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle to describe how, as an amalgamation of parodies of common American film tropes, roles for Asian American men might most effectively be transformed to include complexity, diversity, and (of course) masculinity.
- “The problem with ethnic “explaining,” and the failure to be a “filmmaker”…is that it keeps the Asian American battle for representational space and accuracy squarely in the trenches” (pg 54). While well-intentioned, many Asian American filmmakers’ works come off as preachy and usually preach to consumers who are the least in need of hearing their messages. Better Luck Tomorrow and Harold and Kumar take a different route by utilizing common mainstream cinematic genres but using Asian American male protagonists who don’t fit the “model minority” character. The stark difference between the two is that the latter makes “racial representation…a far less labored affair” by parodying “in a manner that is…artfully blasé” (pg 71, 70).
- Hillenbrand defines parody as a balance of its two components: “simultaneous qualities of faithful appropriation and vengeful revisionism” (pg 62). Metacinema is a mode of filmmaking in which the film informs the audience that they are watching a work of fiction.
- I think the ideas behind this article provide an interesting viewpoint when discussing the movie Crazy Rich Asians. With an all-Asian-American cast, the wide array of characters that Asian American casts can take on is displayed in one feature film. We can see the diversity without having to compare it to a majority/Caucasian standard. The film also weaves an intricate fabric with Asian and American cultures: the clash of values between Rachel Chu and Eleanor Young, the introduction scene of Goh Wye Mun playfully pretending to speak broken, accented English, the very “American” bachelorette party scene contrasting with an Asian-heritage-specific scene like Rachel making dumplings with Nick’s family.
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