Over the weekend, I finally had the chance to watch To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, a Netflix Original movie starring Lana Condor, who is an Asian American actress. This movie is based on a book with the same title written by Jenny Han, who is also Asian American. I remember reading the book back when I was in high school so to see it being pick up by Netflix got me really excited. It is always nice to see something that I’ve read before on screen. This movie came out around the same time as Crazy Rich Asians which stir up many discussions about Asian American representation in the media in the past until now. In my opinion. Netflix did a good job of being one of the few major media network to cast an Asian American for the main lead role. There were many moments in the movie where the character’s Asian American shines through to reveal the accurate Asian representation that Hollywood lacks.
When Jenny Han wrote the book, she wrote the book specifically for an Asian American character because she was noticing the lack of Asian American Girl as the main character or a lead in a book or a movie. After many big media company shows interest in the story to Jenny Han was writing, she insisted that the lead has to remain Asian and she was glad that Netflix honor her wishes. Netflix made the Jenny Han a happy author and that is a difficult thing for major media company to do. Even though the movie was a major stepping stone for the Asian American community, there were still many criticism on the fact that Lana Condor is not an Korean but she is playing a Korean character. Han came into Netflix and the Lana defense by saying how we should not limit Asian American actors from the small opportunities that they have. Another criticism that the movie receive is the fact the beside the main character, all the other male lead were non-Asian. To Han defense, she argued that her main goal is to tell stories that is personal to her. She’s fought hard for what she believes in, which is where an Asian-American girl can be a lead of a rom-com.
I believe that when an a film comes out and it is featuring either an all Asian-American cast or an Asian American main lead, it is bound to get some sort of criticism. It is what keep directors and film makers on their toes to make better movies the next time around.