My thoughts on Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

I know this is coming late but I wrote this when trying to capture my thoughts and feelings right after seeing the movie back in early September, just so I wouldn't forget. As I'm feeling somewhat defeated and down, I thought I'd revisit this and share it.

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I’m not feeling the most eloquent right now and I don’t quite know how to explain this.

I just saw Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings with 2 of my friends, neither of them Asian.

Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Y’all, these are my people. This is Asian representation. This is everything. From the actors on screen to the creative team to the soundtrack, it is all filled with incredible Asian talent. It is all proof that we can make money. That our voices matter. That we have the skill.

The use of bilingualism in the movie, going between Mandarin and English, was incredibly beautiful. It wasn’t just one scene, it happened throughout the whole movie.

So much of this movie felt like what Asians have been looked down upon and stereotyped for being turned into something cool. It was Chinese culture presented in a new light. It shouldn’t be new, but to the Western industry, I guess it is. It’s cool, it’s beautiful, it’s powerful. The martial arts is breathtaking. The strong Chinese women are PHENOMENAL. This movie feels very special and very sure of itself and what it represents.

I don’t keep close track of all the Marvel movies or the MCU but this movie in and of itself means a lot to me.

There are also different “types” of Chinese characters. We have Shang Chi aka Shaun, who went to America when he was 14, we have 1st or 2nd generation Chinese-American Katy (played by Awkwafina), and of course we have the people in the villages (like Michelle Yeoh) and those who are more “traditional” or “Asian” compared to Asian-Americans. No group among these different experiences was made to stand out as “worse” or “bad” or “lesser". It was this coming together of a greater community to protect themselves and the world. And the villain is so complex. The whole family dynamic is so complex.

As a Chinese-Canadian, I will say that there are things in the movie that I relate to and recognized as my culture or as the people around me. All the late night karaoke scenes, the line that Ronny Chieng’s character says about speaking ABC (aka American Born Chinese) - that one got me good. Whether it’s things I recognize as being in Chinese movies or things I recognize as being part of the community, it feels familiar. I feel recognized, even if I can’t relate to everything about it. There’s just something so powerful about it, about the representation.

I have so many positive feelings about seeing my community on the big screen. These are people that look like me. Getting even more specific, Simu Liu is Canadian. He’s from Toronto, he’s Chinese-Canadian. Seeing him and seeing all these other Asian actors - especially the badass, strong warrior women - makes me feel hopeful. It makes my “actor dreams” and dreams of Asian representation feel more attainable. There is a pride that I’m filled with, even though I’m not actually a part of any of this, but I guess in a bigger way I am… And I hope to be very directly a part of the increase in Asian representation as I continue/start my career.