Let’s not forget the OG Asian creatives who made their way into the Hollywood mainstream back in the 90’s.
Recently, there has been a rise in recognition of Asian creators in Hollywood which has ironically come at the same time as the realization that there is such a thing as Asian Hate. The pandemic not only opened people’s eyes that racism against Asians is for real, but it also catapulted people who look like us as being part of the mainstream. We finally made it into people’s consciousness because the world couldn’t escape the Coronavirus which more than likely originated from China. But whatever, I guess. There’s no such thing as bad press, right?
In the last few years, we’ve had huge hits with Crazy Rich Asians, Mulan, Shang-Chi, and Turning Red. Some may see this era of rising hate simultaneously with rising love for our peoples as being a new era of appreciation of Asian culture. However, I recall back in the 90’s and 2000’s there was a mini introduction of Asian cultural appreciation (though some may say cultural appropriation). When I see how the now common acronym to represent my peoples, “AAPI” being used and being recognized today, I think we forget about that brief moment in time back in the day when we were given props for being cool in the arts.
How can anyone forget the Asian imagery infused in pop and R&B music videos like Janet Jackson’s “If”, SWV’s “Someone”, and of course, Gwen Stefani and her Harajuku Girls era? I never was into No Doubt or Gwen Stefani but I loved Janet and SWV. We even got to see tons of Asians popping up in movies.
Jackie Chan was the comedy-action darling in movies like Rush Hour and Shanghai Knights.
Chow Yun-Fat was holding it down with Mira Sorvino in another underrated action movie, The Replacement Killers.
Who can forget Jet Lit in Lethal Weapon 4 and the cult hit with the dearly departed Aaliyah in Romeo Must Die.
Gong Li showed up in Miami Vice and she was supposed to play the role of Edie in my most favorite movie ever, Heat.
John Woo was the go-to action director with Face/Off and Broken Arrow.
And let’s keep it real, EVERYONE has since stolen the slow-mo, acrobatic fighting style of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.
I will always think that the combination of Sammo Hung and Arsenio in Martial Law was THE BEST ever buddy cop partnership in TV history.
Amy Tan was like the other famous female author other than Anne Rice in the 90’s.
And I think every other white and black person had to have a tattoo of some random Chinese or Japanese characters. I don’t think you would ever catch an actual Chinese or Japanese person with a tattoo with those characters as it was only seen as cool if you were a foreigner to it, but hey, it’s the thought that counts.
I can go on, but I think that era had even more visibility for Asian creators than we have currently. It just maybe seems like we are in the mainstream now because we sort of disappeared after the early aughts.
Variety recently published an article about directors who should direct another movie. I didn’t think much of any of them as I haven’t watched most if not any of their films (although I recognize their talent). So I thought about directors whose movies I loved growing up, but haven’t seen much of their movies now that I’m an adult: The Hughes Brothers, Antoine Fuqua, F. Gary Gray, Nancy Meyers, Jon Turtletaub, John Woo, and Wayne Wang. Wayne Wang is one director I have often wondered what happened and why he hasn’t directed more Hollywood movies.
I love Maid in Manhattan and Last Holiday. These are movies I can watch over and over again. What’s amazing about these movies is that they were directed by Wayne Wang. I’m certain most people would never think of a Chinese man as being capable of helming a mainstream romantic comedy starring an actor like Jennifer Lopez or Queen Latifah. But there it was. Wayne Wang also directed the Asian movie that started this age of Asians in Hollywood, the iconic Joy Luck Club.
I remember when I used to subscribe to magazines like Entertainment Weekly and Premiere, there were many features of Wayne Wang. He was an indie darling back in the day believe it or not with idiosyncratic but critically acclaimed films on shoestring budgets like Smoke and Blue in the Face. The latter I can only recall because another one of my 90’s heroes, Roseanne, was featured in it.
But there was another movie by Wayne Wang that I randomly watched late at night on a local channel called Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart that really captured my heart and solidified my respect for Wayne Wang. I didn’t know what it was that I was feeling back then, but I knew it was something very familiar.
I can’t quite recall what the film was about other than it featured an Americanized Chinese family that packed up to visit the homeland. There was the typical clash between worlds of those who look the same but are not the same. It was a very sweet movie and I wanted to watch it again, but I had no idea what the film’s title was or how to search for it. I only now know it’s called Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart because I can Google Wayne Wang and look up his filmography thanks to Wikipedia.
Although I haven’t watched all of Wayne Wang’s film, I’ve seen enough to understand that his directing style is best when it comes to human stories without too much flash or bang. The movies can be big like a Maid in Manhattan yet when you watch it, it doesn’t feel like you’re in a fancy luxury hotel in a big city like New York City. It feels as if you’re watching characters living out their lives in your local neighborhood. There’s a down to earth way of storytelling that I can feel from Wayne Wang’s films. And Dim Sun: A Little Bit of Heart is to me his signature.
I Googled Wayne Wang and from his filmography, it appears Last Holiday from 2006 was his last Hollywood film. Maybe Snow Flower and the Secret Fan from 2011 could be considered Hollywood, but based on its description it sounds like one of those movies that got made even though it probably shouldn’t have and so there was no press about it. Or at least I don’t remember anything of it.
I don’t know if it’s from Wayne Wang’s choosing or Hollywood producers’ choosing, but I hope we can see some more commercial releases from Wayne Wang. I would love to see him direct Jennifer Lopez again in another romantic comedy or even Sandra Bullock or Julia Roberts. In this time when AAPI creatives are being celebrated, let’s hope we can remember one of the early trailblazers like Wayne Wang.
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