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Kimberly Yam @kimmythepooh
, 4 tweets, 2 min read Read on Twitter
Hello friends. I spoke with #CrazyRichAsians' director @jonmchu , who opened up about his struggle with his Asian-American identity -- something so many of us AAPI's go through. Some highlights:
huffingtonpost.com/entry/crazy-ri…
On why #CrazyRichAsians is his first dive into any Asian/Asian-American material:
“The reason I did this movie and the reason why it took so long for me to explore this as an artist, explore my cultural identity, was because it was such a sensitive part of my heart and my soul.”
On why he ultimately reclaimed his heritage and took on @CrazyRichMovie :
“I am a complete, residual effect of people speaking out. I was someone who wasn’t awake to those things only because I had my head down to the ground.”
on the film's reception: "There’s people you can tell who are deeply moved by it. ... It shows we’re all trying to find our place. We’re all trying to figure out how to fit in. And we’re not alone in our struggle."
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More from @kimmythepooh see all

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I sat down with @ronnychieng just ahead of the Asian August madness he is hands-down one of the most interesting people I've ever talked to. Some highlights:
huffingtonpost.com/entry/daily-sh…
On that shitty Jesse Watters Chinatown segment:
“As soon as I got out of the car, people lined up around the block [to talk to us]. People in Chinatown are politically active and they were angry about what happened. I basically gave people a platform to talk about it.”
On his accent:
“I’ve been living with this accent. I had already been doing standup for a while. I knew my voice already. I myself never wanted to make my accent the butt of the joke. I never want it to be, ‘I’m laughing at your accent.’”
Read 4 tweets
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Hello friends! As you may have noticed, I’m not the biggest Tweeter. Over the weekend, I'd mostly avoided the interwebs. I’m so happy to see that my story resonated with so many POCs, who’ve grown up with the absence of their stories, their faces on screen.
Part of me is also sad. Nobody should ever feel like they don’t belong in a nation full of colors, built by immigrants. All our stories prove that though we may have all felt isolated growing up, we were by no means alone.
We all need to support diverse media -- whether it be movies, television, news, books, music… The list goes on. Imagine how differently so many of us would’ve looked at ourselves (and others) had our people been regularly reflected in the media we consume. #RepresentationMatters
Read 3 tweets
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You’re 8 years old.
Your 3rd grade class orders chinese food & your father delivers it. You are so excited to see your pops in school. He’s your hero. But apparently other kids don’t think he’s so cool. They laugh at him and mimic his accent. You don’t want to be Chinese anymore.
You’re 9 years old.
You attend ballet camp. Someone tells you that another girl *hates* you. She thinks your eyes are an “ugly shape.” You don’t have the vocabulary to describe why that’s hurtful. But now, you hate your distinctly Asian face. You don’t want to be Chinese anymore.
You’re 16 years old.
It’s Halloween & 2 students come to class dressed as “Asian tourists.” They’ve taped their eyes back, strapped cameras around their necks and chucked up peace signs. You feel uncomfortable. When a teacher asks if you find the costumes offensive, you say no.
Read 8 tweets

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I think I realized why I (and possibly others) am anxious about #CrazyRichAsians box office take. It's because, as an Asian American, I don't think the rest of America will sit up and notice unless the results are beyond phenomenal.
Many people have made comparisons to Black Panther, which definitely made Hollywood sit up. Marvel, at least, changed its marketing materials to heavily feature Black Panther.

CRA is doing "well for its category of movie," but it feels like it's not going to be enough.
It's the same problem Asians and POC face in the workplace - you have to be amazing to be seen at all.
Read 6 tweets
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Happy #CrazyRichAsians opening day! To celebrate this historic occasion, I want to uplift some of the brilliant pieces written by Asian American journalists about this gorgeous and important film.
PROLOGUE: @adatseng writing for the @washingtonpost about the history of Asian American cinema leading up to #CrazyRichAsians washingtonpost.com/entertainment/…
.@shirklesxp was the first one to give the world a glimpse of the movie we would all come to know and love ew.com/movies/2018/08…
Read 17 tweets
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#CrazyRichAsians opens today! No, it doesn’t represent all Asians or Asian Americans. But I saw it last week & despite being neither East Asia or crazy rich, I was emotional watching it. It’s one thing to read the books but quite another to see the story on the big screen.
It’s just one story, and one very small story in the wide range of what it means to be a person of Asian descent in the world.

But when there are so few “mirrors” and “windows” (Bishop), I’ll take ALL the stories—and demand more. #CrazyRichAsians #DisruptTexts
So today I’m going to #DisruptTexts on my timeline with Tweets about amplifying #CrazyRichAsians and the myriad artistic accomplishments of all people of Asian descent.

And congrats to @jonmchu & the entire cast! I’ve been a fan since a Ss rec’d the book & haven’t looked back.
Read 3 tweets
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When @CrazyRichMovie opens Wednesday, it'll mark the 1st studio film in 25 years to tell a contemporary story centered on an all-Asian cast.

Here, the cast & creators discuss their own crazy, diverse journeys to Hollywood & the significance of this moment lat.ms/2MAARsN
Actors @KenJeong, @ConstanceWu, @Gemma_Chan & more on their roads to the big screen: "My dad said to me, it doesn't matter how good you are or how talented you are — how many faces do you see on the screen that look like ours?"

Watch more here: lat.ms/2MAARsN
Only 4.8% of the top 100 films of 2017 featured a character of Asian descent with a speaking role, according to an Annenberg study. @CrazyRichMovie hopes to change that
Read 19 tweets
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Asian-Americans and Asians based in Asia are going to see #crazyrichasians differently. Some AA are happy to see representation in Hollywood; others, more versed in social justice see colonialism of East Asians in East Asia.

Asians (in SEAsia think: I don't recognize myself).
As someone who straddles all of these words (being Asian when sometimes in America, interested in social justice, but also fundamentally Asian based in Asia, in country where my ethnic group is dominant). Who grew up among real #CrazyRichAsians in Singapore, my take:
The world that #CrazyRichAsians portrays is real in Singapore. @kevinkwanbooks & myself probably ran in similar circles.

My friends at school ate $30 lunches daily at nice restaurants, age 13; vacationed in private islands with royalty, age 15. I was an outsider in this world.
Read 29 tweets
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207. UCHE DIKE was an odd ball with a mild distasteful sense of fashion when he first gained admission into Nnamdi Azikiwe university in Anambra State, Nigeria.

Uche was one of those students in school who occasionally wore bogus long sleeved shirts...
208... and carton-coloured trousers that looked like something that came out of a thrift shop in the
1980's.

A geek eyeglass, an afro, a black duffle bag and a brown shoe that shares the same oddity with Uche's choice of clothing, was also part of his signature appearance.
209. Uche was an awkward young man which made him an easy target for bullies.

Sometimes he felt there was a mental sticker on his head that screamed
'Bully me. Bully me. Bully me'.

Uche was the real definition of "Fashion makes you stand out." His mentality...
Read 1142 tweets

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