Thread by @FondaJLee

Dear Hollywood,

Asian-American stories matter. They can and do succeed domestically on their own merit. Stop misguidedly expecting them to be a ticket to mainland Chinese $$$

Signed,
A loyal but frustrated Asian-American filmgoer

goldthread2.com/identity/can-a…

Disney's Mulan. Crazy Rich Asians. The Farewell.

Every time a film resonates with Asian Americans, film industry execs and pundits do a lot of hand-wringing over why it's failing to catch on in China.

ARRRGNNNGGHHH *shakes fists at sky*

It's shatteringly obvious they are two different audiences but...I dunno, I can only assume there's still a lot of "but all Asians are the same / must like the same things" going on?

Here's yet another example, with The Farewell:

goldthread2.com/culture/farewe…

Apparently, critics in China panned The Farewell (as they did with Mulan, and with Crazy Rich Asians) as being "American stories with Asian faces."

HELLO YES THAT IS LITERALLY WHAT ASIAN-AMERICANS WANT

THAT IS ALL YOU HAVE TO PROVIDE ME TO EARN ALL MY MONEY

I will be first in line with my kids on opening weekend of Shang-Chi. And the Mulan remake.

But no matter how much $$ those movies make at home, if it doesn't crack the Chinese market, there's gonna be a bunch of Disney execs boo-hooing about it, wondering what they got wrong.

And the answer might be: NOTHING! They might be awesome movies (I sure hope so)! Because SURPRISE! Asians here in America have different film sensibilities than those in China! Like, the Chinese have loads of their own movies! They don't need Hollywood! Asian-Americans do.

Yeah, there are an awful lot more people in China than Asian-Americans here in the U.S. But here's why Hollywood should care more about satisfying us than China:

Because we WANT Hollywood movies with Asian leads. We're STARVING for it. We get, like, two per decade.

China hated the animated Mulan.

I skipped school to watch it and was humming, "I'll Make A Man Out of You" for a week.

So yeah, every time a movie comes out that makes Asian-Americans feel seen, and then the "BUT CHINA" conversation starts, I just want to... break stuff.

27 days until Mulan.

13 months till Shang-Chi & the Legend of the 10 Rings.

I hope they do well overseas, if it means more movies with Asian leads get made. But I'm not betting on it. And I frankly don't care what Chinese critics think.

I wish Hollywood shared my sentiments.