I exist, therefore I am visible.

[rogueslayer452]

++ Both Crazy Rich Asians and To All The Boys I Loved Before are Asian-led, with the former being an all-Asian cast, films (on the big screen and Netflix, respectively) that have gained a lot of positive reception from audiences and critics alike. Both have succeeded in charming audiences with being adorable and hilarious romantic comedies, something that we haven't had in recent years since the genre itself has dwindled significantly in light of superhero and action films dominating the box office. It also proves once again that representation absolutely matters, and that it is successful. But it's absolutely disgusting knowing that production companies still wanted to whitewash these projects. Ugh. I'm glad the creators stood their ground and didn't give in.

There isn't much Asian representation in Western media to begin with, the Asian-American experience in particular. We need more of this kind of exposure, which hopefully will get more stories out there that focus on other aspects of different Asian cultures, without erasing/whitewashing or any of that offensive nonsense.

++ Lately, I've been watching a bunch of booktube videos. Not any one person specifically, just randomly searching things. I don't quite know how it started, I think there was a video recommendation of someone reviewing a book that I watched and I just continued going down the rabbit hole. It's very fascinating since it is a different side of YouTube that I wasn't that familiar with, since I do watch a lot of YouTubers but most of them are entertainers in some form. This is just a book community on YouTube talking about, well, books. Though it's interesting, after watching a number of different booktube videos specifically reviewing or talking about YA™ I'm realizing that it's not my preferred genre. Don't get me wrong, I've read books that have been categorized as young adult throughout the years (as seen in this brief but fantastic video discussing the evolution of young adult fiction), but the recent YA™ subgenre that has exploded in the market lately is completely different and while it's not to say that I won't read it if it captures my interest since I'm definitely not dismissing the entirety of YA as a whole, it's just not something I normally gravitate towards. My personal reading preferences tend to lean more towards horror/suspense, mystery/crime thrillers, with some science fiction and gothic literature added in.

Comments

[moongirl24.livejournal.com]

I read To All The Boys I Loved Before very recently (finished it last week) and will probably check out the movie too since it's on Netflix.

I got sucked into booktube a few months ago and haven't been able to leave since. I tend to follow certain people instead of jumping around, but yeah, it's pretty fun. I find that I enjoy YA in small/medium doses - sometimes it's just nice to read something that is quick and easy - but I also find that it can get a bit repetitive. This summer I've read quite a few YA books and now I feel like I could use a break from them.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think the repetitiveness aspect is something that I don't particularly like, which let's be honest happens a lot regardless of what genre you're into, but it's definitely more rampant in YA since there seems to be something rather formulaic about it, if that makes sense. It features the same setup, the same situation, just dressed differently depending on whatever is currently trending in the publishing scene. Which is rather unfair since YA isn't taken as seriously as other genres so repeating the same tired tropes everyone is sick of doesn't really do it any favors. There's definitely good YA out there, it's just buried underneath the trite that gains popularity that often doesn't really deserve the hype surrounding them anyway, imho.

But as I mentioned, it's not a genre I normally gravitate towards and sometimes feel like I'm not the target audience anyway for most of the stories, so whenever I do pick up a YA book from time to time it's usually due to being incredibly selective. And I'm quite selective with my reading anyway, so it's nothing new for my book purchasing habits.

(Ironically, some of the booktube individuals I've seen from randomly watching over the last several months ended up hating To All The Boys I've Loved Before, so it makes me wonder of their thoughts on the Netflix film....)