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[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

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

I grew up in a very multicultural area, so it was always strange to me that there was never any true representation of that in media. If there is anything, it's always focusing on racial stereotypes which is just really damn infuriating and sad. I can never understand why media doesn't want to try and reflect real life and be inclusive of everyone, then again the industry itself is still incredibly racist (and sexist and homophobic, etc).

I was honestly hoping Marvel would cast an Asian American Iron Fist and/or Spider-Man, but that didn't happen :/

Lewis Tan was almost Iron Fist because he auditioned for it and had all the qualifications to be the character, but they automatically gave it to a white man who can barely act/fight to save his life, while Lewis Tan was reduced to a villain role that last only a few minutes in the first season. That still makes me so angry and bitter, the wasted potential and opportunity to do something different, to give Danny Rand's story something new that made sense. Just, ugh. The injustice of it all makes me so mad and I'll never get over it. >:|

I'm not surprised that YA is big on youtube. Every channel, no matter what content, seems to be targeted at teenagers.

Yeah, true. It's sad, to be perfectly honest. I mean, if one wants to target that particular demographic that's their choice, but due to the fucked up algorithms of YouTube so many older/adult content creators have to dumb themselves down to appeal to a younger audience or appear "family friendly" otherwise they'll be demonetized. But that's a discussion/rant for another time.