Crazy, rich, when Asian: Yellowface ambivalence and mockery in Crazy Rich Asians

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Abstract

This essay takes a postcolonial approach to trouble the celebratory notion that Crazy Rich Asians is unequivocal progress for Asian/American media representation. Using textual analysis, the essay reads Asian subjectivities portrayed in the movie in the context of race relations in the United States, in Singapore, and between the United States and Asia. The essay concludes by discussing how yellowface mockery and ambivalence center whiteness in different ways for Asia-Asians and Asian Americans, and it argues for the continued relevance of yellowface theorizations for unpacking representations of Asian/American subjectivities in filmic texts that are produced by, for, and with Asians.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)57-74
Number of pages18
JournalJournal of International and Intercultural Communication
Volume15
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 2022

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Cultural Studies
  • Communication

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