Report Analysis of Crazy Rich Asians

  A variety of social issues have always been prevalent in different parts of the world, and struggle against these social issues continues in so many ways. It is the choice of the people in media to talk about these social problems in their work to highlight the severity of any issue. One of the important medium in this regard is the film medium. The movies are one of the important sources of entertainment for people, and at the same time, it is an important source to discuss social issues in a lighter tone to spread awareness along with providing entertainment. The good thing about a movie is that it keeps the interest of the audience alive with its entertainment element, and at the same time, it can continue to aware people of the social issues and problems faced by the people dealing with those social issues (Happer & Philo, 2013). It is not always to discuss issues in a biased way, rather an overall unbiased perspective can also be presented in a lighter mode so that no one gets offended, and the issue is also discussed. The beliefs and values of social awareness can be constructed with the help of the media. There have been so many movies in Hollywood, which focused on different social issues in their overall themes, and one of such movies is “Crazy Rich Asian” (Yogi, 2013). In this paper, the focus will be on one of the prevalent social issues in this movie, which is inequality.

            The movie “Crazy Rich Asians” has been one of the recent movies, which had a major plot focusing on the essence of inequality. The story is revolving around the hero and heroine of the movie, giving their account of romance which has been put in trouble due to the issue of social inequality. Rachel is the heroine of the movie, and she is working as a professor of English at NYU. She is in love with a fellow professor named Nick. In normal terms, she took Nick as a fellow professor, who may be having a similar kind of social status, but she was not aware of the fact that Nick is far above in the social pendulum as he belongs to one of the wealthiest and richest families of Singapore. Nick has to go to a wedding in Singapore, and he offers Rachel to join him at this wedding, and both go to Singapore (Lee, 2018). This is where the real story begins as Rachel comes to know so many things, which she was not aware of. She had no idea that Nick belonged to such a wealthy family. That’s why when Rachel told his family & friends about her love affair with Nick, they were all shocked to hear this. In a social system, where wealthy people are arrogant and they don’t make ties with people who have a lower social status as compared to them, so everyone knew that it was a mismatch between Nick and Rachel, which may end in a separation. It is quite sad that deeds and values of humans are not valued; rather their wealth is taken as a measure of making relationships (Vineet, 2014)

            It is vital to mention here that targeting Singapore may not be a good idea because a film should always remain unbiased in this regard unless a social issue is too prevalent. For instance, the racism and discrimination with the black community in the United States have been an evident fact, which cannot be denied, and if the movie is made in this particular context, then there is no issue. However, the director and writer can argue as they may have got facts on this from Singapore and other Asian regions. But in overall social terms, this kind of inequality can be found in most parts of the world. The data has revealed that middle-income Asian countries have been facing the issue of inequality in terms of opportunities and social status for the majority of people. So, when poor people don’t get enough opportunities to rise in their life, and wealthy people get wealthier, which not only create income inequality but also creates social inequality. In the Asia-Pacific region, the narrow wealth concentration has been intense and a minor portion of the society is too rich, whereas the majority of people are living in poverty. It is important to understand that “Crazy Rich Asians” have shifted its focus on this social inequality created by the wealthy portion of the society. They don’t like to mingle with people with lower social class, and they don’t welcome weddings in the families, which are lower in social status (Tata & Cilliers, 2019).

It is so sad because a girl from a lower-middle-class family should not be discriminated against just because of her social status; rather she should be valued for her skills, capabilities, and resources. It is evident in the movie that Rachel is a strong working lady, who is resourceful, and that’s why she is working as a professor at the university. Nick belongs to such rich family, and certainly he might have obtained better education and opportunities as compared to Rachel, but at the moment in a plot of the movie, both are working as professors in the same university. It shows that Rachel is not less than Nick in any terms of life, and standing equal, whereas she does not belong to a rich family. This kind of social structure has been discussed in the movie with so many elements. Life is never easy for people belonging to the deprived sections of society, whereas rich people have all the opportunities and luxuries of life. It is a common social issue, and “Crazy Rich Asians” is a wonderful account to shed light on this common social problem. The beauty of cinema and movies is that they can address a variety of common social issues. The story can be made more captivating by developing a great screenplay and storyline. The role of cinema can be critical in building perceptions of people regarding fellow human beings. If cinema will show that people are equal in all terms, and income or wealth should not be used as a tool to discriminate them. The role of such movies is going to be more critical in spreading more awareness regarding severe social issues so that the bad section of society is reminded of their wrong acts, and they should ashamed for such behavior (Gent & Jaffe, 2017).

There is a range of research studies and literature, which has discussed the role of cinema in the context of different social issues. A study was conducted by Gupta & Gupta (2013), which analyzed the movie titled “Slumdog Millionaire”. It is a fact that cinema can have a great effect on the perception of the audience because it has such a large audience base, and when people are so eager to watch movies, they tend to idealize celebrities and associate with certain roles. The influence of media is a well-known fact and if this influence is used in a positive manner then it can have a great positive social effect. The thinking approach and social behavior of people can be changed in so many ways. If a movie has forced people to sit in front of the cinema screen, then this should be used as an advantage by making informative social issues’ based film, which not only entertains the audience but also works to change their wrong perceptions. A society may not be aware of many social issues, and when a strong medium like cinema can present those issues, it can have a great effect. This particular study regarding “Slumdog Millionaire” was an important study to see, what findings have been made by the authors. The study found that many people may have known about the slums, but they may not have any idea, who people live there and struggle with their lives (Gupta & Gupta, 2013). This kind of more movies is a need of the hour, and it was good to see that “Crazy Rich Asians” tried to play its part in shedding light on the essence of inequality.

Looking at the story of “Crazy Rich Asians”, and analyzing its role in terms of depicting a social issue of inequality, it can be said that the movie had a positive message in the end when it ended well with the acceptance of Rachel by the family of Nick. It means that a society may have several social problems to deal with, but still, good things also happen. Rachel was shown as a strong woman, and she stood on her ground, and her long patience paid off in the end. But it is vital to know that people from poor or middle-class families are not always strong like Rachel, so they may not be able to sustain such issues and pressures. The review of this movie also showed the capacity and capability of cinema to distinguish between the perception and reality, and give an eye-opener to the society regarding good or bad in their surroundings (HO, 2018)

References of Analysis of Crazy Rich Asians

Gent, W. v., & Jaffe, R. (2017). Normalizing urban inequality: cinematic imaginaries of difference in postcolonial Amsterdam. Social & Cultural Geography, 18(4).

Gupta, S. B., & Gupta, S. (2013). Representation of social issues in cinema with specific reference to Indian cinema: case study of Slumdog Millionaire. The Marketing Review, 13(3).

Happer, C., & Philo, G. (2013). The Role of the Media in the Construction of Public Belief and Social Change. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 1(1).

HO, I. (2018). How This Crazy Rich Asian Fights Wealth Inequality and the Model Minority Myth [OP-ED]. Retrieved April 2, 2020, from https://www.colorlines.com/articles/how-crazy-rich-asian-fights-wealth-inequality-and-model-minority-myth-op-ed

Lee, C. (2018). ‘It’s not a movie, it’s a movement’: Crazy Rich Asians takes on Hollywood. Retrieved April 2, 2020, from https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/aug/11/crazy-rich-asians-movie-kevin-kwan-jon-m-chu-constance-wu

Tata, S., & Cilliers, J. (2019). Reimagining ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ as a social commentary on inequalities in Asia-Pacific. Retrieved April 2, 2020, from https://www.unescap.org/blog/reimagining-crazy-rich-asians-social-commentary-inequalities-asia-pacific

Vineet, K. (2014). Representation of Social Issues in Films. Madhya Pradesh Journal of Social Sciences, 19(1).

Yogi, S. (2013). ROLE OF MEDIA IN SOCIAL AWARENESS (A Review Study). Humanities & Social Sciences Reviews, 1(1).