LOCALIZE IT: Asian communities elated for 'Everything' Oscar
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Even the filmmakers behind “Everything Everywhere All at Once” never dared to imagine a universe where there film would be the biggest talk of the 95th Academy Awards.
The whacky sci-fi, multiverse movie, about an immigrant Chinese wife and mother facing a tax audit, has been everywhere when it comes to awards season. It could all culminate with a huge and historic payoff during Hollywood’s biggest night, which will air March 12 on ABC.
The film has a whopping 11 nominations, including best picture, best director, best actress for Michelle Yeoh, best supporting actor for Ke Huy Quan and best supporting actress for Jamie Lee Curtis and Stephanie Shu.
There is particular excitement among Asian and Asian American communities. Yeoh would be the first Asian woman to win in her category. Quan would only be the second Asian supporting actor winner after Haing S. Ngor, who won for “The Killing Fields” in 1985. Co-director Daniel Kwan scored a rare “hat trick” of being nominated as a producer, director and screenwriter. He would be the third person of Asian descent to win best director after Bong Joon Ho (“Parasite”) and Chloe Zhao (“Nomadland”). Jonathan Wang, a Taiwanese American, is among the film’s producers.
After the movie came out, many Asian Americans and Asians who immigrated to the U.S. shared on social media how they felt seen or that they understood their parents better.
Here are some tips for localizing the story.
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REPORTING THREADS
— Look for any Asian American or Pacific Islander film students or local filmmakers in you area. Have they seen the movie? Do they plan to watch the Oscars? Does this amount of representation in a film and in an awards show matter to them? What kinds of stories do they hope to see in the future?
— What are local high schools or colleges in your region doing to support filmmakers of color?
— Is there a local or state Asian American organization such as a chamber of commerce? Are they hosting a watch party for an Asian-led nominated movie or for the Oscars? Contact the group directly. You can also try searching social media such as Facebook under events for any planned events around the awards.
— Is there any grassroots group in your area that focuses on recent Asian immigrants? Do they feel like the movie has brought more attention to the immigrant experience? What do they wish the public would understand more about immigrants from Asia?
— Is there a chapter of the Asian American Journalists Association in your state? You can reach out and see if any of their members have written about “Everything Everywhere All at Once” or representation issues and use them as a source.
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REPORTING RESOURCES
A USC Annenberg study on people of color who were nominated and/or won Academy Awards in the awards’ 95-year history. It mainly focuses on the major categories for feature films: https://www.inclusionlist.org/oscars/race
In 2021, USC Annenberg and Amazon Studios also collaborated on a first ever study of Asian and Pacific Islander (API) leads and speaking characters across 1,300 top-grossing films in the U.S. from 2007 to 2019. The report examines how popular culture can contribute to erasure and stereotyping of the Asian American and Pacific Islander community: https://assets.uscannenberg.org/docs/aii_aapi-representation-across-films-2021-05-18.pdf
Asian American- and Pacific Islander-operated organizations and programs in the film industry to support up-and-coming filmmakers:
— Gold House, a collective of AAPI movers and shakers, is part incubator and part accelerator. The group is known initially for stating the #GoldOpen movement to boost box office attendance for “Crazy Rich Asians” among other Asian-led projects. The organization has grown into a resource to assist in all stages of a film from development to marketing: https://goldhouse.org/
— The Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment (CAPE) was founded in 1991 by three Asian American executives as a way to advocate for better representation. They have various fellowship programs for Asian Americans looking to do everything from being in the boardroom to the writers’ room: https://www.capeusa.org/
— The San Francisco-based Center for Asian American Media, or CAAM, has been boosting independent filmmakers for over 40 years. Their annual CAAMFest is a widely known film festival. They also produce programming for public television: https://caamedia.org/
— The Sundance Institute and The Asian American Foundation recently launched joint fellowship and scholarship programs. There are six AAPI Fellowship members who get a $20,000 grant each for their project. There are six recipients of a Collab Scholarship: https://www.taaf.org/sundance-fellowship
— Define American was created in 2011 by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas, who came out as an undocumented citizen. Part of the group’s mission is to influence accurate portrayals of the immigrant experience in film and TV: https://defineamerican.com/
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PUBLISHABLE CONTEXT
The attention on “Everything Everywhere All at Once” and its cast is a success story amid ongoing anti-Asian hate across the U.S. that started with the coronavirus pandemic. The Stop AAPI Hate reporting center, which was created in response to the racism, has collected information on nearly 11,500 hate incidents between March 2020 and March 2022. They range from verbal to physical harassment, online abuse and shunning. The victims are disproportionately women and the elderly. What’s frustrating is that the encounters don’t often rise to the legal definition of a hate crime.
The film has hit a nerve with audiences but especially Asian Americans. Across social media, many describe crying during the film’s last hour as the relationship between Evelyn and daughter Joy hits a make-or-break juncture. Some say they feel like they’re watching their own immigrant mother become the hero of her story for the first time. Others say they’ve gained a better understanding about parents who typically don’t wear their emotions on their sleeve.
For Asian American women, the movie is a breath of fresh air. Hate incidents like last year’s Atlanta spa shootings renewed conversations about the propensity to sexualize or dismiss Asian women. But in this movie, Yeoh gets to show a wide range—from comedic and martial arts chops to heart-wrenching angst. The actress promises she will never give up on proving women can be the leads in parts that are more than stereotypes.
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Localize It is an occasional feature produced by The Associated Press for its customers’ use. Questions can be directed to Katie Oyan at koyan@ap.org.