Excessively Asian: crying, Crazy Rich Asians, and the construction of Asian American audiences

Abstract

Amidst the outpouring of conversation surrounding the popular romantic comedy Crazy Rich Asians (2018), a common response by Asian American audience members centered on the experience of crying at the theater. This article asks what provoked this particular discourse and how it is related to broader issues around Asian American media and representation. It triangulates a complex portrait of meaning surrounding Crazy Rich Asians, including the arrival of an Asian American entertainment boom, the targeted marketing of the film, and the activist campaign that accompanied its release. It then analyzes writing from journalists and tweets with gifs, arguing that from assessing this multifaceted portrait we can see how Asian Americans are fighting to exceed and resist the limits of various communication platforms in order to more fully express their frustrations with our current media landscape.

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