In the midst of the glittering lives of super-rich men & women in Crazy Rich Asians (2018), there is one female character who should not be overlooked. Rachel Chu, Nick Young's lover, comes from a modest family and unlike her super-rich boyfriend . In addition, Rachel Chu is also an immigrant from China who grew up and settled on American soil, who was raised single by her mother. However, in all the different conditions and this gap is not easy for Rachel Chu to visit the super-rich Young family in Singapore, especially when he just knew that Nick Young was in fact a crazy rich Asian.Even so, the figure of Rachel Chu is not a woman who can be underestimated and belittled, just because she does not have the privilege of socio-economic status.
Crazy Rich Asians (2018) Movie Review
Based on the novel with the same title and exactly as the title implies, the film Crazy Rich Asians (2018) does share stories about the lives of super-rich Asians in Singapore. Starting from the luxurious Young family's house, a private and luxurious bridal shower on an island in Sumatra, to the concept of a super-luxury wedding interior design in a church. One of the crazy rich asians who was in the spotlight was the Young family, which is said to have been rich since long ago, since Singapore was still a wilderness. However, specifically, the film Crazy Rich Asians (2018) then packs the dilemma of a love story and drama between the heirs of the super-rich, Nick Young and Rachel Chu who were born without socio-economic privileges.
Crazy Rich Asians (2018) begins with a story where Nick Young invites his lover back to his family home in Singapore, while attending his best friend's wedding there. Rachel Chu, who has been an immigrant to America since very young, feels she has never stepped on Asian soil and naturally wants to visit. However, he did not know that Nick Young actually came from the richest family in Singapore. Crazy Rich! The reason is that her lover's lifestyle in America has not shown wealth at all (for example, by borrowing Rachel Chu's Netflix account or choosing to eat a plate of cake together, obedient to her lover's order). The reality that Nick Young is a crazy rich Asianonly came to light on their way to Singapore.
Then how did the Young family respond after they met Rachel Chu? Predictably, it's complicated. However, the socio-economic gap between Rachel Chu and Nick Young is too great—although the gap can be bridged well by this couple, the gap cannot be bridged well by the Young family. Eleanor Young, Nick Young's mother, was the most opposed to their relationship and often put Rachel Chu in a difficult position.
Film Crazy Rich Asians (2018) is a very interesting movie. First, because Crazy Rich Asians (2018) has succeeded in highlighting the culture of the Chinese community in Asia, down to the smallest details. Food-related culture, for example. Or, the culture of living under the same roof with their parents even though they are adults. Second, Crazy Rich Asians (2018) succeeded in providing a richer and healthier representation of Asian people (especially those of Chinese descent) on the Hollywood film stage, which often gets stigma and one-sided stereotypes in mainstream films which are represented by very limited or limited characters. single only .Third, of course, does not escape raising the issue of racism experienced by Asian-American friends, who are often stigmatized by fellow Asians themselves—just as Rachel Chu is looked down upon by the Young family, not only because she has no social privileges. economy, but also because he is an Asian-American. This film is an empowering film for the Asian-American community.
Closer to Rachel Chu in Crazy Rich Asians (2018)
Film Crazy Rich Asians(2018) is actually one of the films that is very rich in female characters with various characters, symbolizing matriarchy in a Chinese family which is interesting to watch—even though the women in it are still closely tied to traditional gender roles. We can see the diversity of these female characters in their respective life stories and characters. Besides Rachel Chu, there is Eleanor Young (played by Michelle Yeoh) who is one of the strongest figures in the young conglomerate family, Astrid Young Teo (played by Gemma Chan) who is also experiencing problems with the socio-economic status gap with her husband followed by her husband's infidelity, there is Peik Lin Goh (played by Awkwafina) who represents young slang & knowledgeable women in fashion. However, all of these characters have one thing in common: they are wealthy Asian women.
Therefore, it is interesting to turn our eyes to a woman who represents a much different background in this film: an Asian-American immigrant woman without socio-economic privileges who was raised by a single mother without ever knowing who her real father is—Rachel Chu. Rachel Chu is one of the main female characters in the film Crazy Rich Asians (2018) which cannot escape our eyes. Therefore, this review focuses more on highlighting Rachel Chu.
“Our brains so hate the idea of losing something that's valuable to us that we abandon all rational thought, and we make some really poor decisions. So, Curtis wasn't playing to win. He was playing not to lose.”
—Rachel Chu, in the film Crazy Rich Asians (2018)
When she first set foot in Singapore, Rachel Chu seemed to be trying her best to adapt to the crazy rich environment of her lover. Unfortunately, the Young family is indeed too crazy rich— to the point that he has to pay attention to his appearance in as much detail as possible . If it weren't for his relationship with Peik Lin Goh, who is a wealthy Singaporean (though not as rich as the Young family), whom Rachel had known while studying in America and helped serve as her fashion stylist —Rachel Chu might have been embarrassed when it came to fashion. which is considered inadequate in the eyes of the Crazy Rich Asians . The clothes her mother actually chose in America, dressThe plain red color still doesn't match the Crazy Rich Asians style , one of the portraits of the reality of the socio-economic class gap between these two families. When she meets Nick's (Eleanor Young) mother, Rachel Chu is actually daunted—but continues to try to survive and show herself to be strong.
However, in Crazy Rich Asians (2018), we also see a fragile Rachel Chu. He was nervous and wanted to leave too. He was shocked when he was bullied by crazy rich asians at Araminta's bridal shower . He was so seriously depressed after the incident where Eleanor Young revealed facts about her family that she didn't even know—a family that the Young family considers 'chaotic and messy'. (Rachel Chu's mother turned out to be abused by her husband in China and was helped by her schoolmates. They fell in love, her mother became pregnant with her schoolmate, and Rachel Chu was born. Afraid of being killed by her husband, her mother took Rachel Chu, the two of them fled to America. ).
Huas are blooming, and the birds are chirping—that it was because of me: a poor, raised by a single mother, low class, immigrant, nobody.”
—Rachel Chu, in the film Crazy Rich Asians (2018)
In Crazy Rich Asians, viewers may see opposing tendencies between Eleanor Young vs Rachel Chu—but it's not as simple as 'women against women' and then blaming the women again. In this case, we must acknowledge the social reality that often occurs in a class society. Women with high economic class status can also oppress women with lower economic class status, because they live under a patriarchal-capitalist culture. Stratification and social class certainly cannot be overlooked in the study of feminism. There are differences in women's experiences.
The strange thing is, before marrying Nick's father, Eleanor Young also received the same treatment from her in-laws (Ah Ma, Nick's grandmother). He is also considered 'unfit' by Ah Ma to marry his son and take care of his grandchildren, even Eleanor Young & Ah Ma's relationship is still tenuous until Rachel Chu comes to their family. Again, we are faced with a social reality that often occurs in marriage and family: patriarchal culture that places gender roles and burdens too heavy on the shoulders of women as mothers and wives in the household, so that in-laws & daughters-in-law are trapped in a chain of oppression. endless.
“My mom taught me how to play.Strategy. Cooperation."
—Rachel Chu, in the film Crazy Rich Asians (2018)
Despite being raised by a single mother as an immigrant without the privilege of socio-economic status on American soil, Rachel Chu managed to become a professor in the realm of business economics (although this status doesn't seem to mean as much in the eyes of crazy rich Asians like the Young family). She is an intelligent woman who cannot be underestimated. In Rachel Chu's case, the privilege of higher education became a force to fight the discrimination she received from the Young family. Just look at how he managed to establish a relationship with Princess Intan, one of the crazy rich women at Araminta Lee & Colin Khoo's wedding, who crazy rich asians are hard to approach.others, because he appreciates the academic journal written by Princess Intan. Or how he invited Eleanor Young to a mahjong match to deliver her last message that was so sincere, wise and intelligent, before choosing to leave Nick—which actually made Eleanor Young realize how special Rachel Chu was and give her blessing.
In Crazy Rich Asians, from Rachel Chu's life story—we also get a representative story about how a woman should not be stigmatized just because she is a single mother or a child raised by a single mother. Status as a single mother does not make women lose their ability to be able to raise their children well, even though they have to experience challenges and difficulties that may be much more severe. How do we get a representative story about how under-privileged socio-economic status and immigrant identity should be embraced as part of society and entitled to be free from stigma. However, stigma is a mere assumption and not the actual reality.
