Better Luck Tomorrow a Complex Exploration of American Suburbia

[sandra]

Better Luck Tomorrow a Complex Exploration of American Suburbia

If, by now, you haven’t heard of Better Luck Tomorrow, MTV Film’s debut acquisition from director Justin Lin, you must be making your home under the largest boulder imaginable. Aside from sharing an acronym with a popular form of sandwich, the BLT evokes in most Asian Americans the expectation of a breakthrough, feel-good movie about Asian American heritage and culture. Nothing could be further from the truth.

full review

[kitty]

wow, kasia... thanks for posting that so quickly...

[Xishi]

Do people actually feel that films of this nature are actually of progress to Asian Americans...?

What a crock of BS...

Exposure hardly equates to positive representation...

I happen to enjoy the model-minority aspect of Asian American stereotypes...as it is obviously true according to my experiences with myself...

I was told that this film suggests a more three dimentional depiction of Asian Americans...
Uhh...oh my god....
Being in the position of a minority...we

[SunWuKong]

BLT should stir up Asian American pride because of its position as a pioneering first in Asian American cinema, proving once and for all that there is an Asian American consumer market.

err... the only pioneering thing about BLT was that it caught the eye of an MTV executive, and he bought it. it was certainly not the first Asian American production with an Asian American cast. and just the fact that one dude from MTV liked it certainly doesn't "prove once and for all" that there is an Asian American consumer market.

i mean it's a pretty good film. but it's certainly not the jesus of asian american media that some people want to think it is.

[sOKaLiBoY]

it was just nice to see some of my own peeps on screen. i liked the movie a lot. i hoped that it would have done really well but that's a lot to ask.

[YuheiCarreau]

Dammit, everyone always overlooks Surf Ninjas as the greatest AA film ever. Go rent it today!

[YuheiCarreau]

Originally posted by SunWuKung@May 2 2003, 09:15 AM


err... the only pioneering thing about BLT was that it caught the eye of an MTV executive, and he bought it. it was certainly not the first Asian American production with an Asian American cast. and just the fact that one dude from MTV liked it certainly doesn't "prove once and for all" that there is an Asian American consumer market.

i mean it's a pretty good film. but it's certainly not the jesus of asian american media that some people want to think it is.

Yeah, but it is the first film in a while to have an all-teenaged (well, the characters were teenagers) AA cast. How easy is it for a 15-year-old ABC to identify with the characters in Chan Is Missing? BLT is aimed at an audience of AAs who are very... Well, not vain, but we teenagers place a lot of importance on what we see in movies or on TV, and seeing a bunch of Asians the same age as us in a cool movie is pretty huge.

[kuanyin]

i saw the movie before i left for korea.

i loved it. i think it provides a version of APA's not known to the outside world. its just another perspective to keep in mind of all people. basically, that rules can't apply when people think about race.

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by YuheiCarreau@May 2 2003, 12:50 PM

Yeah, but it is the first film in a while to have an all-teenaged (well, the characters were teenagers) AA cast. How easy is it for a 15-year-old ABC to identify with the characters in Chan Is Missing? BLT is aimed at an audience of AAs who are very... Well, not vain, but we teenagers place a lot of importance on what we see in movies or on TV, and seeing a bunch of Asians the same age as us in a cool movie is pretty huge.

i suppose the teenage aspect is cool. but there have been other asian american films. the difference is that this one got picked up by MTV because one MTV executive liked it. all the other asian american films just never made it out of the film festival circles. or is Charlotte Sometimes going to be played in theaters?

[AngryABCGirl]

Originally posted by Xishi@May 2 2003, 05:22 AM
Do people actually feel that films of this nature are actually of progress to Asian Americans...?

What a crock of BS...

Exposure hardly equates to positive representation...

I happen to enjoy the model-minority aspect of Asian American stereotypes...as it is obviously true according to my experiences with myself...

I was told that this film suggests a more three dimentional depiction of Asian Americans...
Uhh...oh my god....
Being in the position of a minority...we

I'm sorry, but who gives a flying fuck about positive representation? I'm sick of this we gotta put minorities in good spots because we know that can't do that by themselves! I'm sick of positive representation! I want some REAL represenation!

Enjoying the model minority image may be easy, but it's also something we are patronized with, and something that actually hurts many Asian-American kids because non-Asians can't accept it when you're not your pigeon-holed role. People want to live in false reality wistfully think it will save them.

I mean sure, I can put on a Harvard sweatshirt and no one doubts my intelligence and I get treated like the Queen of the Universe (I've tested this theory before) whereas someone would look twice at a Black kid wearing one. Is that ok? Why does that mindset happen? But when an Asian kid fights back against someone, why do people think it's a bigger deal than when Black kids do it?

dum dum dum media media media

I'd rather have this type of exposure than a perpetual stream of one-sided stereotypical characters and live in a shadow of a fake positive image that America gave us to make them feel safter.

Because this movie deals with issues of emotion and oppression, and the realities of anger and aggression that strike out from it. A reality that people are afraid to deal with, because deep down inside they know its real and its three-dimensional, and that's what this picture is all about.

Think about how pigeon-holed you if someone of non-Asian descent cuts you off, cuts in front of you line, says something offensive, or just makes some stupid comment about your ethnicity, and you step up and see how suprised they are you aren't being America's bitch when all you did was fight for your right. All that these kids do in the movie was react and fight back because no one expected them to and did not take it seriously.

[kuanyin]

thank you AzNBuffGrL!!!

[mrazntre]

Originally posted by AzNBuffGrL@May 3 2003, 12:48 AM

I'm sorry, but who gives a flying fuck about positive representation? I'm sick of this we gotta put minorities in good spots because we know that can't do that by themselves! I'm sick of positive representation! I want some REAL represenation!

Enjoying the model minority image may be easy, but it's also something we are patronized with, and something that actually hurts many Asian-American kids because non-Asians can't accept it when you're not your pigeon-holed role. People want to live in false reality wistfully think it will save them.

I mean sure, I can put on a Harvard sweatshirt and no one doubts my intelligence and I get treated like the Queen of the Universe (I've tested this theory before) whereas someone would look twice at a Black kid wearing one. Is that ok? Why does that mindset happen? But when an Asian kid fights back against someone, why do people think it's a bigger deal than when Black kids do it?

dum dum dum media media media

I'd rather have this type of exposure than a perpetual stream of one-sided stereotypical characters and live in a shadow of a fake positive image that America gave us to make them feel safter.

Because this movie deals with issues of emotion and oppression, and the realities of anger and aggression that strike out from it. A reality that people are afraid to deal with, because deep down inside they know its real and its three-dimensional, and that's what this picture is all about.

Think about how pigeon-holed you if someone of non-Asian descent cuts you off, cuts in front of you line, says something offensive, or just makes some stupid comment about your ethnicity, and you step up and see how suprised they are you aren't being America's bitch when all you did was fight for your right. All that these kids do in the movie was react and fight back because no one expected them to and did not take it seriously.

nicely put.


Some white honky dory dumb bitz white h0 of a film critic started to blast this movie due to it's detrimental associations that it portrayed on Asians. This dumb bitz said that asians shouldn't be portraying this type of "behavior" and should only be pursuing those "proper model minority" stereotypes in movies.

HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! this is GOOD stuff.

white beeyatch telling asians how we should act. Quite quaint is the irony.

White people will never learn. Down with the oppressors.

[Shuriken]

Originally posted by kasia@May 2 2003, 04:23 AM
While the move is indeed the first “mainstream” movie written, directed and starring Asian Americans...

Hey, Kittygirl, this is a good review — very well written and thoughtful. Did you write it? I hope so, and I hope to see more of your writing here and elsewhere. Good job!

And in case anyone cares (though I shouldn't get my hopes up), I disagree with those who say that Better Luck Tomorrow is bad for the Asian image because it portrays APAs doing bad things. What's important is that film is told from an APA perspective with APA main characters. The audience is compelled to see this story from the Asian characters' outlook, and I think that viewers will understand that the characters are rebelling against the "model minority" straitjacket.

Of course, if Better Luck Tomorrow had been written by Michael (Rising Sun) Crichton, the gang's murder victim would have been white, and the story would have been about two non-Asian detectives investigating the murder and linking the gang's criminal behavior to some genetic predisposition to mimic the Asian Triads. Needless to say, that would have been a different movie...

BTW, be sure to check out Justin Lin's previous feature, Shopping for Fangs, co-directed with Quentin Lee.

And for the record — with all due respect to Kittygirl — Better Luck Tomorrow is not "the first 'mainstream' movie written, directed and starring Asian Americans." For starters, this movie probably wouldn't be "mainstream" at all if a major distributor (Paramount) hadn't picked up the independent production. Ten years ago, Wayne Wang's The Joy Luck Club boasted an Asian American director, co-producers, co-writers, co-executive producer, and cast — and its $11 million budget was financed by Disney. And a previous independent production by Wang, 1989's Eat a Bowl of Tea, starring Russell Wong, was produced by PBS and picked up for distribution by Columbia. Sounds to me like they beat BLT to the punch.

Unfortunately, these kinds of films are so infrequent that when one comes along, its predecessors have faded from memory, so it only seems like the first. With the success of Better Luck Tomorrow, maybe we can hope for greater frequency.

[Xishi]

I have not had an oppertunity to finish my last post...

Continuing...

As a minority...we really cannot afford to portray ourselves in this destructive manner....

Not caring about positive representation..and only caring about true...three dimentional depiction..? Lol...but... that sounds somewhat...childish...
So...regardless of the new negative images that will be placed upon Asian Americans...you still praise counter-progressive films of this sort simply because you feel that it reflects some truth...reality... and entertains your fancy..? That sounds kind of selfish to me...
Besides...if you feel that we should even want to see the media used to reflect truth as oppose to positive propaganda purposes...then we are certainly in no place to complain about the depiction of Asians as sneaky...nerdy...and selfish...as I certainly see these types of Asians more than your "Ben Manibag"s...
Should one direct a movie featuring nerds...chinatown sweatshops ect...I am sure that there will be a lack of support...so why should it be any different with a film like BLT with a bunch of Upper middle class Asian thugs...?

To rectify unwanted stereotypes on one extreme...one cannot suggest another...perhaps an even more negative stereotype on the other end of the extreme in hopes to find a balance...
Sorry..but you cannot think of this as parallel to base nutralizing acid...lol...
Negative stereotypes are destructive regardless of what end of the spectrum they are on...and they only accentuate each other...
Only with positive representation can we be improve our image and overcome negative stereotypes...

Direct me a movie featuring some normal Asian individuals at least...
Try Asian alpha males...alpha females....

That should be able to target an audience of a more superior taste...

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by Shuriken@May 2 2003, 11:12 PM
Ten years ago, Wayne Wang's The Joy Luck Club boasted an Asian American director, co-producers, co-writers, co-executive producer, and cast ?and its $11 million budget was financed by Disney.

i admit that i really liked Joy Luck Club when it first came out. but now that i look back at it with 10 years behind me, i find that movie to be incredibly cheesy. :P the child actors in it were very excellent though. i think irene ng (who also played shelby woo) would make an excellent jubilee in (hopefully) the next x-men movie.

and the book was much better.