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SUNI LEE WINS OLYMPIC GOLD MEDAL

In the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, moved to summer of 2021 because of the coronavirus, Asian American Sunisa (Suni) Lee won the all-around gold medal in gymnastics for the U.S. team. Suni Lee scored a 14.6 on the bars, 15.3 on the uneven bars, 13.833 on beam, and 13.7 on floor, which added to a total winning score of 57.433. The scores are determined by two parts, the D and E score. The D score starts from zero and goes up to six or seven depending on the difficulty of the routine. The E score is the execution score and starts at 10. Points are deducted by judges based on the gymnast’s execution of the planned routine. Lee’s win gave her the platform to represent Asian American gymnasts in the Olympics as well as bring more awareness to Asian American representation in the competetive sports world.

Lee was the first Hmong American to win an allaround gold, which allowed her to publicly represent and educate others on her Hmong culture. The Hmong people are an ethnic group of Chinese descendants who originated as a clan in southern Asia. In 1800, the Hmong people were subject to political persecution and many migrated out of China and to neighboring countries like Thailand. Today, the Hmong people pride themselves on their unique culture and due to Lee’s success, many Olympic viewers have decided to educate themselves on the Hmong people’s history and culture (MPR News). Sophomore Josh Wang, a fellow Hmong descendant, discusses how Lee’s win has impacted his family and how inspirational her achievements are.

“Suni Lee has inspired me a lot [due to] her success at the Olympics,” Wang said. “My family would constantly bring her up in discussions where we talked about achieving our life goals. She has taught me to work hard and persevere through tough obstacles, and truly is an inspiration to not only me, but the Hmong community as a whole.”

In addition to the praise Lee has received, she has also faced criticism regarding the merit of her win. Representing the same team, gymnast Simone Biles had to end her participation halfway through the Olympics because of her mental health struggles. Even though Biles supported Lee in her victory, critics said that Lee only won because Biles had left the competition. However, the Asian community was quick to defend Lee on her victory and support Lee in fighting the claims invalidating her win. Among Lee’s supporters, sophomore Gianna Martocia, a current level 10 gymnast, which is the highest level in the U.S. Gymnastics Junior Olympics program, is grateful that Lee received the Asian community’s support, and she feels the win was warranted.

“[Lee] dedicated her life to winning that medal and for people to say that [it] was not deserved is absurd to me,” Martocia said. “She won that medal because of her hard work and I [am] so glad that the Asian community fought for her.”

Lee’s influence after winning the Olympic medal has encouraged people to educate themselves and others about Hmong and Asian culture. The win has also given her a large platform to spread awareness to the Hmong culture. On Instagram, many creators posted to congratulate Lee on her victory and included the hashtag #Hmong. Lee’s TikTok page, @sunilee_, has over 1 million followers, and provides yet another platform for her to expose people to Hmong culture. Currently, Lee is a contestant on “Dancing with the Stars” where she is performing as the face of the Hmong people, and paying homage to her culture. Another level 10 gymnast, sophomore Paige Dawson, is proud of Lee’s win, acknowledging the importance of the representation it brings.

“After Suni Lee’s performance, I was so [shocked] with the amount of publicity it brought,” Dawson said. “I [am] so happy that she finally got the recognition she [and] her heritage] deserved. She did a great job representing her Asian heritage [and] the U.S. team.”

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MARVEL’S ALL ASIAN FILM: SHANG-CHI

On Sept. 3, Marvel released their first movie with a fully Asian cast, “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” (Shang-Chi). According to Cable News Network (CNN), “Shang-Chi” is an example of Disney and Marvel’s recent efforts toward increasing Asian representation in their general content. However, with an Asian American audience and cultural nuances to account for, films that draw from Asian influences, such as Shang-Chi, have various factors to consider if they are to represent Asian culture with the best accuracy and respectfully.

Marvel, to show their respect for their Asian American audience, kept “Shang-Chi” out of Chinese box offices, which means that Marvel received less box office revenue for the film. According to Consumer News and Business Channel (CNBC), the motivation for American filmmakers to include Asian representation is often to capture the profitable market of Chinese box offices. Furthermore, China is the second-highest grossing box office for Marvel movies. Marvel’s decision to release “Shang-Chi” solely in America demonstrates that the movie aspires only to represent Asian American viewers and has no other monetary benefit for the company (CNBC). Junior Kayla Mar is pleased that Marvel has included more Asian-influenced content and is hopeful that this could be the beginning of increased Asian representation in media.

“In this movie, we finally got to see positive Asian American representation in Hollywood, which is especially exciting because it is from such a large studio,” Mar said. “With ‘ShangChi’, Marvel took advantage of an opportunity to showcase Asian culture and appeal to [Asian American and Pacific Islander] audiences. Especially by doing so in the current [political climate], Marvel did a great job.”

Despite directors’ intent to create a better balance of racial representation, some have pointed out how movies like “Shang-Chi” can be seen as further excluding Asian culture. Critics say that instead of producing a movie with an all-Asian cast, companies should naturally integrate them into their regular content; while making a movie with many Asian characters does provide visual representation, it also categorizes different races into separate movies, further alienating Asian culture (New York Times). Senior Deborah Mok agrees, seeing “Shang-Chi” as a missed opportunity that used stereotypes instead of authentic Asian culture.

“I liked ‘Shang-Chi’, however its portrayal of Chinese culture [was not] very accurate,” Mok said. “It conveyed a very American perception of China and represented more stereotypes than genuine culture, such as the numerous dragons in the movie. I would prefer Asian people, characters and culture to be normalized in general film [instead of receiving] movies like ShangChi, [which I think can be alienating].”

As Asian media gains popularity in the U.S. and the general demand for Asian American and Pacific Islander representation increases, releasing a movie with Asian influence fits with current popular culture. The recent increased influence of Asian media on the entertainment industry as a whole has made viewers feel this is an opportune time to release “Shang Chi”. A rise in Asian pop culture has swept America, with many people now becoming fans of Korean, Japanese and Chinese culture. This resent culture change has become influential and is continuing to grow. As “Shang-Chi” was released during this time, many feel that the timing adds to the impact of the movie (CNN). Expecting more to come, junior Yifan Gu is excited to see evidence of Asian culture becoming more respected by Marvel and in the film industry.

“I am glad to see that people got to represent their own culture in [‘Shang-Chi’],” Gu said. “In other movies with Asian culture, people sometimes fabricate Asian representation or even make up Asian accents. It is important to me that people get to speak for themselves, and Asian people get to play the characters.”