Of Anti-Asian Racism

Minari: Asian Representation in the Age of Anti-Asian Racism

By Samantha Wong

I look on in despair as headlines of antiAsian hate crimes come out of the US. Of the eight people shot in Atlanta on March 16, six of them were Asian women. And like all things, people deemed it a controversial matter – he didn’t shoot them because of their ethnicity, it was a sex addiction! While attacks against Asian-Americans have increased over 150 percent in the past year, the truth is, anti-Asian racism has long plagued the West and continues to do so in horrifying and violent ways. And even if Asians aren’t being actively abused, casual racism still pervades their everyday experiences. Just the other day I saw neo-Nazi material plastered to ANU signs, reading: ‘Australia for the White Man.’ Even here in the Canberra bubble there are still some people stuck in the dark ages.

In this overwhelming climate, it’s easy to feel at a loss, angry, downtrodden. People are dying of COVID-19 because of some people’s selfishbehaviour, and yet those same selfish people look to blame an entire continent’s worth of people and local diaspora for their problems. It astounds me that in this globalised world where information is a Google Search away, people are still so ignorant and hateful.

That’s why I was so moved and thrilled watching the movie Minari, the story of a Korean family who moves to an Arkansas farm in pursuit of the ‘American Dream’. The movie is written and directed by Korean-American director Lee Isaac Chung and features an all-star cast of both Korean and Korean-American actors. Aside from the amazing cinematography, brilliant score and incredible acting, the film intimately portrays the dynamics of a young family struggling to make ends meet against a harsh rural landscape. It depicts the sweet friendship between a young boy and his halmeoni (grandma); and the tenuous love between a husband and wife who both want the best for their family but just can’t agree on the right way to go about it.

Asian representation in Hollywood films has always been so important to me. I think growing up, I’d project myself onto characters in movies, either because I felt understood by them or because I aspired to be like them.

I even remember watching Crazy Rich Asians in cinemas and tearing up because I’d never seen Asians depicted in such an exceptional and multidimensional way before. None of my white friends quite understood, but it was about more than patriotism or an in-group bias. It was the way the characters in the film brought dignity and humanity to Asians in a way that was universally accessible to anyone of any race. Similarly, Minari conveys the authentic, lived experiences of so many immigrant families, whether they migrated over in the 1970s or in the 2020s. In contrast to the exhausting ‘they’re here to steal our jobs’ narrative, the film captures the timeless story of a family that just wants a better life for their children, even if it means starting anew with next to nothing.

This was my Mum’s story, and my Dad’s story too. The grandma in the movie reminded me of my Por Por (my Mum’s mother), with her competitive gaming habits and cheeky sense of humour. I saw my Mum in the older sister who was always looking out for her little brother, and who had to put up with blatant racism from other kids just because she looked different. I understood how it felt when the family tried to find a sense of community in a very white, American church but could not help but stick out like a sore thumb. I even aggressively nudged my friend next to me when the little boy lay down on his Mum’s lap so she could dig his ear out with an earpick because, I said, ‘That’s what my Mum does to me too!’

With an impressive six Oscar-nominations, Minari serves as a timely reminder that storytelling that articulates diverse and authentic human experiences must continue to be told. In reality, not everyone will make an effort or even come into contact with People of Colour due to limited social circles or even pure geography. But luckily, movies are almost too accessible nowadays. There just needs to be storytellers ready to put their work out there, producers and companies eager to give them a platform, and an audience ready to hear their stories with open-hearts and minds.