Crazy Rich Asians: can representation bridge the divide between local and international students?

By Maddie Bowers, Third Year Theatre and Performance

Over 18% of our student population last year was international, yet many do not feel wholly integrated into our university culture. Could something as menial as a Hollywood rom-com help local students understand the varying culture of their peers better and improve our community?

Mansions, helicopters, in-depth cultural commentary and washboard abs - Crazy Rich Asians was the first Hollywood movie to feature an all Asian cast in 25 years and surpassed all industry expectations, topping the US box office for three consecutive weekends.

The plot follows Chinese-American Rachel Chu (Constance Wu) as she travels to Singapore to meet the family of her boyfriend Nick Young (Henry Golding). She soon discovers that they are unbelievably wealthy and, due to her lower-class status, must fight for their approval.

As much as it was tear inducing to see the sister city of my adolescent home, Hong Kong, depicted on a western screen, it is obvious that this film is far more poignant for the people it is representing. Therefore, I sat down with a few of my peers to get their opinion on the high-grossing multinational rom-com, and its relation to their university experience as ethnic southeast Asians.

The often unspoken divide between local and international students is a contentious topic in itself that cannot be covered in a single article. However, Hong Kong native and Bristol University Theatre and Film alumni Candace Tim Lo believes that a film like Crazy Rich Asians can offer a possible bridge between the two groups. ‘I feel like it’s a really good conversation starter, for example someone like me who tries to explain what it’s like to live in a culture that’s completely different.

‘It's so much easier to say to your friends, “Hey, do you wanna watch this film with me?” And then from that go forward and be like, “This is what it was like for me growing up in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, etc.”’

Justin Kwik, a Singaporean international student ambassador studying law, is concerned that media representation is not enough to fill the gap. ‘Some [international students] don't care about making local friends, they're here to study, to get their degree and get out straight away and go home. It can be quite difficult for a local person to get to know you if you don't make the effort to adapt to that situation.

‘On the other hand, I see a lot of my [international] friends adapt to local culture. And they find it frustrating because they want to get to know English people, but they find them a bit unapproachable and they don't think English people make the effort to get to know them. But at the same time, they have their own lives to lead and their own interests and that doesn’t include Asian culture.”

Lo, however, sees the separation between local and international students as not necessarily intentional. ‘Even local students struggle leaving home, so imagine how daunting it must be for an international kid to come all the way here. There’s kind of a tendency to gravitate subconsciously towards people that look like you that speak the same language as you. I see that a lot with Chinese students for example, they tend to band together because it makes the experience of being in such a foreign place much easier to deal with.

‘I do feel that there is a need from the local side to take that extra step because they're the ones that know how it works around here and, as an international kid, we really appreciate that extra step even if it’s something really small.’

In contrast, third-year medicine student Kelly Cheng suggests that there is responsibility on both sides. ‘Communication is a two-way thing,’ she says. ‘Local students have to want to engage with international students and vice versa.’

As a British-born Chinese (BBC), Cheng recognises that her UK upbringing has influenced her social outreach. ‘Living in Orchard Heights in first year, a lot of the students who live there are mainland Chinese. And it's interesting to realise that, in hindsight, I didn't actually make one international Chinese friend.

‘[Crazy Rich Asians] explores the idea that there are different types of Asians [in reference to the leading multinational romantic relationship]. I think it's important to show the diversity in culture within the Asian community, that we’re not all the same.’

The film’s contribution of much-needed Asian representation and the discussion it spawns is hopefully just a scratch on the iceberg of what is to come. Even so, Kwik is still appreciative of the exposure Crazy Rich Asians has leant his home culture ‘It could just be a phase, and nothing could happen from it, but I think if you're going to start walking, what’s important is that you take your first step.’

Featured Image: Youtube / Warner Bros. Pictures

Epigram Film & TV are open to hearing the experiences of international and local students - have you found UoB to be an accepting and welcoming place or do you believe the community can do more?

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