Representation

Crazy Rich Asians is a romantic comedy created by The Warner Bros. that follows a native New Yorker, Rachel Chu. Rachel and her serious boyfriend, Nick Young, are traveling back to Nick's home country in Singapore to attend his best friends wedding. Rachel is nervous about meeting Nicks family as she has no idea what to expect. Rachel learns that nick was heavily neglected during his childhood. She comes to find out that Nick comes from one of the most wealthiest families in Singapore. Rachel being Nicks girlfriend attracts a lot of attention surrounding her intentions with their relationship. Not only is Crazy Rich Asians a story about love, it is a story about family. Nicks mother has an undeniable love for her son. His mom is prepared to sacrifice anything for family but especially Nick. This film is so much more than your typical romantic comedy.

A huge aspect of this movie was representing Singapore's culture and lifestyle. When Rachel first arrives to the country, we see her and Nick tour Singapore with the soon-to-be-married couple. It has a roaring and chaotic feel to provide to bombard Rachel with the new country that she is visiting. We see her try new foods, become familiar with the country, and get a feel to what her trip will have in store for her. The culture seen within this film is helped by the landscapes, costumes, music, etc. 

 

Rachel appears as an outsider to Nicks family as she is a modest American who is an economics professor. In Nicks mom's view, that does not meet her standards of a "perfect wife" for her son. Rachel tends to dress casual and underwhelming. As we are introduced to Nicks family (primarily his mother), we see their lavish clothing worn, word choice, and their sophisticated personalities. Seen in the image below, Rachel is wearing average street wear. Meanwhile, the bride to be is wearing a luxurious outfit with gold sequins to represent her lifestyle compared to Rachels.

When Rachel appears at Nicks childhood home for his mothers party, we see the guests wearing high-end clothing, having fancy food, tasting expensive alcohol beverages, high-end cars, and live music is being performed for the event. The music playing is jazz that is sung in Madarin to display the classy feel to the scene We see that Rachel attempts to blend in with the people at Eleanor's (Nicks mom) party by wearing an outfit that is out of her comfort zone. With everything that Rachel is viewing, she meant to feel overwhelmed by the chaotic environment. 

                                 

As Rachel begins to understand the Young family standards, we see her wear an extravagant gown to the wedding. We see that she begins to feel more confident and comfortable in an unfamiliar setting. Not only have her clothing choices altered, her personality has blossomed into a classy self-assured women. We see this in her interaction with the wedding guests who had treated her poorly during her stay in Singapore. 

Sound Track consisting of primarily Mandarin

SOURCES

https://www.warnerbros.com/movies/crazy-rich-asians

https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2018/08/15/638775885/in-crazy-rich-asians-jon-chu-directs-all-asian-cast

https://www.youtube.com/