Shang Chi - Tumblr Posts
“You can’t outrun who you really are” SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS | OFFICIAL TEASER
with that being said, shang-chi and katy better remain friends. i loved their dynamic as friends and it was so refreshing to see a duo of a super hero and opposite gender character that aren’t romantically involved.
i wish marvel had more balls to make mobius and loki happen
when Wenwu first fights Ying Li to enter Ta Lo and she spins him around and he looks up at her and sees her smile and effortless skill and realizes she has the upper hand and that’s the exact moment he falls in love with her
to when Shang-Chi fights his father using his mother’s training and spins him around the exact same way and Wenwu looks up and realizes the spirit of his beloved wife has always lived on through his children and its like he’s falling in love with her all over again bc he realizes he should’ve continued to love her by being there for his children and loving them.
How Wenwu wore the rings like handcuffs, tying him back to the past, how he fought with his fists and taught Shang-Chi to do the same
And then Ying-Nan opening his hand, and SHANG-CHI FUCKING USING THE RINGS ALL FLOWING AND SERPENTINE LIKE HIS MOTHER AND AUNT, NOT LASHING OUT HARD AND SHARP LIKE A WHIP
THAT SYMBOLISM BABY (oh hey and that doesn't have anything to do at all with the yin yang the dragon did at the end, you know, like the light and the dark, the masculine and the feminine...)
Like can we talk about that?? That was just *chef's fucking kiss*
Got some very heavy ATLA vibes from this (hey Zuko?? Azula?? daddy/mommy issues?? masked ponytail dude?? The whole wind/water and how gentleness can be just as threatening as violence thing?? Yeah)
Them respecting the past but releasing it as well, omg. Something about that speaks very deeply to me, as I know from my own heritage, how trauma, pain, and grief just flow down through the blood
When Shang-Chi said that his mom would hate him for who he had become, but what she had actually said was to embrace both the light and the dark within himself and to accept what had come down to him from his mother and father and HIM REALIZING IT
IT WAS IN YOU ALL ALONG, YOU JUST HID FROM IT
God that's so fucking freeing honestly
I've spent so much of my life running away from my heritage and only begun to fully embrace it in the past couple years
That really resonated with me
Often I still don't feel like I belong to either side, but it's a growing process,, I'll get there some day
So we all agree that these three
Are just mcu azula, zuko, and ty lee right
I'm on a bus rn and literally all that's going through my head is the bus scene from Shang-Chi
Simu Liu could honestly play any marvel character in existence and i’d be ok with it. Captain America? Fuck yeah that man would go around promoting immigration and different cultures and would ABSOLUTLEY play with the shield like a frisbee!! Spider-man? Damn that man would be the friendliest guy out there!! Loki? He’s fun and loveable and hot but can also be dark as shit. The only people he couldn’t play would be any female superhero because he would just have so much respect for them like i could totally see him fanboying when meeting captain marvel & black widow and just be so starstruck as Katy kicked ass with them
Okay, here's my thing with Eternals.
Yeah, the writers had the typical problem big group stories have where not all of the characters got the amount of attention they deserved.
Yeah, the backstory is a headache if you think about it too hard in the context of the larger mcu at times.
Bur yknow what? Who the fuck cares???
The problem with a lot of marvel fans recently is that if they see a marvel movie that doesn't have the same amount of punch as infinity war or endgame, they have this weird distaste for it.
Eternals is funny and still serious. It has beautiful graphics and a compelling main cast. It has diversity and most of all, it has heart.
AND!!! It is rewatchable!! It is viewable even if you've never seen a marvel movie in your life, AS STAND ALONES SHOULD BE!
The problem with movies like Endgame or Infinity War, or even Avengers to an extent is that they're cool, but they aren't fun! You don't rewatch infinity war while playing video games or drawing. You rewatch Infinity War if you are rewatching a section of the mcu. And I'm not saying those movies are bad, of course. All I'm saying is that I have seen infinity war three times since it came out in 2018. How many times have I seen Ragnarok, Black Panther, GOTG or Captain Marvel? Hell, I've watched Shang-Chi 6 fucking times since it released for free on disney plus.
Honest to god, Eternals is my favorite thing in phase 4 so far, and I would go so far as to place it in my top 5.
TLDR: Eternals is good, Marvel fans and critics are just spoiled brats who want lore instead of fun.
Simu Liu and his Stock Photos
Okay here’s the thing, let’s not pit the new/young avengers against each other. We did that with the whole “who’s the strongest” with the older ones and had our fun but the younger ones are the found family the older avengers were supposed to be. They’re besties. They’re like this 🤞
Peter, Shuri, and Riri geek over science
Peter and Shuri nerd out over memes and bonding through their similar trauma
Kamala and Kate obsess over their fave superhero
America and Yelena are over it
And Shang Chi is confused why he’s there
Shang Chi does not look like a good movie
The plot strikes me as generic and just another Marvel movie, or worse, another Marvel Black Panther movie. More importantly, I don't think this movie is a worthy representation of Asian Culture.
This is especially egregious since Shang Chi did not get the same amount of effort and love as Black Panther when it came to the creation of an 'Asian-Futuristic' equivalent to Black Panther's world-building.
For example:
The visual design - Costumes and general aesthetic -
The majority of Shang Chi's color palette is dark and dull. The background is monotone and the main character designs fail to stand out. Compare this:
To this:
Why does the main character of Shang Chi look less impressive than the side characters in Black Panther?
Additionally, this is the Mandarin's aesthetic:
And this is Wakanda:
It's because it's Asians, right? Sure, wearing anything other than mud brown was a crime punishable by death, but that's during the Qin Dynasty. I don't think the CCP would be that put off if the Mandarin could wear something that was a primary color.
Well. Not yet.
The Portrayal of Modern Asians/Urban Asians -
The representation of the Asian characters in Shang Chi does not portray Urban Asians in a positive light. According to the movie Asians seem to be either egomaniacal crime lords or menials like Valets.
Awkwafina's character isn't very dignified either. An Asian who can't pronounce a Chinese name and whose humor is buffonish at least. She does nothing to add value to the image of present-day Asians and compared to Fu Manchu, a caricature of Asians of his time, she is the worse choice.
Shang Chi himself is hardly a role model. The alternative life he is portrayed to have chosen for himself is dissolute and purposeless. There is nothing in the character written for the film that captures the dignity of the original comic character, or any dignity worth speaking of at all.
Ultimately -
Shang Chi feels like a poor man's Black Panther. It is a film that does not feel worthy of any support, either as a Marvel film, or a film that is supposed to represent Asians in the Marvel Universe.
If Black Panther is guilty of doing too much, Shang Chi is a film that did not deserve Sim Liu's passion.
are you asian?
sAre you?
No. You must be or you wouldn't have asked.
The better reply would be: does it matter?
You're Asian, you're not Asian. I'm Asian, I'm not Asian. The director is Asian but doesn't portray Asians in a good light.
If I was Asian, I was underwhelmed by the promise of a great Asian Superhero. If I wasn't, I was unimpressed by Marvel's attempts to sell me on an Asian Superhero.
If I wasn't Asian and was hardly impressed, China wouldn't be very enthusiastic either. So far, no date for release in the China market.
All is, isn't, and is not what was expected. Does it really matter?
Representation and Shang Chi; Legend of the Ten Rings
Shang Chi's representation is ... not good. But is it our fault?
Kind of?
Shang Chi himself does not have the conventionally attractive appearance of Heroes of Chinese Kung Fu Movies like Donnie Yen, Wu Jing, or Jackie Chan.
Shang Chi is portrayed as an ambitionless bum who works a dead-end job as a Valet and spends his time drinking and singing bad karaoke.
The 'Asian Culture' through the film is a mish-mash of Asian stereotypes like Grandmas asking their Granddaughters why they ain't married, problems pronouncing names in their own mother tongue, or sticking hook swords on Chinese bad guys because Hook Swords are the only Chinese weapon they know.
Not to mention the thatched-roof huts and ancient Chinese castles that Hollywood thinks Asians still live in.
Shang Chi's representation is kinda shit considering it was supposed to be an Asian Movie for Asians by Asians. But is it the fault of the studio, directors, and Hollywood?
Or is it our fault, because we consume media that caricatures Asians and Asian culture as a whole?
Especially when we, as Asians, cheer at people doing bad accents and make fun of their own culture, and thus encourage the negative stereotypes of Asians in popular culture.
Compare this:
To this:
Perhaps one can say Shang Chi is a good representation of Asian culture after all. Without self-respect, any representation is a good representation.
so i just saw shang chi and holy shit im in love!!! the visuals are magical, the costumes and storyline were amazing and the cast... when i say i had bi panic while watching this, I'm not even exaggerating. 10/10, would recommend