The most favored Asian actress in Hollywood,
, has been working hard since her debut.
has broken Western stereotypes of Asian women. The new favorite of Hollywood film and television circles.
She is Chinese and Korean, but because she was raised by a Beijing-born grandmother, she has a great sense of identity with China.
Okafina and grandma (the two in the middle)
, she played the heroine's best friend in last year's hot "Golden Romance". Although the new film "Don't Tell Her" has been withdrawn in the Mainland, it is the best-selling Asian-themed film in North America this year. Rotten Tomatoes has a freshness of 99% and an IMBD score of 8.1 (now 7.8). When it was released overseas, its box office exceeded the giant " Avengers 4."
eventually earned a box office of 17.66 million US dollars with an investment of 3.5 million US dollars, playing a triumph for small-cost movies.
Okafina also nominated the best actress for the Gotham Independent Film Awards for this film.
In November, Okafina became the cover character of "Time", with the title "The Next 100 most influential people", one of the 100 most influential people in the future at , .
She also appeared on the cover of the "Hollywood Reporter" actress special issue together with international film stars such as Laura Dunn, Jennifer Lopez, Scarlett Johansson.
"Los Angeles Times" also selected her into this year's actress round table special issue. It is no exaggeration to say that she is now the most popular Asian female star in Hollywood.
When this university went to Beijing Language and Culture University to study Chinese, loves pure Chinese food, and is very interested in Chinese culture, Okafina was recently attacked by countless netizens in her hometown of China as "ugly looking". In the interview video of
"Don't Tell Her", the barrage is terrible.
This is not a special case. Many videos related to her are in such a grand occasion.
How did Okafina get in the way?
01
"Don't Tell Her":
Asian women's new right to speak
Reading the script of "Don't Tell Her" for the first time, Okafina couldn't help crying. Then she learned about the personal experience of Wang Ziyi, the director of "Don't Tell Her", and found that the two had quite a lot in common.
They are all Chinese-Americans (Wang Ziyi was born in Beijing, but moved to the United States at a very young age); they both have an extraordinary parent-child relationship with their grandma; they all feel that they are caught between the East and the West. The United States is not fully accepted as an American, nor is it fully accepted as a Chinese in China.
"Don't Tell Her" tells the story of Asian girl Billie from New York to visit her grandma in Changchun, China. The family concealed the fact that grandma was terminally ill, and used a wedding to bring the whole family together to see her grandma for the last time.
But Billie, who has been educated in the West since she was a child, believes that grandma has the right to know her physical condition.
"Don't Tell Her"
For Okafina, it is also difficult to understand the fact that grandma is sick. "I feel that I have a deep connection with Billie. I can feel her pain and understand her. Struggling."
But during the filming process, when she had a deeper understanding of Chinese culture, she began to empathize, "When you are there (a Chinese family), always surrounded by love, you begin to understand the "concealment" behind Meaning." The Chinese director of
, a yellow-skinned actor, 80% Chinese dialogue, and the story takes place in the Northeast. It is not an exaggeration to say that "Don't Tell Her" is a real Chinese movie.
This high-reputation and high-return film in North America has encountered Waterloo in the domestic market: it was originally scheduled to be released on November 22, but the pre-sale box office was only 350,000, and it was withdrawn due to various reasons.
Some people say that no matter whether the movie is good or not, they will not go to it, because Okafina is "ugly" and cannot represent the Chinese. Of course,
Okafina cannot represent the Chinese, and even the best movies at cannot represent a whole group of . She can only represent the second generation of immigrants who are in a similar mood to Wang Ziyi.
and Billie’s setting is an ordinary 30-year-old, stubborn character, and stumbling at workGirl, it's not Bai Fumei.
What's the problem with ordinary people playing ordinary people? If you are a peerless beauty with a smooth wind and stars holding the moon, this story will no longer hold true.
Okafina and Prince Yi
Okafina themselves do not want to represent a certain group, "I don’t want to be called Asian American all the time, but I want to be called Okafina. I don’t want to be because of myself. If it is messed up, it will make others have a bad impression of all Asians."
She encouraged more Asians to enter the film and television industry and strive for more fair opportunities for Asians to tell true stories. Before "Don't Tell Her", Okafina had never thought about it and had never seen it: turned out that in the United States, Asian women could write scripts and Asian women could direct. Since
entered the industry, she has dealt with many Asian actors and heard them tell some terrible experiences: must endure certain things, and even must create a certain image.
This makes Okafina feel that she has caught up with the good time: "The script I saw has no race, small characters, sex, etc., which is great. I think the industry is moving in a good direction. , Asians are now regarded as people who can do other things. "
Okafina and Liu Yuling
02
Her looks confirm the
Western stereotype of us?
No matter how the times develop, the discussion on beauty and ugliness has never stopped, especially the "beauty" of stars.
But I have never seen so many foul language thrown on a star like a stone-scolding her not because of her bad virtues, nor because of her professional ability, but because she does not conform to her own aesthetics.
Is Okafina beautiful? The old tune of
is replayed. A thousand people have a thousand Hamlet in their hearts. Now even the most beautiful female celebrities have to be picked "not recognizable enough." Aesthetics is a personal matter. Of course, you can say that Okafina is not good-looking and you don't like it, but the comments on the barrage have far exceeded the boundary of "not good-looking, ugly".
The target they set up is "the heroine of "Shangqi".
In July this year, Marvel announced the production plan for the new movie "Shangqi", and Okafina is the heroine. The original manga of
"Shangqi" portrayed the image of "Mandarin", a very unfriendly character to Chinese people, so this movie was also deemed to be "humiliating China".
Okafina therefore has unprecedented "popularity" in China. Many people think that Okafina's appearance in the "Insult to China" movie is unpredictable, and her appearance "confirms the Westerners' stereotype of us." It is not too late to judge whether the video title of
"Shang Qi" is insulting to China. It is too early to conduct a personal attack on Okafina. And Tony Leung, who also appeared in "Shangqi", seems to have been forgotten. Is it because he is handsome and saved from the charge of "participating in a movie that insults China"?
These people are just lynching their own aesthetics under the guise of patriotism. While scolding "Okafina represents a stereotype", while belittling Okafina's Asian appearance.
searched for Okafina’s news on the Internet, and one of the most relevant was Okafina’s complaint that she was “recognized as Zhang Ziyi by the taxi driver”. Most of
's comments are "This is the worst time Zhang Ziyi was hacked".
Many netizens said that they hate Okafina because her appearance represents a stereotype, but as long as you read the entire interview, you will know that she is not complaining about "like Zhang Ziyi."
For westerners, as long as they have black eyes and yellow skin, they are all stereotypes.
must know that since her debut, she has been working hard to break this Western stereotype of Asian women.
03
breaks the stereotype:
Asian women are also high-spirited
Okafina, born in 1988, is 31 years old and her real name is Lin Jiazhen. His father is Chinese and his mother is Korean. Since the great-grandfather immigrated to the United States in the 1940s, the family has been operating a Chinese restaurant in New York. When
was 4 years old, Okafina's mother passed away. She moved into her grandma's house in Queens and was raised by a grandma who was born in Beijing. This is also why she wants to break the stereotype of Asian women.Like the bud of an idea. After
became famous, she said in an interview, "Grandma and the Asian woman I was instilled are very different. She is stronger and stronger than a man. She takes care of our family financially and emotionally. And she will not be because of me. Swearing jokes and accusing me, she thinks I am very funny."
The person who has the greatest influence on Okafina in the world is her grandmother. After going to university, Okafina went to the China Language University to study Chinese for two years, in order to understand China better and be able to communicate with her grandma in Chinese. Although
has taught herself the trumpet since she was a child, and received classical music education in high school, Okafina gradually developed a strong interest in hip-hop. She gave herself a stage name called "Awkwafina" ", which means "Awkward (clumsy)". When
was 19 years old, Okafina wrote a rap song My Vag. Later, she posted My Vag's MV on Youtube on the advice of her friends. This explicit video of attacked the stereotype of Chinese girls in the West and completely subverted the old-fashioned concept that "Asian girls are very docile". What
made them unexpected is that My Vag broke through a million clicks, and eventually climbed to more than 4 million clicks, which changed Okafina's life since then- "The most important decision in my life is to press that." Publish the'button'.
My Vag
Later, she and comedian Margaret Cho (Margaret Cho) teamed up to release the new song Green Tea. It was also this time that Sarah Lawrence College paid to invite her to perform a rap performance, and Okafina realized for the first time: Maybe I could make a living from it. What
Okafina wants to produce is pop culture that can represent the voice of the immigrant generation like Green Tea. "People now underestimate the influence of pop culture, especially the influence on immigrant children. We consume music, Television, movies-and then we learn from American experience to feed back the popular culture that truly reflects our own lives."
Green Tea soon became popular in the music circle. She was discovered by Hollywood producer Seth Rogen. There was a cameo in the movie of.
Then she got the opportunity to star in the movie Ocean's 8 ("Hidden from the Sea: Beauty"). Although she was only a supporting role as a thief, she was able to play with the actress Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, and Annie. Hathaway is on the same stage. In order to play this role,
learned "how to steal" for several months.
"Golden Romance" which swept Hollywood in August last year, Okafina is still a supporting role. However, she was nominated for the best comedy performance and breakthrough performance at the 28th MTV Film Awards. Refinery 29 commented on her: she is on the cusp of becoming a movie star.
"Golden Romance" has extraordinary significance to Okafina. Not only did more people know this free and easy girl, but it also made her realize: Hollywood's film industry finally opened up a larger territory for Asians, and Asian directors and actors have more abilities. , They finally have a certain right to speak when they show their own culture.
Two months later, Okafina became the second Chinese actress to host "Saturday Night Live" after Liu Yuling, and served as the host of the 22nd Hollywood Film Awards.
Some people say that Marvel chose Okafina to play "Shangqi" as a "disgusting countryman". Then, who is disgusting to put her in the shows and awards that are also important to Hollywood?
Hollywood likes Okafina for a simple reason: , an actress who does not follow the "rules", is the opposite of the submissive appearance that women are required in society-she loves herself unreservedly.
Newsweek even said that "2018 is the year of Okafina" .
2019, she even handed in the answer sheet for "Don't Tell Her", so that the "year of Okafina" can continue.
My Vag, Green Tea, "Don't Tell Her" may be the beginning, but it is by no means the end.
is like being invited by Sarah Lawrence CollegeWhen going to the show, a young Asian girl walked up to Okafina and told her, "Thank you for letting me know that and are possible."
Okafina is making everything possible.
"Hollywood Reporter" has made a bold prediction for her: the next nomination is Oscar. Once nominated for Best Actress Oscar, Okafina will become the first Asian actress to be nominated for the award after Manel Obron in 1936.
In an interview with The New York Daily, Okafina said, "I want to tell young Asian girls that you can do anything you are not allowed to do, you can do anything, and you can take destiny In my own hands, just like when I pressed "publish" on Youtube."
text / siri110
picture / network
part of the interview data comes from:
American Way-Everything You Should Know About Crazy Rich Asians Star Awkawafina
Vox-How Awkwafina rode the unruly woman trope to stardom
Newsweek-'OCEAN'S 8'star Awkwafina on Her Breakout Year and Rising Star Anxiety
The Hollywood Reporter-'Awards Chatter' Podcast — Awkwafina ('The Farewell')
South China Morning Post-'Every outside Asian-American feel : Awkwafina on The Farewell, her first leading role as an actress
Variety-Awkwafina Won't Let Inclusivity Be a Hollywood Trend
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