“For all the little boys and girls who look like me watching tonight, this is a beacon of hope and possibilities. This is proof that… dream big, and dreams do come true,”

Michelle Yeoh

Academy Awards 2023

Michelle Yeoh won Best Actress at the 95th Academy Awards, making history as the first actress of Southeast Asian descent to win this recognition. She won for her role as Evelyn Wang in the film “Everything Everywhere All at Once,”

The film, directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, tells the story of Evelyn, a Chinese-American immigrant woman,  played by Yeoh, a laundromat owner with complicated tax issues, a crumbling marriage, and a tense mother-daughter relation,  who finds herself burdened with the impossible missions  of saving the multiverse world and piecing  her family back together (see Sampan’s earlier review here). The film is the most-awarded movie in history, with around 160 accolades to date according to IGN.

“Everything Everywhere All at Once” features a predominantly Asian American cast, including Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan (the second Asian ever to win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. The film tells the diverse experiences and perspectives of Asian Americans. One of the most significant achievements of this film has been its ability to break away from stereotypes and show the complexities and depth of Asian American experiences. Often Asian Americans have been portrayed as the model minority or as one-dimensional characters that reinforce harmful stereotypes. However, “Everything Everywhere All at Once” highlights the nuances and complexities of  the Asian American identity, challenging preconceived notions and providing a platform for more diverse and accurate representation.

The film’s success at the 95th Academy Awards, signals a shift in the film industry’s attitudes towards Asian representation. Historically, Asian American actors and filmmakers have been overlooked and underrepresented at these events, with only a handful of nominees and winners. However, with the critical acclaim of “Everything Everywhere All at Once” at festivals and award shows alike, it is clear that the industry is beginning to recognize the value and importance of new and diverse storytelling.

The film industry has been long criticized for its lack of diversity and representation, especially for Asian Americans. According to an infographic from the New York Times,  historically, just 23 individuals out of 1,808 nominated for acting Oscars, have been Asians. . However, “Everything Everywhere All at Once” has the potential to change this narrative. This film has not only been praised for its innovative storytelling, but its success and recognition at awards ceremonies could mean a significant shift towards positive Asian representation in film, not to mention diversifying tastes of industry tycoons like the Academy Awards.

Asian Americans have been a part of Hollywood since its earliest days, making significant contributions despite formidable obstacles, but their names and impacts have been forgotten, overlooked, or even erased. From Anna May Wong, considered the first Chinese-American movie star in Hollywood, to other Asian American pioneers in the film industry like Sessue Hayakawa, Etta Lee, Sojin Kamiyama, Winnifred Eaton, and so on, it has historically been a struggle for Asian Americans to break into the industry. However, from the acclaimed successes of the 1993 movie “Joy Luck Club,” and  “Crazy Rich Asians” in 2018 featuring an all-Asian cast, to films like Disney’s “Mulan” in 2020, and Marvel’s “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” in 2021, and now the recent 2022 film “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” the film industry has come a long way in terms of Asian representation, but true equity in front of the camera will be achieved only when there are more Asians and Asian Americans behind the camera, writing, directing, producing, and everything in between.

The importance of “Everything Everywhere All at Once” extends beyond its impact upon the film industry. It has added a sense of pride for Asian American communities who have long been marginalized and overlooked in the movies.  The cast and crew of the film recognized their unique responsibility in the AAPI struggle against hate and violence.  Two days after the Monterey Park shooting where 11 people were killed and nine injured by a gunman during a Lunar New Year celebration, nany of the cast and crew of “Everything Everywhere All at Once” decided they would hold their pre-Oscars nomination dinner at the Atlantic Seafood & Dim Sum in Monterey Park in order to personally support the community which was frightened and angry and struggling for answers.

Congresswoman Judy Chu, U.S. Representative for California’s 28th congressional district shared with Sampan, “The dinner was a cast-and-crew-only event in Monterey Park, and I’m honored they came here so soon after the tragedy to celebrate a special moment for their entire team”.   She added,

“After decades of discrimination in the entertainment industry, the AAPI actors and crewmembers of “Everything Everywhere All at Once” are breaking barriers and clearing the path for more authentic stories. Representation is important because it welcomes the underrepresented into important conversations. In addition to representation allowing Asian people to see themselves on the big screen, they are also empowered to share their own stories and take up the space that has been denied to them thus far. It represents an opportunity for optimism after three years of anti-Asian hate as a result of the pandemic. An Oscar win for Michelle—the second Best Actress award to a woman of color in 95 years and the first ever to a woman of Asian descent—validates her undeniable talent and will inspire AAPI performers around the country. But the impact isn’t limited to AAPIs in creative industries. If there are any AAPI children or AAPI adults who held their heads a little higher today—and I suspect there are many—the movie’s many wins had an even more meaningful and uplifting impact on the Asian American community,

After the decades of subtle to overt discrimination faced by AAPI actors like Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, and 94-year-old James Hong, I’m deeply hopeful that the movie’s massive commercial and critical success clears the path for more authentic AAPI stories produced. I’m also hopeful more AAPI actors and film crew workers will be hired in Hollywood and beyond. Representation matters—in our legislatures, in our boardrooms, and, yes, on our stages and behind the cameras.”

Needless to say, the success of “Everything Everywhere All at Once” has the potential to pave the way for more diverse and accurate storytelling, challenging harmful stereotypes and providing a platform for underrepresented voices. Ke Huy Quan said in his acceptance speech, “My journey started on a boat. I spent a year in a refugee camp and, somehow, I ended up here on Hollywood’s biggest stage. They say stories like this only happen in the movies. I cannot believe it’s happening to me.”

As inspiring stories like the stunning win of “Everything Everywhere All at Once’s” at the 95th Academy Awards and Ke Huy Quan’s story from refugee to the Oscars are happening in real life, communities can come together to rejoice in this uplifting moment for the Asian American communities in US and around the world.