After smashing Labor Day box office records and achieving one of the highest ever Rotten Tomato scores for a Marvel movie, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings has shown that a mainstream film featuring Asians in the title roles can be financially and critically successful. In a time where anti-Asian hate crimes in the United States have risen by 70%, Shang-Chi’s significance is doubly magnified. 

The history of Asians in Western cinema has fallen in either one of two categories: kung-fu sidekick or kung-fu villain. This depiction of Asians characters on the silver screen has played a large role in the dehumanization of Asians, along with the perpetuation of yellow peril. After years of being overlooked and mocked in Hollywood, Shang-Chi’s importance not only comes from its Asian-dominated cast and crew, but from its proper representation of Asian-Americans. For far too long, Asian-Americans have been the perpetual foreigner, never being considered “American” despite our long history in the United States. Shang-Chi takes a step in including Asians in the American lens.

As an Asian-American, words cannot describe how proud I was watching Shang-Chi. It did not feel like Marvel was using East Asian culture to make a profit but rather a display of cultural appreciation. After seeing martial arts crudely displayed on screens for my entire life, it was incredible to see martial arts shown as an art form that takes time, effort and practice to master, as opposed to the stereotypical montage with lots of wood-breaking and hi-ya’s. Furthermore, the animals shown, from Morris to the dragon, came directly from Chinese lore, down to every last detail. When I first saw the animals I learned about growing up in a Marvel movie, exactly the way I envisioned them, I was stunned at both the accuracy and cultural representation on screen. 

One of the most important scenes in the movie was when Shang-Chi tells his friend Katy how to pronounce his name. While the scene was added for comedic relief, it has much deeper implications. For so long, Asian-Americans were forced to accept their names being butchered by European-American tongues. However, by including this throwaway scene in the movie, Marvel is emphasizing the correct pronunciation, as opposed to allowing Shang-Chi to be pronounced with a European-American accent. 

While this single movie does not absolve Hollywood of all its past grievances against Asians in film, it is a step in the right direction, opening the door for the future. Superheroes represent the best of humanity, the good against evil, the protector of the innocent, and for the first time, millions of children can finally see themselves represented in the hero.