Better Luck Tomorrow

    

    

Better Luck Tomorrow is known for striking a pivotal point for Asian American Cinema. Director, Justine Lin, started off producing all Asian American Films before jumping into the Fast and Furious Franchise. It is important to note that the first all-Asian cast films in Hollywood may have become Hollywood Films by accident. For example, as Amy said in the PowerPoint, Bruce Lee was one of the first Asian actors in Hollywood to film independently. The reason Bruce Lee’s film reached success was due to his denial of side roles Hollywood offered and the Hong Kong independent film he decided to produce “Enter the Dragon”. The film became so successful in Hong Kong that Hollywood called Bruce back and asked that he direct his own Hollywood Film. As Liu states in Of Myths Of Men “...going commercial while staying principled is the only way for Asian American cinema to win space in an industry that, at present, is disinclined to acknowledge it; but this balancing of interests becomes, inevitably, a tricky juggling act.” (Hills brand 51) The Joy Luck Club is another example of how a successful Asian Novel was bought by Hollywood to create successful box office numbers. 

 

    The film specifically challenges Asian American male stereotypes of weakness, small genitalia, and little to no power position. While Ben is perceived as intelligent and cooperative he challenges the notion of masculinity in Eurocentric standards. Lin does a great job exploring the underlying layers of cultural and social positions through the duality of Ben’s character. “Ben and his new friend begin a double life of vice and virtue that culminates in the killing of Steve, Ben's rival for Stephanie, another super student whose bouncy cheerleading, matched by good grades and high ambitions, finds its sinister other life in occasional work as a porn actress and shoplifter. After the violence, the film ends ambiguously, with a return to the linear streets and neatly spaced residences of the suburb, but with Ben now in the company of Stephanie, his reward for a season of bad behavior. (57)” While Ben is regarded as a king in this film I can't say the same for Stephanie. Stephanie’s character is objectified by both the white and Asian male gaze through the use of sexual and platonic relationships. Her character enforces the opinion that women are men’s objects therefore women need men. This Film cannot be celebrated as a winning Asian representational film if Asian women are humiliated. There is a real risk of being misread jeopardizing the entire project of mainstream Asian American cinema. 

 

    As much as Hollywood is problematic, it is the gateway to mainstream culture and ideology in the U.S. “We need a new framework that is attentive to a complex understanding of racial locations and interests, one that does not essentialize race but interrogates how groups are constructed and represented, one that understands the social policies —regarding immigration welfare, crime, as well as affirmative action—have a different impact on different groups and the way they are defined. (Omi 124)” After understanding positional powers Hollywood holds, this platform should be used to express realistic conceptions of humanity.