'The Farewell' and Asian Representation with Theresa Shim

The Popculty Podcast

Lulu Wang's new film The Farewell has quickly become the indie darling of the summer, with a 99% on Rotten Tomatoes and a record-setting per-theater box office average, despite only a limited release. It stars Awkwafina as Billie, an American woman who must return home to China with the rest of her family, to say good-bye to their beloved matriarch, Nai Nai, while keeping her in the dark about her own illness. Based on "an actual lie" from Wang's own life, the film tackles family dynamics and cultural divides in a way we have seldom seen on the big screen.
I talked with writer and digital media scholar Theresa Shim about why The Farewell meant so much to her as an API immigrant, and the state of Asian representation in media.
Follow Theresa on Twitter and Tumblr, and check out her writing on Medium.
Credits:
The Farewell official trailer courtesy of A24.
The Farewell original score by Alex Weston.
Logo by Max Badger.
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فصل ها

1. About 'The Farewell' (00:00:00)

2. Guest introduction (00:01:51)

3. Immigrating to the West as a child (00:03:19)

4. Assimilation (00:05:09)

5. 'The Farewell' discussion (00:13:03)

6. Recent Asian representation (00:33:20)

7. Wrap-up (00:41:39)

8. *Easter Egg* (00:42:58)