The power of representation
The power of representation
"You can't be what you can't see"
Joy Ride. 38 at the Garden. Everything Everywhere All At Once. Shang-Chi & the Legend of the Ten Rings. The Farewell. Crazy Rich Asians.
Over the last few years, there's been an emergence of Asian Americans stepping into main character energy on the big screen. Lucky for me — the timing coincided with a revelation that I’d had about suppressing my identity as an Chinese American woman for most of my life.
Like most people, I spent my teenage years trying to fit in, assimilating through whatever means possible. I shed layers of myself to present as "American" enough, playing the role of the token Asian friend. At home and at school, I danced between two identities, never feeling fully seen. In America, I wasn't American enough. On trips to China, I wasn't Chinese enough. At the time, I didn't recognize that what I longed for was a sense of validation and belonging — instead, I suppressed the cognitive dissonance and worked harder to be accepted for who I thought the world wanted me to be.
At the end of 2022, I was deep into my identity work and in the process of reconnecting with a younger, freer me. Before societal expectations had taken ahold of me, who was I? A phrase that came to me was “reimagine and redefine” — it embodied a fierce spirit that’s lived within me since I was a child. Growing up as a Chinese kid in Sweden, I learned early on how to fully embrace my differences in every sense of the word. Several of my earliest memories were times I unabashedly defied norms and stereotypes. As I got older, that unapologetic nature slowly became overshadowed by the pressure to conform to societal expectations in a black and white world.
Around the time of my identity exploration, Jeremy Lin's documentary, 38 at the Garden, came out. Despite not being a basketball fan, I felt called to watch it. Turns out, the documentary has very little to do with basketball and everything to do with showing up in your bigness as an Asian American. It took 38 minutes, the length of the documentary, for me to recognize the belonging I've sought all along was not to a specific place or group of people, but to myself. To see and accept myself for who I am, not who society deems I should be.
Jeremy talks about taking bets on himself in a world that he was made to feel like he didn’t belong. It all came to a head at a game in Toronto when he waves his teammates off, confident that he could bring home the victory with this last shot — and he does, shedding the notion that he was there to serve as someone else’s role player.
To see the struggle and doubt in someone as talented as Jeremy Lin cracked my worldview wide open. It was the power of representation in its fullest expression. I hadn’t fully grasped the lack of psychological safety that came with showing up in spaces where I was "other." It was a reminder of all the times I’d passed the ball to others, having more confidence in someone else’s capabilities than my own.
Hearing Jeremy tell his story, my story, and the stories of many Asian Americans on the big screen was liberating in ways I couldn’t imagine. His commitment to owning his narrative as the main character gave Asian Americans of all walks of life the permission to release themselves from the supporting role they’ve played in their own lives.
Main character energy is easy to embody when you look around and see main characters who look, sound, and live like you. Asian characters have largely played supporting cast roles — until now.
I’ve always deeply believed in Marian Wright Edelman’s quote, “You can’t be what you can’t see.” As we close out Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, I hope you find the courage — whatever ethnicity you identify as — to reimagine and redefine the old narratives you hold about who you can be and what you’re capable of. Channel your inner Jeremy Lin, Michelle Yeoh, and everyone in between. Give yourself the permission to step into spaces you “don’t belong” — it may be just the thing that cracks someone else’s worldview wide open.
PS — I’m exploring a project around elevating stories of Asian Americans who have reimagined and redefined how they show up in the world. If you’re interested in this space, I’d love to hear from you — DM me on Twitter 👋🏼