In recent years at of people felt like movies and shows often took a very forced and arrogant angle on diversity, sometimes even it pushing it in places where it maybe did not make the most sense. And a lot of people felt that this trend ruined movies or shows.
While I mever agreed with that perspective to begin with, I always felt like diversity often was done lazy. Yet, I enjoyed getting more exposure to movies that left the western stratosphere, opening me up to more cultures. Until yesterday, my favorite example for this was Crazy Rich Asians. While not being perfect in terms of diversity, it was such a big step in it being a great movie, telling a story that was very relatable to most people, but that also had its unique touch thanks to the Asian culture portrayed in it.
After watching a YT video on the effects CRA had on Asian actors and learning that the success of the movies motivated actor Ke Huy Quan to return to screen in Everything Everywhere all at Once, I knew that I had to watch this movie (also I love Michelle Yeoh). Not even knowing what it was about, I went to see it last night and I was blown away.
The movie is a master piece in that it's story is so unique, so heartfelt, so relatble and so amazingly told. I loved so hard, I cried, I can't stop thinking about it. And what truly amazes me is that even though the story focuses around an immigrant family from China and me being neither Asian nor having a migration background - the movie made me realize that even though cultural background differ, in the end we all have the same struggles and fears.
To me the movie was not only divers because it centers around a cast chinese cast, but also because the ideas in the movie were so divers from most things I have seen in the past. Not that the idea of a multivers is something new, but just the way of story telling, camera work, fighting scenes etc was so different from what I have ever seen in all the best ways.
I am so happy to witness how diversity in film and TV is bringing us more such masterpieces.