Michelle Yeoh has made Oscars history in being the first Asian actress to win the award for Best Actress for her performance in Everything Everywhere All at Once, at the ceremony this year, in a lot of discourse online it’s specified that Yeoh “identifies as Asian” which has caused some outrage online, but why exactly is the phrase being used?
Many misinterpreted the phrase as acknowledging trans-racialism or just news outlets being cautious with their wordings, many decried it as being overly “woke.” But the phrase actually acknowledges the actors and actresses that have come before Yeoh who have had to hide their Asian heritage in order to make a name for themselves in Hollywood.
The most notable example of this would be the actress Merle Oberon who had mixed heritage due to her mother being born and raised in India. She went through great lengths to hide her heritage just to be able to work in Hollywood which, at the time, was still putting white actors in stereotypical make-up to portray other races.
Although many have argued that Oberon never won an award, so there’s no need to make a distinction by specifying that Yeoh is the first actress who identifies as Asian to win an Oscar. However, the phrase, “identifies as Asian” still acknowledges the discriminatory past of the awards ceremony and shows how far Hollywood has come, although it still has a long way to go.
Whilst there has been a lot of diverse representation in Hollywood recently, it’s still taken 95 years to get to a point where a film with a predominantly Asian cast can actually get made and receive the recognition it deserves. Before Everything Everywhere All at Once, there wasn’t much being made that acknowledged Asian talent. Other recent films such as Shang-chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, or Crazy Rich Asians show that things are slowly changing for the better though.
Yeoh herself delivered a fantastic acceptance speech which touched upon the challenges faced by minorities within Hollywood.
“For all the little boys and girls who look like me watching tonight, this is a beacon of hope and possibilities. This is proof that, dream big, and dreams do come true.”
Michelle Yeoh
Whilst the phrase may seem clunky or overtly “woke” it has caused people to learn about Merle Oberon and others who have been forgotten throughout the long history of Hollywood. The struggles faced by Oberon as a mixed-race actress are still very much present today, but a lot more people are learning about her story because of the use of this specific phrase. The fact that an actress who “identifies as Asian” has finally won an Oscar shows that Hollywood is slowly moving in the right direction without forgetting those who came before.
