Source: This

But imagine if Luke’s last name wasn’t actually Patterson, and the Fantom really just looked at that one scene/missing poster a little too hard.

To All the Boys, some personal casting complaints

I read the books before the movie came out because I read that they were adapting the first book into a movie and the main character, even though she was half-white and half-Korean, was going to be played by a Vietnamese actress. I was a bit annoyed since Hollywood has a big problem of casting different ethnicities this way, pushing the assumption that all East and Southeast Asians are interchangeable (when they actually do choose to cast Asians at all).

And then I found out that Kitty was being played by a white actress (I have not found anything that Anna Cathcart is Asian at all, so I was further upset that in Disney’s Descendants, her character’s grandmother was played by an East Asian actress, further driving the idea that she’s part Asian). I was pissed, because that’s the other issue with Hollywood casting Asians, when they choose not to at all and cast white actresses instead.

But I tried to be excited nonetheless because I was/am deprived of Asian leads and Asians as romantic leads in US films, and I’m Viet, so that felt like a bonus.

In the first movie, I didn’t really care as much because of that representation hype and because they never discussed race at all. (Literally the only elements of Korean culture they includes was food) Which I guess I understand, if you’re trying to normalize the idea of an Asian-American lead, just don’t point it out. And the advertising did that work for them. Also, it’s supposed to be solely a love story, so I guess it’s unromantic to talk about race.

But in the sequel, it stuck out a lot more to me that Lana Condor and Anna Cathcart are not Korean to me when they dressed up in hanboks, traditional Korean dresses. And, less so, the scene with Lara Jean and Gen, where she mentions jung, a Korean word that describes the connection between two people that can’t be severed. As nice as that scene was, the whole jung bit felt too thrown in there for my taste because we never meet Lara Jean’s grandma, who introduced the term to her and, more importantly, we never see Lara Jean try to connect to her Korean culture.

It just felt weird to me to see a distinctly Vietnamese face and then a white face use elements from Korean culture, that was more than food, in a movie with zero Korean leads. Personally, I didn’t like that Korean culture was portrayed by non-Koreans as plot point.

That is to say, you can always argue the for the subtle integration of Korean culture in the plot and development of Lara Jean.

If it were up to me, I would have tried to cast Korean actresses, and everyone knows by now that there is no short supply of them. Or adapt to the culture of the lead actor/actress, since they could more accurately portray that culture, in my opinion. (I wouldn’t have done so in this situation because South Korea and Vietnam’s history with the US are very different and not at all interchangeable) (This is coming from the fact that I usually see actors and actresses of one ethnicity play side characters who are of another ethnicity and their culture is never all that important to their character development or plot. It’s more of whoever’s in charge seeing East Asian actors as interchangeable)

That will always be a part of why live-action adaptions are so hard to get right, in my opinion.

Personally, I will always believe the books were better, especially since they had the room to address and highlight Lara Jean’s race and ethnicity in a consistent way. (warning: book spoilers from when I read it around 2 years ago):

Halloween in the first book, Lara Jean said that she usually dressed up as Asian characters (ie. Cho Chang [a ridiculous name btw] instead of Hermione Granger) in order for people to recognize her costume. I think Peter and her decide on a couple’s costume, so that year people actually recognized her even though she didn’t dress-up as an Asian character.

New Years in the second book, Lara Jean and Kitty (and maybe Margot, I don’t really remember) dress-up in Hanboks

ending of the third book, Lara Jean spends the summer before college away from Peter and in South Korea (we don’t get to “read” it and it’s kind of brushed over)

I know it’s not a lot, but I remember feeling so seen and understood when Lara Jean addressed how she was always categorized and reduced to as an Asian. I think it really exemplified the other-ness she felt in small town in Virginia.

But the first movie didn’t address that at all, which I guess I’m okay with because of how irrelevant it is to the main storyline, the love story between Peter and Lara Jean. Especially since they never addressed race at all, it could have felt forced if it wasn’t consistent.

As I mentioned before, it felt so out of place for me to see the two non-Korean actresses dress-up in hanboks.

For the last point, I don’t know how the third movie will portray the ending, my guess is that they either won’t or really push that Lara Jean really hates the idea of the trip because it’ll push her away from Peter. I personally hated that she even disliked the idea of the trip when her dad first told her because I believe in the whole “don’t go to college with a boyfriend” idea.

Feel free to disagree with me, I pretty sure I have a pretty narrow (and selfish) view of how different ethnicities and their cultures should be portrayed in media.

who was your childhood crush, and why was it bill from eloise at christmastime?

Is it just me or is Bobby shining more this season? I’ve only watched the first four episodes of the new season but so far, I’m really glad I’m seeing more of Bobby and how he personally connects with the heroes.

It’s been a while since I watched the previous seasons, but the most I remember of seeibg Bobby clearly shine was with renovating Tammye’s church while managing his past with religion and with renovating and designing Wesley’s house -this one clearly demonstrated what it really means to make a home accommodate a hero.

But this season, I’m glad that the audience gets to see more of Bobby’s involvement, which I think was always unseen because there’s so much footage to use, little time to cut it into, and the amount of entertainment and nuance a scene with selecting furniture pieces and designing a home could bring.

I’m glad that Bobby was given more closure with his past by getting an apology by someone who represents a church and how he was able to personally connect and help Tyreek with managing money after being homeless and making a home for him that he could call his own and he comfortable in. I’m hoping that the producers asked Bobby how comfortable he would be working with a church again before making Pastor Noah a hero (Which is something they should have considered before that insensitive “prank” they pulled on Karamo).

Overall, I’m hopping to see way more of Bobby and his contributions shine more for the rest of this season and the next.

so yeah

What if “Crooked Teeth” is about having a difficult home life/ family problems and that’s why it’s about Reggie or why Reggie and Alex think the song is about the other?

I’m honestly so glad that I still watch children’s television/ tv shows that have very general audiences, even as a university student. If not, I wouldn’t have decided to spontaneously watch Julie and the Phantoms after watching the beginning of the trailer. I thought that it would simply be a goofy show with one-sided characters and juvenile jokes. But I was hooked by the end of the second episode because of how it improved on so many tired and overdone tropes.

can’t believe there’s going to be a new generation of pjo fans who automatically picture walker scobell when they think of percy jackson and not a hodgepodge of viria and burdge’s fanart. does that make me old

I can’t explain how much I love Julie and the Phantoms. Like it filled the Trollhunters/Wizards hole in my heart from last month, which is only worth mentioning because I was crying for days.

I need it to be renewed ASAP!!!

Please watch this incredible show, it’s got literally everything I would want in a show targeted towards kids (spoilers):

No douche-y or toxic masculine traits in the main male characters. I half expected the guys to be the typical bros when I started watching (since I decided to watch after 5 seconds into the trailer), but they weren’t and instead so adorable and supportive of each other.

A rival character that wasn’t villainized with her femininity. I really appreciated how Carrie was more than your typical rival/ex-best friend/ popular girl because that character is usually untalented/has bad songs (which doesn’t make sense given why she’s popular), only hates the main character out of jealousy and insecurity, and is very feminine to juxtapose the main. Instead, Carrie is seen as talented and no one mocks her more bubblegum pop music that a rock band could easily make fun of (but the band doesn’t and even dances along to it), and mentions how she’s worked hard on her music and choreography. 

The lgbt+ rep. I will admit, as much as I was excited that Alex has 1) gay and 2) out and 3) not one, present, had a problem with it, I was a little sad because he’s a ghost and I thought we would never see a gay love story for him as a ghost. Boy, was I wrong! I knew instantly that Alex was going too be awed by Willie with that slo-mo shot of him taking off his helmet. And then there were so many moments where I was thinking “Now, kiss” because of how close and intense they were.

Latinx rep. Having poc in lead roles is so important to me and I was excited and surprised that both female lead and her best friend were poc, instead of one of them being white. I loved that because it also means that their families will be poc. I will admit, I think it would also be great of the guys were less white, but I think the cast is great.

Incredible music. I told myself to finish watching before looking up the soundtrack and listening to it, but I couldn’t help myself.

Amazing outfits. Well, most of Julie and Flynn’s outfits and most of the bands’. I think my favorite of Julie’s in the camo jumpsuit from the 2/3 episode with her hair up, it was a nice transition from the more comfortable, passive outfit from the first episode to her fighting for her spot in the music program. (also, is anybody else confused by her school’s music program? my hs was a creative/performing arts hs and you literally had to apply as one of the majors, so being removed from yours would probably mean being kicked out)

Thank you if you read this unnecessary long rant about my new favorite show.

relates to 1 step forward, 3 steps back and enough for you except for not with an ex but with mommy issues