About a Week Ago: How An Evening with Simu Liu Changed My Life
I had the opportunity to attend a talk with Simu Liu, the titular lead of “Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” at Mackay Auditorium with CU Boulder. Seeing the world’s first Asian superhero life and in the flesh was everything I hoped it could be and more. It was emotional — reaffirming for the path I’ve set for myself but also hard continuing to heal old wounds from my childhood. I decided it would be easier to write down my thoughts to help me process them, and I decided to share them. Through this, I hope you learn a bit of why Simu’s work is so vital to our culture and how it’s changed my life.
“I am a Chinese American student here, and seeing you in a Marvel movie made me so proud to be who I am for the first time in my life.” — a quote from an anonymous student at CU Boulder.
As a 2nd generation Chinese American, I had very few figures outside my parents that I could look to growing up. We never had easily accessible pop stars, actors, and much fewer superheroes that look like us. I got bullied throughout school for being Asian culturally., eating the food I brought to lunch and my physical features. Simu spoke of many similar experiences as a child, leading towards diasporic adulthood caught in between two cultural identities — one Asian, one Canadian, residing to being hidden to fit in. Both of us were not as proud of our background growing up.
“So many of us Asian Americans who grew up in this country, grew up feeling invisible or misrepresented. When we turn on the TV and see characters that look like us but weren’t written by us, they felt stereotypical, not real, two-dimensional, one-dimensional, or even worse were played by a white guy.”
This generational pain results from minor wounds ignored for far too long. These are incredibly common in Chinese cultures, such as our perceptions around a successful career and dating, among other things. Our upbringing pushes a minimal view of success in life. You can be a doctor, lawyer, or businessman. Simu and I became storytellers, something our grandparents never imagined we could make a living. For him, being fired from working at Deloitte as an accountant was the push he needed to take a leap of faith to become an actor. For me, it was getting harassed on a film set because of my race, which was the final straw to go against almost everything I learned in film production, changing my career to a public relations and community management focus.
The irony of where we both ended up today is that those generational wounds caused our success. We rebelled — maybe some figuratively, some literally- against everything our parents had taught us. The years after, we decided it had been some of the most challenging times we had with our parents relationship-wise. Simu never intended to become a superhero. Still, now that he is and has that power behind him, he plans to use it to tell more stories. I never intended to end up where I am now, being able to tell stories for brand and growing communities through shared ideas and values.
“Growing up, I think (seeing an Asian superhero on TV) would have been pretty cool. I think it would have made me feel a little bit more proud of my face, my skin, where I came from, my language. It would have made me feel like I can achieve anything.”
“Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” has inspired many to pick up martial arts. Liu, who came from a background in dance, was incredibly humble throughout the talk and praised his team of stuntmen comprised of Brad Allen, who is sadly no longer with us, and many Jackie Chan stunt team members. I’m no different — Shang Chi was the final leap of faith I needed to commit to MMA fully and implementing boxing, kickboxing, and Kali Escrima throughout my daily routine has changed my life. My school, Train Fight Win Denver, also has a deep background in Wing Chun, a Chinese style heavily featured in the film, and being able to learn from my guros, Mike and LA Jennings, has changed my life over the past year. On top of helping me feel more connected to my culture, it’s helped me become more confident in myself and the most well-rounded I’ve ever been as an athlete.
As we say, no boxing, no life.
“(My dream role I’d like to manifest is in) Star Wars. It’s gotta be a Jedi. Lightsaber color? Something different. Maybe burgundy.”
Simu mentioned that he struggled to find balance during training for the role, which took about five hours of his life every day leading up to the shooting. This is the case figuratively, in the Force that surrounds us and binds us and our lives. Like his infamous tweet, the moderators asked Simu what role he would like to manifest in the future. I knew what his answer was going to be. “Star Wars. Simu and I also share a deep love for Star Wars. Some might say we’re obsessed. My version of that is with the 501st Legion, the world’s largest costuming organization founded by Albin Johnson. Twenty-five years later, we are 16,000 strong worldwide, and I am proud to be an ambassador for Star Wars already. Through our film-accurate costumes, we get to support amazing charitable causes like FIRST Robotics, Make a Wish, and do Children’s hospital visits for those in need is priceless. It’s also how I discovered where I wanted to take my career.
Because of the 501st, a week prior, I received a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to join our garrison in San Fransisco to celebrate the Lunar New year with the city’s first parade relating to the holiday in two years. I got to mark off multiple bucket list life items, including seeing the Yoda fountain at Lucasfilm, meeting Lynne Hale, LFL’s director of PR and communications, and taking my full career circle running photography for the costuming organization in the parade.
Like Simu’s character, I am both a product of my mother and my father. My mother was the one who introduced me to Star Wars, film, and American pop culture, while my father and his family are responsible for my connection to China. Combined, they make me who I am today and it is part of my commitment to life to share both of their stories.
“The only way we can encourage change is if Asians unapologetically take space no matter what they do.”
Friends I never expected to do so are asking me why “Shang” isn’t pronounced “Shaaaaang,” why the color red is important to us, why we love karaoke, and Jasmine Milk Tea Boba. That is all the proof I need that Simu’s activism is working. The first step in regards to how you can help AAPI? Listen to us. The rest will come.
Thank you, Liu Simu. For the first time, I am proud.
Simu plans to continue to use his presence to help produce Asian-led stories, continue to break barriers by going for roles people may not initially cast an Asian in, and bridge gaps through other forms of media. His memoir, We Are Dreamers: An Immigrant Superhero Origin Story is available this May.
