One White Woman’s Review of ‘Turning Red’
Periods aren’t the point of the movie, but I’m glad they’re mentioned.
Pixar’s Turning Red follows Meilin (Rosalie Chiang), a thirteen-year-old girl who suddenly begins turning into a giant red panda. This film is adorable and heart-warming but also has a ton to say.
I, personally, had a great time with this film. Because this was set in 2002, I would’ve been around Meilin’s age, so it was fun to be transported back to a time before smartphones and social media when life was a little less complicated. I loved all of the nods to the fads of the day, including Tamagotchis and boy bands — two trends that I definitely was all-in on.
More than that, it was a joy for me to watch a movie that I could relate to but wasn’t centered around me. I had the privilege of talking with two friends of Asian descent about Turning Red and both of them mentioned that they felt so seen by this film; this was a good representation of their childhoods and culture. And what a joy that is!
I’m so glad we’re seeing more and more representation in film. That more diverse stories are being told by diverse storytellers. Turning Red does a beautiful job illustrating the push-pull that so many immigrant families face: how much of their culture do they keep? And how much do they assimilate? There are beautiful traces of Chinese…
