Earl Rep. Judy Chu, who represents California’s 28th House district and chairs the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, was one of many to applaud Everything everywhere all at onceSunday’s dominance at the Oscars.
Moments before the broadcast began, Chu explained that much of the film’s cast and crew came to personally check on his community, days after 11 people were killed and nine injured by a gunman. who attacked a ballroom during a Lunar New Year celebration. in Monterey Park. The legislator wished good luck to the candidates.
Of course, the weird (in a Really good way!) took home seven trophies, including Best Actress for Michelle Yeoh, Best Supporting Actor for Ke Huy Quan, Best Supporting Actress for Jamie Lee Curtis, and Best Picture.
On Monday, Chu told Yahoo Entertainment the significance of the film about Asian Americans having made such a big splash in pop culture.
“As Michelle Yeoh said in her acceptance speech last night, ‘For all the little boys and girls like me, watching tonight is a beacon of hope and possibility.’ An Oscar win for Michelle – only the second best actress award to a woman of color in 95 years and the first to a woman of Asian descent – validates her undeniable talent and will inspire AAPI artists across the country,” writes Chu by e-mail. “But the impact is not limited to AAPIs in the creative industries. If there are AAPI children or AAPI adults who have kept their heads a little higher today – and I suspect there are many – the film’s many wins had an even more significant and uplifting impact on the Asian American community.”
Chu explains why the representation of her community in pop culture is so important.
“After decades of subtle to overt discrimination faced by AAPI actors such as Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan and 94-year-old James Hong, I deeply hope that the film’s massive commercial and critical success will pave the way for a more AAPI authentic stories produced,” Chu says. “I also hope that more AAPI actors and crew workers will be hired in Hollywood and beyond. Representation matters – in our legislatures, in our boardrooms and, yes, on our stages and behind the cameras.”
And as for that dinner, Chu says it took place in January, in pre-celebration for the Oscar nominations, just hours before the film received 11 nominations — more than any other film this year. (They knew they had something good!) She didn’t attend.
“The dinner was a cast and crew-only event at Monterey Park, and I’m honored that they came here so soon after the tragedy to celebrate a special moment for their entire crew,” Chu says. “I learned of the existence of the dinner when I met part of the production team of the vice president [Kamala] Harris’ Lunar New Year celebration at his residence, the first of its kind.”
THE Los Angeles Times reported on January 24 that the event at Atlantic Seafood and Dim Sum had been planned at this location for weeks, and the group decided to stick with their plans as a show of support. Quan said they were sad to see the area was desolate.
“It was so sad when we saw the streets were empty. We walked into the restaurant and it was empty,” he told the newspaper. “I’m so glad we went. We didn’t hesitate. We didn’t cancel. We went, we showed them our love, we supported the company, and I think that is what people should be doing. That’s what I hope.”
Quan noted that the very first thing they did was to honor those who had been lost.
“We started the night acknowledging what happened. We had a minute of silence for the victims,” Quan said. “We just wanted to show Monterey Park that we love them.”