Chinese People Are Sharing Their Thoughts On "Turning Red," And It Proves How Important Representation Is
I saw Turning Red yesterday, and let me just say, it had me in TEARS.
I won't give too much away, but in case you haven't seen it, it's a coming-of-age story about a 13-year-old Chinese-Canadian girl named Meilin Lee.
Because of a family curse, Meilin turns into a red panda whenever she gets too excited. She must now learn how to balance being her mom's perfect, obedient daughter, and enjoying the wilder side of her adolescence. Oh and of course, she must navigate allllll of the good stuff including puberty, boys, and awkwardness.
As an Asian woman, certain aspects of the movie just hit so close to home.
NBC / Via giphy.com
And after looking on Twitter, it seemed like many people felt the same way. Here are what some said:
One person joked about how relatable the movie was, down to the Dad's belt and pants:
Turning Red is SO GOOD 😭I lost it at SO MANY DETAILS. Did everyone’s Chinese dad have that belt and pants!? This screenshot is just a photo of my dad 🤣🤣🤣
Another person had fun pointing out an example of "true representation":
I can tell you that out of everything in Turning Red, this is true representationchinese mothers do love their celine dion
Others continued to joke about how relatable the main character is:
Turning red is the most accurate I've ever been represented in a story in my life lol. I'm simply a cringe Chinese girl
Other fans said the movie's script was on point:
aw man, there are some exact lines of dialogue in #TurningRed that I've exchanged with my own chinese mom 🥺
Many began to share how their own experiences aligned with Meilin's:
especially me being the only daughter… always getting good grades never being able to express how i feel because she would never LISTEN to me and it had a lot to do with her own mother and the way chinese parents never praise ur accomplishments but highlight ur failures… sigh
*BRB, wiping my tears*:
As a Chinese Canadian that grew up in Toronto, this movie felt like watching my childhood on-screen. Everything from the SkyDome & CN Tower to doing my homework on the 506 streetcar, sliced fruit in the evening, and my overprotective mom.
This is proof that the movie is just so, damn good:
I’ve never felt so seen by a movie before. A Chinese-Canadian girl trying to watch her fave boy band at the Skydome in the early 2000s? This is why representation rocks. #TurningRed
It's really sweet:
#TurningRed is absolutely both my favorite Pixar movie and also feels like it was genetically designed for me, a Chinese Canadian woman who grew up in Toronto, wears glasses, played flute, loved boy bands, and felt the pressure to get top grades and fulfil my parents' wishes.
My heart is so warm!:
Cantonese representation is rarely ever spotlighted in big mainstream movies like this. Chinese representation in movies is typically Mandarin based so the way I could see myself completely in this movie is so important 🥺🥺 (+ its Canadian) pls I LOVED IT SO MUCH #TurningRed
