Well, you guys, the day has finally arrived. The day you look forward to for a whole year, every year.
I’m talking, of course, about Oscar Nomination Day! Apparently there were some movies that came out this year that were nominated for Academy Awards. I didn’t see any of them, of course, which is probably the case for a majority of Americans. I don’t really care that I didn’t see any of them, either, which is also probably the case for a majority of Americans.
Anyhoo, some of the biggest buzz out there today is about Michelle Yeoh’s Best Actress nomination for her role in “Everything Everywhere All At Once.” Yeoh is the first Asian to be nominated for the award. Wait, sorry. Not the first Asian; the first person who identifies as Asian.
Over to you, Hollywood Reporter:
Michelle Yeoh has made history as the first person who identifies as Asian to ever be nominated for best actress at the #Oscars: https://t.co/3eqVMGnf2c pic.twitter.com/cPkIuEKSR9
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) January 24, 2023
The graphic says “first Asian,” but apparently that wasn’t enough to communicate just how groundbreaking Yeoh’s nomination truly is:
However, until today, not a single woman who identifies as Asian — incidentally, the largest racial group on the planet — has been recognized as best actress by the Academy Awards. Technicalities exist: Some recordkeepers consider Merle Oberon (1936, The Dark Angel) to be the first Asian best actress nominee, but she hid her ancestry (her mother was reportedly of partial Sri Lankan descent) and passed for white. Likewise for double Oscar winner Vivien Leigh, who was born in British-colonized India and whose mother might have had partial western Asian ancestry. And although past nominee Salma Hayek and winners Cher and Natalie Portman all have claims to some western Asian heritage (Lebanon, Armenia and Israel/Russia, respectively), none has identified as Asian.
I’m not trying to take away from Yeoh’s nomination at all, just so we’re clear on that. I think the Oscars are lame, but I imagine it feels pretty cool to get nominated for one. No, my beef is with outlets like The Hollywood Reporter who are tying themselves into painful pretzels in order to make sure they use all the necessary woke buzzwords. I’ve got secondhand embarrassment reading stuff like “identifies as Asian.” She’s Asian, guys. It’s OK to say that.
"person who identifies as Asian" ????
— Too Gay to Function (@HyzenthlayRose) January 24, 2023
That was F weird "Identifies as Asian" is messed up.
— Lalalara (@LalalisaRaa) January 24, 2023
“identifies as Asian” what else is she supposed to identify as? https://t.co/EYMw49Cwf3
— Oracle (@4eyedRaven) January 24, 2023
Identifies as Asian?? Isn't she Asian? What else would she identify as?? 😂😂😂 https://t.co/aIzed7LClN
— Wu-Tang's 101st member (@RhymeSik) January 24, 2023
"first person who identifies as Asian" https://t.co/5Mv8cKnltS pic.twitter.com/aJJxW22nSF
— 🇿🇲 ▕⃝⃤ 🎭 FN-8448 🦸🏾♂️🜃 🇲🇼 (@Tigu_El) January 24, 2023
"Identify as Asian" pic.twitter.com/6dM54FUGvI
— Nolan Grayson (@Omni_man96) January 24, 2023
“Who identifies as Asian…” wtf does that even mean?
— Thomas Crowne (@ThomasCrowne5) January 24, 2023
It means people are trying way too hard.
“Identifies as Asian?” Seriously? pic.twitter.com/Jyz1ejl7oE
— Will Collier (@willcollier) January 24, 2023
“who identifies as Asian” this makes it sound like Michelle Yeoh is Asian Rachel Dolezal https://t.co/UyJLGswGrT
— juice thousand (@JuiceThousand) January 24, 2023
maybe she should also identify as a man then she can be first person to be nominated in both male & female category?
— dean martini (@martinidayz) January 24, 2023
Now there’s an idea.
Anyway, as a side note, it’s interesting to see media and liberals fall all over themselves about Yeoh’s nomination when the Venn diagram of people excited about it and people who think it’s OK for prestigious universities to discriminate against Asian students closely resembles a circle.
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