‘Crazy Rich Asians’ and ‘A Land Imagined’: two films highlighting the region’s rich-poor divide
Romantic comedy focused on the lavish lifestyle of the ‘1 per cent’ in Singapore is a big hit, but the award-winning tale of a missing poor immigrant has struck a chord, too
The hit romantic comedy-drama Crazy Rich Asians is grabbing headlines with its depiction of outlandish opulence, but another Singapore film is making waves of a different kind – by revealing the tawdry underbelly of Asian life.
Two hit films – two very different faces of Asia.
And analysts said this clash should sound an alarm, with the ascendant Crazy Rich Asians – focusing on the story of a young Asian-American woman who travels to meet her boyfriend’s family and is surprised to discover they are among the richest in Singapore – shielding a struggling underclass.
“It is a fun movie that celebrates Asian wealth,” James Crabtree, an associate professor at Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
“But it should also be seen as a warning, that Asia is losing its reputation for inclusive growth and sliding ever deeper into inequality.
Asia is losing its reputation for inclusive growth and sliding ever deeper into inequality. Most countries in the region are becoming less equal, and some alarmingly so
“Most countries in the region are becoming less equal, and some alarmingly so.”
Craz y Rich Asians topped the United States and Canadian box offices during its debut weekend and has already sparked talks of a sequel, winning headlines for its all-ethnic Asian cast living lavish lifestyles in the city state.