The Importance of Representation In “To All Of The Boys I’ve Loved Before”

This article contains spoilers for To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before.

Romantic comedies have always been something that I have watched growing up.

I enjoyed the cheesy and cliche part about them. All of them as a whole have been pleasurable to watch, seeing a white male fall in love with a white female with a good enough romantic plot, with a side of cliche monologues and liners. The only thing that I couldn’t get from it was feeling like I could relate to the female protagonist. She would always be Caucasian and though I am half, she would never look anything like me. I was so used to not being represented, it felt like a normal thing for every romantic comedy movie to have a Caucasian couple.

The movie To All Of The Boys I’ve Loved Before came out on Netflix on August 17, 2018 and is based on the novel of the same name that was released in April of 2014. It’s centered around a girl named Lara Jean Song Covey, who writes a letter to every boy that she has ever had any feelings for but never sends it and keeps it inside of a box hidden in her room. One day, her letters are sent out all at once, causing a few of the boys to question her, including a boy named Peter Kavinsky. Lara Jean and Peter end up being in a fake relationship to make Peter’s now ex jealous, as well as make Lara Jean’s sister’s ex-boyfriend think she doesn’t like him since he received a letter as well. The movie is the cliche fake relationship to real relationship storyline, something that I have always liked. So, of course, I watched it the day after it came out.

This movie is just like any other romantic comedy and is good in its own ways, but it’s got something that I’ve never seen in my seventeen years of living: an asian-american main character. Lara Jean is half Korean and half Caucasian, and the movie itself didn’t whitewash her; it casts her as she was written. Plenty of movies have whitewashed and stereotyped Asians instead of portraying them as the actual humans we are, so this movie depicting her the way actual Asian-Americans look and act makes me feel something I’ve never felt in this genre: represented.

I am a half Filipino and half white, which means that I am not exactly like Lara Jean, but I am still half Asian and half Caucasian like her. I used to believe that Asians just weren’t people to be seen in a romantic way because of the lack of representation in film, but now, in the summer of 2018, I don’t have to believe that anymore. It’s a feeling of relief to see someone that looks so similar to me and not be a funny sidekick with a racist Asian accent, but actually be the lead role in the film. Asian characters in movies are typically minor roles (from the ‘Asian friend’ who is always smart to racist stereotypes and caricatures) that would never truly have a backstory. I never felt like the characters in these big Hollywood movies ever actually represented who I was as a person, although I am only half, it felt wrong to watch another Asian woman play another nail technician in a comedy but never have a lead role in a film.

According to the author, Jenny Han, only one producer would not whitewash Lara Jean’s character. “One producer said to me, as long as the actress captures the spirit of the character, age and race don’t matter,” said Han in her New York Times piece. She wanted to make Lara Jean be exactly who she is so that little girls who looked just like her would feel like it was possible for them to have a cheesy love story like the one in the film. Producers in that industry like to believe that representation in film doesn’t matter, but in my seventeen years of watching white people take roles from traditionally Asian characters and other people of color, I have not once agreed with them. Even films like The Grudge have been remade with white characters instead of just hiring Asian ones like the original Japanese movie, changing parts of the story just to fit their white cast.

This summer of 2018 has been a big deal for representation for Asians in general. Crazy Rich Asians was a hit in the box office, making $30 million during its opening weekend, showcasing an entirely Asian cast, something that I have never seen before in a big Hollywood movie.

Being represented, even in small film like a romantic comedy, is actually a bigger deal than some people might think. It may not feel that way to people who have always been represented in media but for a minority people like me, having someone that looks like me on the big screen isn’t as typical as seeing a white person. Positive change has been made, with Asian-Americans portrayed realistically instead of stereotypes to use as a punchline. To some this wouldn’t seem like a big deal, but this will allow Asian or Asian-American children to be able to have a role model that has their features. I barely had that as a kid, Mulan and American Dragon: Jake Long being the only ones I can remember. Having your favorite character look like you is something not all of us have experienced. At this rate, representation for Asian-Americans should be something that increases, as it’s better that your favorite character can actually represent who you are.