Joy, Luck, and Family

I'll admit I was nervous about watching The Joy Luck Club because I'd read the book in high school, and it simply blew me away. However, when I realized the book's author, Amy Tan, had also helped write the screenplay, I'd never clicked anything faster.

For those who don't know, The Joy Luck Club tells the stories of four women who immigrated from China to America as well as the stories of their daughters. Each mother and daughter has a unique story of the struggles they faced growing up both in China and America. Each of the four mothers in the story decide on their own to raise their children in a way entirely different from her own upbringing. The consequences are interesting as each mother was raised in China and will now raise her daughter in America, a completely different country in many respects.

The only daughter to face outright racism is Rose. Her ex-husband's mother does not want her to be with her son simply because she's Asian. Of course, she attempts to justify this saying it isn't good for her son's career, and Vietnam was so unpopular, to which Rose replies, "I'm not Vietnamese. I'm American." This quote is the basis for the stories of all the daughters. They were brought up in America and all of them seem to struggle with the Chinese heritage of their mothers to some degree.

The difficulty the daughters face is growing up with the expectations their mothers throw on them to have a better, more fulfilling life than they had growing up in China. The daughters also have to learn how to accept their Chinese heritage in a culture that doesn't always accept other cultures and their nuances. For example, Waverly brings her fiancé, Rich, to dinner with her family. She mentions that she told him how to behave around a Chinese family, but forgot to mention a few details. Of course, he accidentally insults her mother and embarrasses Waverly. However, the mother does not seem to hold this against him, but Waverly's embarrassment is enough to show that, despite her conflict with her mother, she cares about her heritage. However, she's afraid it will get in the way of her relationships.

This movie isn't entirely about race explicitly. Family is a huge focus of the film as well as forgiveness and identity beyond race. It's about being a woman, a mother, and a sister. Also, it'll make you bawl your eyes out. Go watch it. Or read the book. Or both.