{"id":225651,"date":"2021-04-13T14:16:00","date_gmt":"2021-04-13T11:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/awkwafina-defied-typecasting-in-the-farewell\/"},"modified":"2021-04-13T14:16:00","modified_gmt":"2021-04-13T11:16:00","slug":"awkwafina-defied-typecasting-in-the-farewell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/awkwafina-defied-typecasting-in-the-farewell\/","title":{"rendered":"#Awkwafina Defied Typecasting in The Farewell"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;<strong>#Awkwafina Defied Typecasting in The Farewell<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\">\n                <\/aside>\n<p><!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 3.7.9--><em>Acting is an art form, and behind every iconic character is an artist expressing themselves. Welcome to\u00a0<strong>The Great Performances<\/strong>, a bi-weekly column exploring the art behind some of cinema\u2019s best roles. In this entry, we examine Awkwafina\u2019s Golden Globe-winning performance in The Farewell.<\/em><\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator is-style-wide\"\/>The entertainment industry likes to place actors into neat little boxes. This actor does drama, this one does comedy, this person is known for horror, this one for rom-coms.<\/p>\n<p>You could argue that actors inadvertently place themselves into these categories simply by being good at what they do. But this doesn\u2019t account for the audience\u2019s role in typecasting an actor. The more we come to associate someone with one type of performance, the more we should recognize how our desires can pigeonhole their careers. If audiences weren\u2019t thirsty for Idris Elba, Hollywood wouldn\u2019t keep casting him as thirsty characters. I mean, how else can you explain his role in <em>Cats<\/em>?!<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s why I love the path to celebrity that so many young stars are taking. They\u2019re coming from a viral landscape of their own making, producing short films and music videos for TikTok or <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">YouTube<\/a> that leverage their innate talent in such a way that they catapult themselves into an entertainment career. Even if we initially associate them with the social platforms they debuted on, these artists defy classification because we come to see them as individuals rather than merely the roles they play or the work they produce.<\/p>\n<p>Even then it can be difficult to shake that first impression we have of a performer unless they\u2019re given the chance to create something diametrically opposed to what made them famous. Case in point: <strong>Awkwafina<\/strong>\u2019s poignant performance in <em><strong>The Farewell<\/strong><\/em> (2019) \u2014 Lulu Wang\u2019s semi-autobiographical film about a Chinese family surreptitiously paying final respects to their dying grandmother.<\/p>\n<p>Before starring in <em>The Farewell<\/em>, Awkwafina (whose real name is Nora Lum) was best known as a comic r<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>er and on-air personality. She first caught the world\u2019s attention with the music video for her bawdy song \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=z726OPwCnjE\">My Vag<\/a>,\u201d which ruffled enough feathers to get her fired from a post-college internship at a publishing company.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s not hyperbolic to say that Awkwafina had a meteoric rise in the wake of the song. Two years after its release, she joined the cast of MTV\u2019s <em>Girl Code<\/em>, a panel show where female celebrities and personalities discuss different topics relating to women. After that, she booked her first major film role in <em>Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising<\/em> plus the coming-of-age comedy <em>Dudes<\/em>, which was written and directed by Olivia Milch, who would work with Awkwafina two years later on <em>Oceans 8<\/em>. The same year as that <em>Ocean\u2019s <\/em>spinoff was released, Awkwafina landed her highest-profile gig yet with Jon M. Chu\u2019s <em>Crazy Rich Asians<\/em>, where she plays the larger-than-life best friend of Constance Wu\u2019s lead character.<\/p>\n<p>Already the industry was beginning to typecast Awkwafina. These early supporting roles relied almost exclusively on her natural magnetism as an acerbic comedienne. That\u2019s exactly why her work in <em>The Farewell<\/em> feels so revelatory: she defied our expectations. We were so familiar with the Awkwafina of \u201cMy Vag\u201d that to see her deliver a restrained, emotionally devastating performance as Billi in Wang\u2019s film took audiences completely by surprise. Awkwafina\u2019s trademark big personality and esoteric humor were replaced with quiet contemplation and a tool that every actor needs: great listening skills.<\/p>\n<p>My favorite adage on performing \u2014 and the best advice any actor can receive \u2014 is that acting is reacting. Often, young actors can get so wrapped up in their own lines that they completely tune out, however unintentionally, all other dialogue. They get so locked into the performance they practiced in their bathroom mirror that they don\u2019t allow themselves to be impacted by the throughline of a scene. This causes a disconnect, not just between the actor and their scene partner, but between themselves and their character.<\/p>\n<p>Not listening is a trap many young actors fall into, but in <em>The Farewell<\/em>, Awkwafina effortlessly side-steps this by having a steady hand on her character\u2019s focus. After Billi learns about her grandmother\u2019s diagnosis and flies to China to see her, she stays glued to her hip for most of the film. Billi wants to soak up as much time with her as possible, and she does so by listening with the intent of a child enamored by a grandparent. In these moments Awkwafina is not anticipating her next line. She\u2019s allowing Billi\u2019s experience of hanging on her grandmother\u2019s every word to inform her body language and the way she speaks.<\/p>\n<p>The way Billi communicates with her family is an important theme in <em>The Farewell<\/em>. While Lulu Wang is fluent in Mandarin Chinese, Awkwafina only spoke English. Her lack of fluency was written into the film, but it still required Awkwafina to do immense preparation to have the conversational understanding of Mandarin that the role required. We come to realize that another reason Awkwafina\u2019s Billi is such an intent listener is that she\u2019s masking the insecurities she holds over her lack of fluency in her family\u2019s native language.<\/p>\n<p>Billi\u2019s fluency is a major reason why Asian Americans, especially children of immigrants, relate to Awkwafina\u2019s performance. Many understand Billi\u2019s struggle with language as paralleling their own internal struggles of cross-cultural identity. When Billi goes to China, rather than feeling surrounded by heritage, her differences are magnified and she feels like an outsider. <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vox.com\/culture\/2019\/7\/18\/20689014\/awkwafina-interview-farewell\">As Awkwafina told Vox<\/a>, \u201cShe\u2019s a vessel for the Asian-American experience, and she\u2019s very neutral. I think that that makes her relatable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This neutrality she mentions is why I believe everyone can identify with Billi. Awkwafina plays her as a blank slate so audiences can place their own fears about death or melancholic memories of their grandparents on her character. <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.refinery29.com\/en-us\/2019\/07\/237147\/awkwafina-the-farewell-dramatic-performance-interview\">As she told Refinery29<\/a>, \u201cI\u2019ve had people come to me and they\u2019re trembling, holding back tears, sobbing. They just buried their grandma last year, this summer. The core of it is everyone has a grandma.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>With <em>The Farewell<\/em>, Awkwafina showed the world that she has a hell of a range. Not only can she crack us up with ribald humor, but she can deliver a quietly beautiful performance \u2014 breaking the mold that was being formed around her. It took many years for other famous comics, such as Jim Carrey, to get a shot at drama, but thankfully Awkwafina had the chance to prove herself so early in her career.<\/p>\n<p>When Awkwafina won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in 2019, it wasn\u2019t in the drama category. It was in the musical\/comedy category. Yes, that highlights yet another failure of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, but it also speaks back to the way the industry likes to box in actors. Sure, Awkwafina was known for her comedy, and <em>The Farewell<\/em> has dark humor coursing throughout, but to call her performance a comedic one is to discount the dramatic impact she makes on the audience.<\/p>\n<p>Awkwafina bravely opened up her heart to the world, and while she was honored for that bravery, it just underscores the importance of not classifying actors into types. Awkwafina isn\u2019t just a rapper, or a comic, or an internet personality; she\u2019s an artist who defies classification. And frankly, I can\u2019t wait to see what she surprises us with next.\n<\/p><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more Like this articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/social-media\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Social Media category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/awkwafina-in-the-farewell\/#utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=awkwafina-in-the-farewell\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#Awkwafina Defied Typecasting in The Farewell&#8221; Acting is an art form, and behind every iconic character is an artist expressing themselves. Welcome to\u00a0The Great Performances, a bi-weekly column exploring the art behind some of cinema\u2019s best roles. In this entry, we examine Awkwafina\u2019s Golden Globe-winning performance in The Farewell. The entertainment industry likes to place&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":225652,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Awkwafina-in-The-Farewell.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[45443,91401,45445,15257],"class_list":["post-225651","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social-mediaa","tag-awkwafina","tag-lulu-wang","tag-the-farewell","tag-the-great-performances"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225651","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=225651"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225651\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/225652"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=225651"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=225651"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=225651"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}