As much as I hated the story of Crazy Rich Asian, I LOVED its all-Asian lineup. I got to see so many fresh Asian faces in one movie and was curious about each of them.
I decided to pick on Awkwafina. Her character in the movie was just too memorable. At first I didn’t appreciate her ridiculous look, as I mentioned in my last post. But now I kinda see where they are going with this–people recall ridiculous stuff!
(A review of her look. This is totally meme-ready. )
I also remembered Awkwafina well because she really really looked like one of my cousin brothers.
Twins right?? Lol
I texted my cousin he could definitely dress as Awkwafina for Halloween and people won’t tell. He never replied though.
Before Crazy Rich Asian, Awkwafina was in another 2018 movie–Ocean’s Eight, which was also the first occasion I got to know her. Before the movie came out, I was really hyped up because I was a huge fan of George Clooney’s Ocean’s Eleven series. Some of the biggest names were in the cast list–Cate Blanchett, Sandra Bullock, Anne Hathaway (goddess!), Rihanna, Helena Bonham Carter, and…Awkwafina??
I frowned at the odd name. Why would someone name their kid Awkwafina? It’s like telling people you’re intrinsically awkward, or you’re a bottle of water… Even Awkwafina herself said in an interview that her name in the Ocean’s Eight cast “stuck out like a sore thumb.”
But she also said, “but they’ll never forget that name, so it works in my favor.”
Yea. You are good at letting people not forget you. With the name and that look in Crazy Rich Asian, you’re probably stuck in many people’s head already.
It turns out I misunderstood Awkwafina’s parents. They actually gave their kid a very normal name–Nora. Nora grew up in Queens and attended the LaGuardia High School of Music & Art, a.k.a. the Fame school. She gave herself the stage name “Awkwafina” at age 16, while she was browsing at a convenience store. She went for a “stupid name” for an alter ego to her quiet and more passive personality. There were a few other options, such as Dassani, with two S’s. Her love for the names of bottled water was unexplained. Just some random shit she did as a kid…that ended up impacting her whole life.
That got me wonder whether Eminem got his stage name while browsing at a convenience store too, and whether he hesitated between M&Ms and Skittles.
Before Awkwafina was an actress, she was already a rapper (since age 13!). She became popular in 2012 for her song “My Vag.” I’ve seen that song’s name here and there but never listened to it and never figured out what a vag was. Until I listened to it for the sake of research and learned that vag is VAGINA and was like…eww…why would you…
Then I learned it was a response to another song–Mickey Avalon’s “My Dick”, and was supposed to be an anti-gender discrimination and woman empowerment thing. Oh ok, cool.
As vulgar as “My Vag” was, the song was extremely successful and the music video garnered over three million views on YouTube. But meanwhile, it got her fired from her office job at the time, and prevented her from getting hired for a long time afterward. In an interview Awkwafina reflected that the “My Vag” song opened a door to her actress career. Of course! Because it closed all other doors to regular jobs, dude.
Sandra Bullock actually knew Awkwafina from “My Vag” before they became co-stars in Ocean’s Eight. Btw, Ocean’s Eight was such a great movie, but to be honest Awkwafina in that movie was like, meh. She was the least famous in the cast, so she got the least screen time and the least cool role, which was reasonable, and I mean, what else can you ask for when you’re already starring alongside Anne Hathaway, Cate Blanchett and Rihanna? If “My Vag” opened a door to acting, then Ocean’s Eight must have opened doors to millions of opportunities. One being Peik Lin–the coolest role in Crazy Rich Asian, where she showed all the potentials that she didn’t get to show in Ocean’s.
(Hollywood star Olivia Munn dressed as Awkwafina’s role in Crazy Rich Asian for Halloween)
After Ocean’s Eight and Crazy Rich Asian, Awkwafina’s name is put on a completely different level. And now she even has a Comedy Central show based on her own life–Awkwafina! Still in production, the show tells the story of how this Asian American rapper and actress dealt with her early 20s, and lived in shadow of her more successful cousin. That’s funny because my Awkwafina look-alike cousin also has a more successful cousin–me!
Jk. My cousin thinks I’m pretty successful only because he knows I drive a BMW to school. He’s in China, where BMWs are incredibly expensive. But I didn’t tell him that my BMW is old. It’s a 2007 model with a ton of old car problems, and it’s freaking GREEN. I don’t think any car brand ever make green cars anymore. If you ask me why I bought that car, I can only tell you, CAR DEALERS ARE THE GREATEST LIARS AND BULLSHITTERS.
Anyways, back to Awkwafina. Originally known for her songs “My Vag” and “NYC Bitch$,” Awkwafina was seen as “unfiltered” when it comes to expressing herself through music. Her supporting role in Crazy Rich Asian was a success also because of her “unfiltered” type of acting. When asked about how her family thinks about her acting career, Awkwafina said her grandma didn’t think highly of it, and grandma said to her, “you’re not even acting, that’s just, like, you.” Lol grandma don’t worry, that’s not even a concern at all, that’s exactly why Awkwafina appeals to young audience. We love seeing people being raw and genuine on the other side of the screen. We love watching people who are more ordinary than remarkable. So Awkwafina, stay unfiltered.
While I was researching Awkwafina, I came across a news that Aquafina admits it’s plain tap water. Interesting. I don’t drink Aquafina anyway, so, stay unfiltered, both of you.
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