Always Be My Maybe: Exploring Asian-American Socioeconomic Aspects - Essay Sample

Introduction

The film Always Be My Maybe is a remarkable film that ideally brings forth the inhabits of the concept of socioeconomic aspects relating to the Asian-Americans. For instance, it is for the first time that Park totally plays the role of a Korean without going by the name Kim Jong-un, and Wong Sasha being Vietnamese and cooking fusion Vietnamese foods, is a great nod to their heritage. There exist various appearances by parent characters who try to figure out their immigrant experiences. Always Be My Maybe is a great film that adequately tries to put across the various fundamental elements and factors that relate to the various socio elements and economic variations to their life experiences.

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These experiences by the main characters in the film tend to bring out the ideal socioeconomic experiences that most Asians watching back at home can best relate and ring too. Sasha's involvement in restaurant businesses sets the pace for various riffs on the pretense of dinning together with various humble experiences of the styles of cooking for various Southeast Asians. The introduction of Keanu Reeves as an Asian-Canadian and American actor whose cultural significance is not most felt like the setting of all these characters in the play. The essay will, therefore, bring forth the various theories and ideologies of Marx in relation to the American class system and the commodification which are well presented in the film.

Looking at the relationship between Ali Wong and Randall Park, the film sets in motion a romantic tension building out on their inner livelihoods and their circumstances; it is the case of two individuals who happen to be both Asians. In the analysis of the Always Be My Maybe, the ideology that will take up the context of the discussion relates to the Karl Marx concept of commodification.

The concept of commodification as a social construct involves individuals designing things like language and culture to aspects of goods or services (Bowman, Paul, 330). Commodification is an ideology that clearly plays a major role and duty in the nature of how society perceives deviance and subcultures. Karl Marx, as a socialist, perceives commodification as an expropriation of the means towards production from the population for the purpose of creating the supply of various laborers who have to offer their labor before purchasing and customers not being able to manufacture of products for their direct consumption.

Commodification as an ideology of Marx is well evident in the film Always Be My Maybe, from a distant angle that clearly obscures specification and materiality, the film Always Be My Maybe is a romantic comedy that is presented by two Asian personalities, which adequately tends to present the various aspects of light jokes, a love circus and a relationship that clearly all dramatic and dates back to when the characters were all kids. Always Be My Maybe is a love story that ideally brings out the context of the Asian-Americans cuisine and their culture.

The character of Wong as Sasha Tran, a celebrity chef, acquired the craft as a kid by preparing Korean foods with her friend's mother, Randal Park, as Marcus Kim. In the high-end restaurants which are years later, Sasha seems to be serving similar seafood, Kimchi and dumplings which she all prepared in the kitchen of her friend, the difference is that now she has narrowed down the bits and the plates using a fine flare she defines as being a "modern fusion of Vietnamese foods." Marcus seems to scoff at the imaginative versions of Sasha in relation to the dishes they had growing up, stating that Asian dishes are not to be elevated but be authentic.

It is important, however, to note that the term authenticity" has been used here as an ideological context that needs be critiques or rather questioned. It is important to note that foods tend to evolve, transform, and even fuse because of the myriad and material conditions that symbolize other meanings in distinct contexts. Marcus perceives food to be about the memory of his mother, who passed on and about comfort. The context of an elevated cuisine presented by Sasha is derived from the context of "authentic" foods of the Asian culture since it is not in a big bowl. Authenticity for Marcus is all shaped and designed by his own social experiences and personal life. Marcus articulates that authenticity, in this case, is not an object of reality (Tyson, Lois, 55)

The ideology of commodification is well evident in this case because both Marcus and Sasha use their cultural foods as a means to earn a living; this is the concept behind the ideology of commodification which Marx highlights as an ideology that demands that any concept of culture be used in a way to be a commodity which can be used to derive a capital. Marx's ideology of commodification is, therefore, well presented in this film because the romantic story of two Asian personalities is well twisted in a way where they both utilize their cultural identities and aspects to make a living.

Authenticity can derive a state of resistance if used in the context of minority cultures. The food here is not only just a means of sustenance because it holds personal and cultural meaning presented as a narrative, metaphoric creation, and in the context of community building. For the Asian-Americans, as in the case of Sasha and Marcus, traditional foods and authenticity are a signifier of an individual's cultural status that has not in any way been corrupted by the dominant culture and also as means towards the expression of association and formation. Contrast to the various dominant use of cultures exclusionary authenticity, sustenance of cultural foods is a means towards keeping one's traditions and the various cultures that can be exploited.

In the United States, the expectations of the dominant white culture and the nearly impossible standards set for other ethnic foods often set a barrier for the chefs and the restaurants, thereby limiting the foods they make. Marcus and Sasha's survival and success in setting up restaurants where they prepare Asian cuisines clearly details how they beat these system restrictions and present a taste of their own foods and a presentation of their culture.

American Class System

According to Marx, the American class system is divided into subgroups and divisions of the haves and the haves not. This divisional setting makes it hard for the groups in the minority groups to make in the class of the majority. It is an ideology that Marx highlights to behave implicated to the Americans over time, and this has continually been a hindrance to other ethnic communities from surviving and making it in America. However, Sasha and Marcus dominate over this ideology of the American class system because even though Marcus may have criticized Sasha's food for lacking authenticity, Sasha clearly identifies the various challenges of existing in America in a minority group as a chef, in particular, trying to make a change to the misconceptions of how the foods of Asian-Americans area and what it signifies.

In the film, Sasha directs her designer to make the menu of her restaurant on rice paper, bringing out the concept that the majority who are the white will have to eat the food. Being an ethnic restaurateur, Sasha's success in the in America clearly highly is dependable on the social construct that is evident to her advantage (Silverberg, Miriam Rom, 5) These aspects of Marx ideology of the American class system details how much of a struggle it can be for a minority group to fit and succeed in the majority. The film Always Be My Maybe is a very critical film that not only presents a dramatic, romantic story but also highlights the various theories and ideologies of Marx.

Conclusion

The film Always Be My Maybe is a contemporary film that has been widely regarded as a film that best highlights the contexts of the American class system and the ideologies of Commodification, according to Marx. The story envelops a romantic journey that dates back when the characters were kids and eventually presents them as Asian-Americans who are both making a living out of preparing their cultural cuisines. Although Marcus' reason behind making their cultural foods is out of respect to her demised mother, Sasha, on the other hand, tries to beat the American class system, which is set in various economic classes, which can be hard for other ethnic groups to survive.

Sasha's success in the restaurant business as an Asian-American beats the boundaries that are ideally set by the theories of the American class system and the ideology of commodification. The film best presents the ideologies of Marx and therefore sets a precedent for other ethnic groups and lower social classes to understand the concept of beating the odds and making it in America despite the social theories that are present.

Works Cited

Bowman, Paul. "The limits of post-Marxism: the (dis) function of political theory in film and cultural studies." Global Discourse: An interdisciplinary journal of current affairs 9.2 (2019): 329-345.

Silverberg, Miriam Rom. Changing song: the Marxist manifestos of Nakano Shigeharu. Vol. 5291. Princeton University Press, 2019.

Tyson, Lois. Critical theory today: A user-friendly guide. Routledge, 2014.