A24 and the Asian American Prestige Film

Abstract

Some of the most visible and acclaimed recent Asian American films (Minari, The Farewell, After Yang, Everything Everywhere All at Once, Past Lives) have been financed or distributed by the Hollywood studio A24. This article explores A24’s “winning formula” for Asian American prestige, a package of discourses around race, independent film, and Asian American representation that appeals to both Oscar voters and Asian American filmgoers ready to venerate the films on social media and in journalistic writing. Specifically, in its advertising and other paratextual materials, A24 uses discourses of cultural authenticity, often around familiar and legible narratives of Asian immigrant families, to position these films as “quality” works worthy of official recognition. Their success in doing so speaks to a moment when Hollywood insiders both recognize the industry’s historical inability to represent Asian stories and desperately want to commend any efforts at doing so.