We have all heard about the new and fascinating story taking the world by storm: Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan. To put our newfound interest to good use, the English Department’s Love and Capitalism class, taught by Assistant Professor of English Cheryl Naruse, will be using the book as a lens to understand the workings of romance in a capitalist world.
In an interview with The Hullabaloo, Naruse discussed which aspects of the story the Love and Capitalist class will focus on, and things for non-Singaporeans who are not in the class to keep in mind when reading the book.
Since the story’s popularity is fairly new, many of us may be under the misconception that the novel and movie are all about the lifestyle of the elite on the other side of the world when it is in actuality also a love story.
So why do we have this obsession with Crazy Rich Asians? The story follows the lifestyle of people from a country many of us didn’t know existed, and who isn’t even just a little fascinated with royalty? The film has also received praise for straying from the typical American, Hollywood storyline and debuts a cast that is, finally, predominantly Asian.
But can we fully understand the beginnings of Eastern, more specifically Singaporean, culture just from one novel or movie?
Naruse also mentioned the fact that people who are not familiar with Singaporean culture, will not be able to understand much of the satire laced into the literature. An example would be the maids being nameless and only referred to by their origin and labor, which is a commentary on the elite in Singapore and their reliance on maids.
In an interview with PRI, Naruse also commented on the lack of representation of actual Singaporeans in the cast.
Though problems like these are things to keep in mind when reading the book or watching the movie, students still may get a kick out of the storyline.