Radio City’s Music Hall was bursting with excitement, as the large sign under the iconic Radio City, said “Disney Plus’ American Born Chinese World Premiere!”
The bright red carpet matched perfectly with the red background details of the backdrop. The cast of the Disney Plus series is diverse and culturally representative of immigrants from all walks of life. The representation in the series, inspired not only the viewers, but the actors themselves. If you “see her, you can be her,” they say, and with that in mind, the premiere was beautifully family-oriented. Actors such as Leonard Wu and TV Host, Sara Gore brought their children to the event to witness the beautiful representation on screen, that the red carpet actors themselves mentioned they didn’t see growing up. The cast’s children excitedly joined Academy-Award Winning Actors, Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan, as the charming and kind-hearted Actors embraced them warmly, and we all witnessed the core memory being created.
The series showcases an original story following Actor, Ben Wang who is questioning his journey of assimilation in American culture, coming from an immigrant Asian-household. Actor Jimmy Liu’s character starts his first day in an American school, as a Chinese immigrant. Actor Ben Wang’s character is assigned to show him the ropes. The interesting story brings together several themes to explore: immigration, assimilation, having two “homes,” and what it means to be authentically you, stating with your culture and where you came from.
The important topics mentioned, become embraced as a literal superpower in the series. The sci-fi series offers jaw-dropping stunts, flips, and animation to create the hyper-realistic scenes. The series offers important representation that will inspire the next generations to unleash the superhero in themselves, with immigration and diversity serving as a superpower. The panel discussion afterwards was lead by TV Host, Juju Chang. The Afterparty featured fun drumming, alongside a Chinese lion celebratory dance, a festive photo-op, costumes from the show, a delicious seafood station and tasty and foaming strawberry specialty cocktails.