Jenny Han’s New York Times bestselling novel “To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before” has been adapted into a film and will land on Netflix on August 17, but not everyone is thrilled.
The teen romance movie follows Lara Jean Song Covey, played by Lana Condor, who made her film debut as Jubilee in “X-Men: Apocalypse,” as someone releases her box full of letters she wrote to her five crushes without her knowledge.
“Peter with the beautiful eyes, Kenny from camp, Lucas from homecoming, John Ambrose from Model UN, and Josh… the boy next door,” Lara Jean says in the new teaser trailer.
Fans were beyond ecstatic and could hardly contain themselves, with many praising the film for its Asian American representation.
to all the boys i’ve loved before and crazy rich asians,,, my asian a$$ is thriving
— #1 btr stan (@czarlynria) June 22, 2018
WAIT “TO ALL THE BOYS I’VE LOVED BEFORE” IS GONNA BE ON NETFLIX AAAAND THERE IS ASIAN-AMERICAN REPRRSENTATION?!?! OH MY GOD WE ARE BLESSED
— Isabella Hernandez (@isabellahendz) June 22, 2018
finally there’s a trailer for to all the boys i’ve loved before! bless lana condor and bless a movie with an asian lead
— ambear ✨ (@vbaudeIaire) June 22, 2018
i just saw the trailer for to all the boys i’ve loved before and i’m so excited and also in tears because this is the kind of asian representation i’ve always wanted to see
— jules (@markblackthvrn) June 22, 2018
Wow, I read “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” in high school and now it’s gonna be a movie on Netflix! Very excited for an Asian female lead
— (@melissaedre) June 22, 2018
very excited for crazy rich asians and to all the boys I’ve loved before!!! I love asian representation
— kyleigh (@kyleighmeyers) June 22, 2018
I felts so exhilarated because Asian people have finally recognized in the Hollywood. There’s a line up of book film adaptation of Crazy Rich Asian by Kevin Kwan, To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han and finally The Sun Is Also A Star by Nicola Yoon
— khevynn (@cabinkevin) June 22, 2018
Crazy Rich Asians AND To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before. My asian ass is really being fed in 2018 pic.twitter.com/0DaVme0Mj3
— fi (@rosychalamet) June 22, 2018
But some were quick to point out the majority of Lara Jean’s crushes being white and the film’s lack of Asian male representation.
Where is Asian man representation in media? Why Asian women (compared to female of other races) in media never choose her own race? Media like this is harmful. It validates Asian female stereotype and causes more conflict between Asian men and Asian women. #AsianTwitter https://t.co/x8nTCl7F9S
— Ailada A. (@AnAsiaticVamp) June 21, 2018
I don’t think Asian women’s stories are obligated to always include Asian men. But when we keep seeing this WMAF trope, even from Asian creators, we should be able to question it without being silenced as misogynists. Bc what’s so progressive about idealizing white partners?
— Oxford Kondō (@oxford_kondo) June 21, 2018
WHY ARE NONE OF HER CRUSHES ASIAN??? Not that they need to be, but, Asian American boys need representation as much as Asian American girls!
To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before | Teaser [HD] | Netflix https://t.co/1bDgE3JGmS via @YouTube— Agent Aggretsuko! (@Ahavah22) June 21, 2018
Is the book ‘To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before’ by @jennyhan basically a self hating, whitewashed asian girl fantasy? Asian girls sure worship white boys :/
— ck (@Honeybuttergal) March 22, 2018
It’s happening… “To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before” – a Lu novel (written by notorious Lu Jenny Han) is turning into a Netflix series. Main character play by an AF and ALL of her crushes are nonAM (one BM and 4 WM). Blatant AM exclusion – boycott this … https://t.co/YnyHsbJPmd
— r/AsianAmerican (@rAsianAmerica) June 22, 2018
So, TO ALL THE BOYS I’VE LOVED BEFORE.
I can’t get too angry at seeing more Asian women on screen, but at the same time I’m disappointed that the boys she’s loved are majority white (with a token black dude).
— Allosaurus Wong (@MissFifiWong) June 22, 2018
Some netizens commented on how Condor, who is of Vietnamese descent, is not Korean American like Lara Jean.
gotta love how hollywood is perpetuating the notion that all asian ethnicities are interchangeable in the movie version of “to all the boys i’ve loved before”!!!!
— Zahra (@ZorroHadad) June 21, 2018
How and why is the female lead for the “To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before” movie a vietnamese-american..? Is it that difficult to find a korean-american actress that fits the part? I mean yeah, she’s asian but that’s still a little disappointing. Nonetheless, I’m excited for it.
— celine ∞ (@celineechuahh) June 15, 2018
To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, Lara Jean’s supposed to be half korean not full on asian. Plus the actress they picked isn’t even Korean
— Hara ☀ (@saranghaeru) March 24, 2018
I just saw the trailer for the movie adoption of to all the boys I’ve loved before and I got curious to who Laura Jean’s actress is. although Lana Condor is Asian she isn’t korean-american like in the books which made me disappointed idk is it wrong to hope for a Korean actress??
— celeste (@septceleste) June 21, 2018
Fans still defended the movie for sticking close to the source material.
everyone’s mad about how there’s no asian male in the to all the boys i’ve loved before movie LOL like if you read the book, there aren’t even any asian males so ♀️
— lauren (@leovaldezy) June 22, 2018
people really mad that there’s no asian male lead in “to all the boys i’ve loved before” it’s based on a book, there is no asian male lead djdjd i’m honestly just glad they kept lara jean asian
— tammy! (@Iotust) June 22, 2018
tfw they actually cast the asian leads in the “to all the boys i’ve loved before” film adaptation as ASIAN pic.twitter.com/OkMjbOW3ia
— krista (@kristayukimi) January 13, 2018
Regardless of the criticism, Condor’s role as the main lead in the film makes her the first Asian American women to lead on the big screen in 25 years. Congrats!
Featured Image via YouTube / Netflix
