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Lara Vizon

Storer

English 3 Honors American Literature

24 January 2020

Money’s has Control Over People’s Lives

Money and status can drive people into doing great, powerful, and horrible actions. In the

movie Crazy Rich Asians, directed by Jon M. Chu, the characters in the movie lead and focus

their lives on the power and wealth they hold. Rachel Chu falls in love with Nick Young whose

family’s name has a huge importance and value in Singapore. He lives a rich and “comfortable”

life; however, Rachel is unbeknownst to this fact and has to face his unapologetic and

unaccepting mom, Eleanor Young, because of her lack of status and wealth. However, not all of

Nick’s family acts that way. His cousin Astrid Leong faces a dilemma too based on wealth, but

this time it is because of her husband, Michael, and his insecurities. Throughout the film Crazy

Rich Asians, various characters, such as Rachel and Astrid, demonstrate that the idea of wealth

and class holds control over their decisions, which ultimately decides their fates.

Rachel’s outcomes are influenced by the money and lack of power she holds. For example,

while Rachel looks around for the restroom, Eleanor, Nick’s mom, finds her and they talk about

how Eleanor herself had to prove she was worthy for her own husband. As the camera pans

down to create the imagery of Eleanor looking down to Rachel, Eleanor states, “I know this

much, you will never be enough” (Chu 01:13:02-01:13:14). Beforehand Nick’s family were

making dumplings and already Eleanor is talking about how she had to give everything up to do

business just to be with Nick’s dad. The camera angle shows the power and control Eleanor has

over Rachel. As seen in the Marxist perspective, there is that class conflict between Rachel and
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Eleanor. Because of this, it drives Eleanor to do the actions she does. This interaction with

Eleanor moves her motives into thinking that the idea of status and money is the important factor

into winning Nick’s and his mom’s heart. With the result of this interaction with her, Rachel

does what she thinks is best for Nick, rather than what her heart wants. For instance, while

playing a game of mahjong with Eleanor, Rachel says, “Well he proposed to me yesterday…

don’t worry I turned him down” (Chu 1:44:20-1:44:35). Rachel invites Eleanor to a game of

mahjong and during the game Eleanor explain why she disliked Rachel since the beginning.

Rachel then does not hesitate and say that in the future when Nick has a family and a wife who

Eleanor accepts, it was because of Rachel’s choice. Rachel truly loves Nick and does not want to

let him go. However, because of her lack of status and money that Eleanor is looking for, she

needs to leave Nick. Wealth played a huge part in her decision because it was in the way of

genuine happiness between her and Nick. It also caused a lot of friction between Eleanor and

Rachel. Rachel could prove herself worthy is many ways, but ultimately, she still would not be

accepted by Eleanor just because of the power and wealth she does not hold. Because of the this,

the only choice Rachel has is to leave Nick.

Astrid also faces a predicament with the issues of status and wealth which shapes her

decision making. Just as Astrid just gets home she immediately asks everyone in the house to

hide all the items she just bought for the day just before her husband Michael arrives home.

During this scene everyone is putting bags into cabinets, drawers, and Astrid hides the pair of

earrings she longed for. (Chu 00:23:06-00:23:43). The amount of possessions she obtained

through her wealth is being repressed because of the fact Astrid does not want Michael to feel

like Astrid wears the “money pants” in the relationship. Instead of being proud of the power and

wealth she holds, she isolates it for the sake of Michael. Her wealth influences the decisions she
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makes just so that Michael does not feel like his status is less important than hers. Because of

this their relationship starts to spiral even more. It is seen in the Marxist perspective, the social

status one has is important. Michael feels intimidated because of the status Astrid holds. He does

not feel as if he is part of the bourgeoise and with the result of this, Astrid hides all her

belongings and items she buys. With the result of Michael’s insecurity of his lack of money and

status, Astrid steps up and realizes money is not the problem, it is Michael. After the fight Astrid

goes back to the apartment to see Michael packing his things. He blames her once again that it is

not only his fault for the failed marriage, but also hers and she counteracts, “The problem with

our marriage isn’t my family’s money, it’s that you’re a coward” (Chu 1:47:46-1:47:50). During

the fight in the car, on the way to a wedding, Michael lashes out on Astrid saying that she is

always the richest and prettiest in the room and that is what defines her. He goes on saying that

her power and image is all she cares about, and he thinks Astrid is ashamed and embarrassed of

him being her husband. With the constant worry Astrid had of wanting to conceal her wealth and

power, she realizes that it should not be done that way. Michael’s insecurity of not having the

same status as her, is not her fault. She realizes that her wealth is something she should not be

ashamed of. Because of this she makes the ultimate decision to leave him.

Both Astrid and Rachel’s battle with money and power has shaped their outlooks and

motives towards life. For example, towards the end of the mahjong game with Eleanor and

Rachel, Rachel makes a statement, “… it was because of me a poor, raised by a single mother,

low class immigrant, nobody” (Chu 1:46:09-1:46:20). Not only did Rachel receive the answers

she was longing for from Eleanor, but she stood up to her. The events leading up to the game,

brought down Rachel in the terms of thinking she is not enough because she does not hold the

same amount of money the Young family holds. However, it also formed her to the person she is
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and the motives that she took to confront Eleanor. The camera pans down to Rachel’s hand

revealing that she let Eleanor win on purpose just as she let her win by leaving and rejecting

Nick of his proposal. Although Rachel left Nick because of Eleanor’s standards, she came to

terms that her wealth and status does not define who she is, but makes her who she is. She

realizes that despite all the standards Eleanor holds, that Rachel cannot reach, in the end it does

not matter because she still has the same power and strength despite not having the money.

Astrid also finds the power she has been hiding and holding back. For instance, as Astrid goes

back to the apartment just to see Michael packing his things, she makes one last statement about

their marriage, “I just realized it’s not my job to make you feel like a man, I can’t make you

something you’re not” (Chu 1:47:55-1:48:00 ). Michael brings up how it is also Astrid’s fault

their marriage resulted in the way it did, but Astrid retaliates and says it is not the money’s fault,

but ultimately it is his lack of self-esteem and confidence. It clouds his mind Astrid is taking his

“place” in their relationship and family because of the amount of money she makes compared to

him. She even previously mentioned that Michael does not need to leave the apartment they were

living in because she could move in with her son to any of the 14 apartments she owns,

demonstrating she is done hiding her wealth she has earned. Astrid saw money and the status she

has as something to be ashamed about. Throughout the film she hides the possessions she

obtained and is constantly being blamed by Michael for her wealth. However, in the end she

finally came to terms that it is not the wealth that is tearing their marriage apart, but it is the lack

of self-confidence Michael has. She finally accepts the power she was once hiding and now

living her truth by being proud. It is up to Michael to determine whether or not his status is truly

important to him in terms of society.

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Although, both characters, Rachel and Astrid, go through various obstacles that determine

their fate, in the end film closes off with Nick proposing to Rachel on a plane and Rachel says

yes because the ring Nick proposes with is his mom’s emerald green ring. This means Eleanor

came to terms and told Nick to go propose to Rachel again. She thought about what Rachel said

to her and wealth and class may still be an issue to her, but for the sake of Nick’s happiness, she

will look past it. Astrid has left Michael, but she is happier than she could have ever been.

Wealth and Class can hold control over decisions and can even lead to deciding fate which can

be seen in the film Crazy Rich Asians, through characters such as Rachel and Astrid. Money can

have its mind of its own. However, it should not influence people’s actions, the way they think,

and how they perceive each other.

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Works Cited

Chu, Jon, direction. Crazy Rich Asians. Warner Bros. Pictures, 2018.