Is Katy's Chinese name intended as a joke?
Yesterday I watched Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021), and noticed that in the scene in which Shang-Chi's friend, Katy, is asked her Chinese name, a group of people in the audience laughed when she answered. Nobody in my group could figure out why. Theories included laughter because
- Katy gave the Chinese name of an established comics character, leading some members of the audience to recognize Katy as a significant part of the Marvel pantheon
- Katy did not know her Chinese name and, in lying, accidentally said something rude in Chinese.
- Katy did not know her Chinese name and, in lying, accidentally gave the name of somebody else in the story (perhaps even somebody at the table)
- Katy knew no other Chinese, but did know her own name, leading to recognition laughter among Chinese Americans who similarly know no Mandarin except their 'Chinese names'.
I'd love to know — was Katy's Chinese name intended to be funny? If so, in what way?
Best Answer
Katy's Chinese name is pronounced very similar to the Chinese pronunciation of "Riven", a character from the video game Destiny 2: Forsaken. There are several online theories/similarities connecting the plot line of Shang-Chi to Destiny 2.
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Does Katy have a Chinese name?
Apparently her name is Chen Ruiwen, make of that what you will.Can Katy understand Mandarin?
Bilingualism: Katy is fluent in English, and can understand and speak a small amount of Mandarin.Does Katy in Shang-Chi speak Chinese?
Soon after arriving at Macau, Shang-Chi, the film's superhero protagonist, and Katy, his best friend, are suddenly greeted by an enthusiastic Chinese fan named Jon Jon. He praises them for how awesome their viral bus fight was, but unfortunately for Katy, he's speaking entirely in Chinese.Katy Perry - Roar (Official)
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Answer 2
I don't believe it is a joke. I could be wrong.
I believe it is a long commentary about culture, assimilation, identity, and loss. And its neatly boiled down into a single question.
The movie character Xu Wenwu is pointing out how powerful names are. That it his true name held a apart in what changed his identity or who he is. His question to Katy then points out that Chinese Americans have changed their names or adopted a secondary western name to accommodate westerners in order to better assimilate. Even someone who cannot speak Chinese well like Katy still has a Chinese name because that is apart of who she is, even though she may have trouble pronouncing it. There is a sense of loss of identity and culture or feelings of having split identities. Also maybe one or both identities feel incomplete. These individuals are stuck not here or there. Not feeling American but not feeling Chinese either. Which can weigh on a person psychologically. And of course this applies to every other ethnicity not just Chinese.
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Images: RODNAE Productions, Seng Lam Ho, Seng Lam Ho, Seng Lam Ho