Shang-Chi, Welcome to the MCU 🤩
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Season 2: Episode 10 Description
In today’s episode: 🍿 It's movie time! We're talking about Marvel's "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings." 🎞️ Hear about why the film is a big moment of representation in film. 🤩 Correspondent Pamela Kirkland gets the scoop on the red carpet premiere with CBC Kids News correspondent Arjun Ram. 🗞️ In the news: Students' speak up and a message in a bottle! 🌊 And test your Marvel knowledge in today's Trivia on the Ten. ✅
Sources for the episode:
https://www.npr.org/2021/09/01/1032875594/shang-chi-review-marvels-1st-asian-superhero
https://ew.com/movies/simu-liu-cover-shang-chi-legend-ten-rings/
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TRANSCRIPT:
Bethany Van Delft 0:04
You may be hearing a lot about Marvel's new movie star. Who is he? And why is this a big moment in the film? Today we'll find out what's up with Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. I'm Bethany Van Delft. It's September 23rd. And this is The Ten News.
Various Voices 0:23
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
Bethany Van Delft 0:31
Fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe or MCU, as we nerds like to call it, are having a great year. There was the epic WandaVision on Disney+, Black Widow got her own movie, and now for the first time, the MCU brings us an Asian-American superhero. The premiere of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings this past weekend was an important moment for Asian representation in film. Sadly, there's been a long history of Asian stereotypes in movies and TV, and Simu Liu, who plays the Chinese-American character of Shang-Chi, has felt the need for greater representation in film, telling Entertainment Weekly, "I've always wanted shatter barriers and expectations of what Asian men are and be very aware of the boxes that we're put into." And he wasn't shy about expressing this publicly. He even tweeted back in 2014, "Hey, Marvel, great job with Captain America and Thor. Now how about an Asian American hero?" Talk about speaking up and making change happen. The new superhero isn't the only one breaking barriers either. The movie is directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, the first Asian-American director of an MCU film. Excellent. And the original comic book of Shang-Chi has gotten a makeover by an all-Asian creative team. Check out a link to some images of the comic book in our show notes. There's so much buzz around Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Are you wondering what it was like to be on the red carpet for the film's premiere? You're in luck. Correspondent Pamela Kirkland caught up with one kid who had a front-row seat to the action.
Pamela Kirkland 2:23
You probably know the names of many Marvel superheroes Spider-Man, Iron Man, Captain America, but Marvel's latest superhero to hit the big screen is one of the lesser-known heroes in that universe. Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings has been dominating the box office since it premiered over Labor Day weekend. Arjun Ram is a contributor to CBC Kids News, a daily news service for kids in Canada. And he caught up with the star in the movie, see Simu Liu on the red carpet. Arjun, thanks so much for joining us on the Ten.
Arjun Ram 2:59
Well, thank you for having me.
Pamela Kirkland 3:01
You talk to Simu Liu on the red carpet at the Canadian premiere. Talk about what that was like?
Arjun Ram 3:09
Oh, it was a great experience for me. It was my first time attending a red carpet. We're not always the first group of reporters to go up and ask a question. We're usually reserved for the final spot. But that always works in our favor. I like to think we ask the best questions. So, when we were waiting behind another reporter. And, when we had the opportunity to go up, we had to utilize our time well, ask as many questions as we could. My producer was in the back encouraging me to keep asking questions. But overall, it was such a great experience for me.
Pamela Kirkland 3:49
Awesome. And I know one thing that you too discussed in your interview was Asian representation on the big screen. So Shang-Chi's, Disney Marvel's first Asian superhero on screen. What did he have to say about expanding diversity when it comes to big blockbuster movies?
Arjun Ram 4:09
Well, the first thing he did was pay homage to Black Panther. The light gray Chadwick Boseman's film and he talked about how that film truly opened up to the inclusion of more diverse roles in the MCU. And then he talked about how it's so great that he could incorporate you know, such as such an interesting culture and in such a big film filled with big stars. And he was just really, really excited to showcase this film for everybody. And then he told me how he was excited for people of all different cultures or religions to see a film that represents a large group.
Pamela Kirkland 4:53
Very cool, and you asked him a bunch of fun questions to your rapid-fire questions. Do you remember who he said was his favorite supervillain?
Arjun Ram 5:02
So, I actually had to help him believe it or not, I had to help a leading actor who's playing a leading role in an MCU film, talk about his favorite villains. He talked about Thanos, of course, everybody talks about Thanos. I think he said, I think maybe you say Dr. Octopus? I think he said Dr. Octopus, and then he was struggling on the last one. And then I recommended Ultron. Ultron, who is the villain in the second Avengers film, and he's one of my favorites. I feel like he's very underrated. And he was like, okay, you know what, we'll go with Ultron there. And I was like, yeah, you shouldn't man, you should you don't know this. I was like, I'm just kidding. But he was, it was great to suggest a Marvel villain for the guy. It was really funny.
Pamela Kirkland 5:49
That's hilarious. And so for Marvel, I mean, it was a pretty big deal, since going to the movies was really not something people were really doing during the Covid-19 pandemic. And you pointed out in your article that the movies did really well, in terms of ticket sales. Do you think that was expected?
Arjun Ram 6:08
Yeah, I think it was, especially for a film of such diversity. I think so many people were going to be attracted to it. And the results spoke for themselves.
Pamela Kirkland 6:21
You also reported that Liu is using the movie as a platform to talk about anti-Asian racism. Which there have sadly been more instances of that happening, especially here in the US. Did you two happen to talk about why he thought that was so important and why he wanted to use it as a platform?
Arjun Ram 6:41
We didn't talk specifically about the Asian hate crimes that have transpired throughout the country throughout the world, especially after the pandemic. But, when he was talking about the film, he believed that this film would open so many people's eyes to their culture. And it would welcome a new audience of fans who maybe didn't know a lot about Marvel, but were attracted to this new hero. And he believed this film was influential. And I think you know like you mentioned, the box office records just speak for themselves in that way.
Pamela Kirkland 7:26
It's a really, really cool movie. You did an awesome interview. And, thank you. Keep up the good work. And thanks so much for joining us.
Arjun Ram 7:36
Thank you for having me.
Bethany Van Delft 7:39
Thank you, Pamela. I cannot wait to see it. Now let's see what else is going on.
Bethany Van Delft 7:58
Students at Central York High School in Pennsylvania protested this week after their all-white school board banned books and other reading materials by authors of color that deal with race and social justice. The ban meant that teachers cannot use these books in their classrooms, and included titles about Rosa Parks and I Am Malala, the biography of activist Malala Yousufzai. The students' protest successfully pressured the school board into reversing the ban. Way to speak up students. Way to go. After orbiting Earth for three days. The four civilians who participated in the inspiration for the tourist’s mission to space are back on solid ground. The passenger splashed down in the waters off the coast of Florida on Saturday aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon after passing safely through the Earth's atmosphere. Inspiration Four made history as the first-ever space crew made up entirely of individuals who are not astronauts. A nine-year-old girl named Abby Graham came across a message in a bottle while walking along a beach in Hawaii. The bottle was released by students at Choshi High School in Japan in 1984 as part of a project to study ocean currents. The note inside the bottle was to ever find it to contact the school so that's exactly what Abby did. Now that's a day at the beach. Up next, it's time for.
Various Voices 9:41
What, what, what's the big idea?
Bethany Van Delft 9:45
Trivia on The Ten. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is the latest release in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But, how many MCU movies are there? Is it a) 40 movies b) 16 movies or c) 24 movies? Did you guess it? The answer is C. With this latest release the MCU now has 24 films that were released in movie theaters. It all started in 2008 with Iron Man and after a brief pause during the pandemic, Marvel Studios are making like Spider-Man and getting back in the swing of things. What's your favorite Marvel movie? Or are you more of a comic book reader? Send us a note at hello@thetennews.com and let us know. I'll tell you one of my favorites is Thor: Ragnarok. I love the squabbling Hulk/Thor combination.
Bethany Van Delft 10:59
Time is up. That's the end of The Ten for today. But before we go, here's a quick note for the grownups. Thanks for listening to The Ten News. Look out for our new episodes on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and extras on Saturdays. You can go deeper into today's stories by visiting thetennews.com. The Ten News is a co-production of Small But Mighty Media and Next Chapter Podcasts and is distributed by iHeart Radio. The Ten News creative team is collecting comics and includes Tracey Crooks, Pete Musto, Andrew Hall, and Nathalie Alonso. Terry Peters contributed to this episode. Our production director is Jeremiah Tittle and our executive producers are Donald Albright and show creator Tracy Leeds Kaplan. I'm Bethany Van Delft, and thanks for listening to The Ten News. I'm gonna go watch Shang-Chi now and then I will probably start from scratch the MCU. Starting with movie number one and go in chronological order. Nerd alert!
