Female Empowerment and Real Life Takeaways from Bling Empire
As a fervent viewer of reality TV and second-generation Chinese American, I was glad to see faces that resembled mine on Netflix’s big screen. I have seen my share of reality TV due to COVID-19 and this one was strangely relatable even though the leads’ lifestyles are lavish and incredibly over the top. Rather than the pettiness being a prevalent theme and as the sole appeal of the show, the pettiness was sprinkled throughout the series; I would say the pettiness peaked mostly in the first episode with Anna making name-tag switches last minute as a snub to Christine. What kept me watching was the plot buildup and storylines of the characters based on their own personal “hero’s journey”. I was pleasantly surprised as the show honed in on each character’s journey and development. In turn, the leads are humanized by how they confront their personal demons and struggles throughout the show.
Bling Empire is a show portraying real and raw issues with an opulent backdrop with Kevin as the “Nick Carraway” with the inside scoop and insight on the lives of his super-rich Asian friend circle. The themes of family, relationships, and friendships create a strong thread that weaves the stories of the wealthy socialites of the very rich Asians in LA and the importance of human connection and on confronting the core issues that they face head-on.
The female characters with their unique storylines and personalities add to the depth and the vulnerability of the show. The viewer can see the characters issues with romance, marriage, family expectations reflected in their own lives.
The female leads are great representations of female empowerment. They tastefully tiptoe and question the cultural and societal expectations in their own specific spin as they navigate life and come their own conclusions and create their own life values and philosophies. We see their evolutions as the show progresses.
Kelly Mi Li-We are first introduced to her as she regales the story of her first marriage to her husband who was arrested for running a large scale million-dollar cyber scam. The government took everything from them and their assets were frozen. Her story mirrors that of the family’s downfall in Schitt’s Creek; instead of being banished to a rural town, she loses the financial benefits from her first husband and dates only for love now. We see her rebuilding her life now as an entrepreneur. She states her desire to build her own business for herself, “I want to feel me again” and “I want to take my power back.” Additionally, she has taken the reigns on her love life as well as her professional life. She states that she wants to date for love which is a stark contrast to her first marriage. In her current relationship, the roles are reversed as now she is the strong businesswoman who brings home the bag.
Anna Shay-We meet Anna armed with a sledgehammer doing demolition against her closet drywall. Per Kane, her family wealth is built on weapons-not people you want to cross. She briefs the viewers on her thoughts of what she lives for now. Per Anna, she spent the last ten years to slow down on having fun and spend time with her son and family. She states that after that period, “Then I realized it was time for me to do thing for myself again.” After those years focused on her family, she pivoted her priorities from family to reclaiming her individualism through pursuing her interests. To the viewer, she advises, “You have to live for you”. For her that meant going back to lavish parties and personal fashion shopping trips she had a pure interest or found enjoyment from.
Christine Chiu-We meet Christine at the Chiu residence getting her makeup done whilst organizing a Chinese New Year party. According to her, her husband is a 24th generation direct descent of Song dynasty. She tells the viewer that in Chinese culture as a woman, your sole responsibility is to bear a son who would be the heir of the family. For eleven years, she was in the “doghouse” as she describes it as her in laws would not accept her into their family until Baby G, their miracle child was born. She bears the brunt of the shame of conception and infertility issues and alludes to her husbands’ inability as the main cause. In a patriarchal society, to appease her in laws, she bore the shame and took the fall for not being able to conceive, to preserve her husband’s dignity. Later, we see Christine advocating for her own health and wishes not to have any more children. She probes her husband pointedly why he was so adamant on having more children and he did not have a clear answer. She remains firm in her decision as she recognizes the PTSD she suffered after more than a decade of bullying, physical, and mental exhaustion from her in-laws. She has a mature conversation with her husband that shows her boundaries of what she will and will not allow in terms of family planning.
Kim Lee and her mom-We meet Kim near the pool of a mansion planning her Instagram photo shoots. Kim Lee is a well-known DJ in Asia and as Kane describes, “Asia’s Calvin Harris.” In a predominantly male industry, she commands the attention of as many as 50,000 attendants in her concerts and is famous in all of Southeast Asia. Kim Lee is an empowered woman who focuses on her career and we also see her mom’s support as partially responsible for her career success. We see her mom saunters around the poolside in her mink coat while showing her daughter how to pose for her Instagram photos. Kim’s mom is her rock and emotional support and her mantra is, “Work hard. Be independent. Don’t worry about any man. What’s really important is you”. Her mom is young at heart and progressive, advising her daughter to focus on herself and allowing love to come naturally.
We further see Kim’s growth as she is inspired to reach out to her estranged father after hearing about Kevin personal account on looking for his birth parents. She is empowered when hiring a private investigator to search for her father whom she has not spoken to in years, instead of wishing he would be the first to reach out. She took the initiative to rekindle that broken relationship and mend the connection.
As the viewers, we are given a glimpse into these socialites’ lives and can see some of the same struggles they face as women in our own lives. They are definitely not perfect but make courageous strides in shaping their relationships and fostering their professional careers. Taking that first step in confronting the challenges and advocating for what they want, we see them as great examples of female empowerment.
