‘The Joy Luck Club’ is Now In the National Film Registry

Did you know the Chinese-based film, The Joy Luck Club, is now a part of The National Film Registry? The National Film Registry is the annual roster of 25 films deemed by the US National Film Selection Boards to be worthy of preservation and “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”

Recently, Hollywood has been making up for their snubs of people who aren’t cis white men, and a total of 16 films added to the registry this year were directed by women or people of color.

If you haven’t seen The Joy Luck Club (1993) yet, it’s about time you do. In stark contrast to the Asian representation seen in 2008’s Crazy Rich Asians, the film represents the intricacies of Chinese immigrant lives.

A series of flashbacks help us explore the past of four Chinese women born in China and their mothers born in feudal China. As with most mother/daughter relationships, things can be difficult, but they go on a journey to navigate their relationships and maybe even mend it.

The Joy Luck Club was only the second Asian-American Hollywood film, released a third of a century after the movie, Flower Drum Song (1961). Crazy Rich Asians was only the third one, released a fourth of a century after The Joy Luck Club.

The Joy Luck Club, based on Amy Tan’s best-selling novel, was also a part of the American Film Institute’s 1998 list of the 400 movies nominated for the Top 100 Greatest American Movies. As recently as 2018, there were talks of a movie sequel, but it hasn’t come to fruition. Here’s hoping!