Everything Everywhere All At Once: an autoethnography of a “typical” Asian

As an Asian moviegoer with no expertise in art, the 2022 film Everything Everywhere All At Once resonated with me and prompted me to reflect on my identity. This unconventional film explores the life of an Asian-American family, touching on East-meets-West philosophies (Huynh 2022). It made me consider the influence of media on real life, particularly about my media consumption.

A friend recommended that I try Everything Everywhere All At Once, a sci-fi adventure film that I would not usually choose to watch. Little did I know that this movie would leave such a deep impression on me. In the film, Michelle Yeoh plays Evelyn Quan Wang, a Chinese-American who navigates through parallel universes to save the world from cosmic peril. The film’s portrayal of the journey across different realities, where everyday struggles are juxtaposed with fantastical scenarios, sparked many thoughts and a deeper connection to my Asian heritage. This connection exceeded what I had anticipated.

Everything Everywhere All At Once | Official Trailer | A24

Everything Everywhere All At Once captured my attention with its well-developed characters and intricate relationships that reflect my Asian identity (Krishnamoorthy et al. 2023). The movie explores the generational trauma between a close-minded mother, Evelyn, and her depressed daughter, Joy. This heart-wrenching tension resonated with my countless conversations with parents about important life decisions.

The film also unpacks life’s complexities through the concept of verse-jumping, a metaphor for the what-ifs in life. Evelyn’s encounters with her alternate selves, including a martial artist and a movie star, emphasize the film’s meditation on choice and destiny. The line, ‘I saw my life without you. I wish you could have seen it. It was… beautiful,’ accentuates the film’s central theme. It reminds us of the possible life trajectories that we may have taken and encourages introspection when facing significant decisions, such as my move from Vietnam to Australia. The movie’s concept of a surreal multiverse piques our inherent curiosity about different life paths, fate and will.

Everything Everywhere All At Once combines a captivating storyline with breathtaking visuals, showcasing the contrast between two worlds. Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, the movie directors, go beyond traditional storytelling to create a stunning collage of universes that challenge the mundane (Flux 2022). From Evelyn’s monotonous daily life to the vibrant and otherworldly landscapes of alternate realities, the movie enhances cinematic artistry (Reklis 2022).

One of the film’s most exciting scenes features an alternate reality in which human genetics evolved bizarrely to hot dog fingers, revealing the essence of life – love. This absurdity and the characters’ acceptance enlightened viewers about meaningful lessons in our life. The most potent universe is a lifeless planet where the main characters, represented as rocks with googly eyes, communicate in silence. This simple yet surprisingly effective approach cuts through the heart of their relationship struggles in communication.

The movie reaffirms the idea that cinema can both amuse and encourage profound personal contemplation. As I continue to engage with the film and its themes about generational trauma, the regret burden and the meaning of life, I discover profound revelations about my Asian cultural background (Lee 2023). The film’s unique and eclectic choices in set design and cinematography provide a visual feast, enhancing the Asian-American experiences with a surreal twist (Scott 2022). This creative presentation makes the film’s core themes visually mesmerizing and emotionally influential.

My fandom experience with Everything Everywhere All At Once has been filled with excitement, curiosity, and personal connection. By joining online forums, I have explored the film’s artistry with hidden Easter eggs, engaged with fans, and analyzed its nuances (Jenkins 2017). These discussions have broadened my perspectives and challenged me to think critically about the film’s storytelling.

Furthermore, watching YouTube interviews with the cast deepened my appreciation for the film’s creation. Rewatching the film multiple times has offered me new insights – from my initial exposure to the characters to catching subtle details I initially missed, developing a deeper emotional connection. The film’s sweep of the 2023 Oscar Awards, especially Michelle Yeoh’s win for Best Actress, felt like a triumph. It symbolized a second chance for Asian artists in Hollywood and served as an inspiration for women everywhere.

As an Asian woman, I deeply related to the daughter in Everything Everywhere All At Once. The film profoundly explored intersectionality and resonated with me on various levels, including my gender, age, socioeconomic status, and cultural background. The film’s metaverse concept is a powerful metaphor for the overwhelming nature of the digital age, where we are inundated with endless information and alternate realities, like the protagonist Evelyn. Through the portrayal of whiplash and contradictions experienced by Evelyn, the film conveys human struggles and the quest to remain rooted in our cultural identity amidst the chaos of the digital world.

The movie also examines the mother-daughter relationship, highlighting the challenges of empathy, understanding, and communication across generational divides. As an Asian viewer, Evelyn’s conflicts with her family, particularly the heartfelt dialogue with her daughter, evokes my thoughts. “You can go anywhere to become anything that you want. Why are you still staying here with me?” – “Because I love you.” This interaction illuminates the often-unseen efforts of our parents to connect with us despite their limitations and our shared cultural gaps.

The film also features Evelyn’s dynamic with her husband, Waymond, revealing a secret power in overcoming life hardships. Initially, Evelyn perceives her husband as someone who has never supported her, but as the story unfolds, she discovers his own way to fight. Waymond has disguised the fact that kindness is the strongest superpower against the chaos we may encounter in life. “When I choose to see the good side of things, I am not being naïve. It is strategic and necessary. It is how I have learned to survive through everything.” It is not about nihilism, but absurdism (Goldman 2023). When nothing matters, the essence of life lies in how we treat each other, or in another words, at our heart and mind.

I found Everything Everywhere All at Once to be an intense reflection on intersectionality and the Asian-American experience. It invites viewers to challenge their preconceived notions about the Asian community and their place within it. Through its narrative and character development, imbued with an Asian perspective, the film advocates for a reassessment of our cultural beliefs and the power of our choices in shaping our lives.