New Marvel movie Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings<\/a> includes a wealth of rich characters, from comic-book favourites and rethought villains to classy cameos sure to intrigue audiences the world over.<\/p>\n Still, in many ways it\u2019s the brand new characters the film brings that are the most exciting, with a fresh generation of heroes arriving to kick off the Marvel Cinematic Universe\u2019s Phase Four. Obviously this includes Simu Liu\u2019s titular martial arts master, but we shouldn\u2019t overlook the presence of his best friend Katy Chen (Awkwafina), who also makes her debut in the film. In fact, arguably, Katy\u2019s storyline in Shang-Chi is one of the most relatable to the MCU\u2019s biggest fans, and tells us a lot about a generation of viewers.<\/p>\n From the start, it\u2019s clear that Katy is so much more than just a superhero\u2019s sidekick. Despite her secret skills and snappy one-liners, Katy represents both a regular Asian-American living in San Francisco and a young person searching for a purpose to their life.<\/p> After graduating from Berkeley, Katy lives at home and works as a valet driver with her long-time best friend Shaun (Simu Liu). She doesn\u2019t know what she wants to do with her life, but at the start of the film she\u2019s in no rush to find that out. In any case, there\u2019s less \u201cpressure to grow up\u201d as she shares this experience with Shaun.<\/p>\n This film explores so many important and powerful themes, but a crucial one is identity: the family you\u2019re born into, who you are and who you have the potential to become. Shang-Chi is burdened with living up to the expectations of his father and his mother\u2019s legacy, and knows that one day he\u2019ll have to face that future and his father again. By contrast Katy exists in a state of idle contentment within a stable family, which is shattered when Shaun\/Shang\u2019s past catches up with him.<\/p>\n As a loyal friend Katy travels with Shang-Chi to face his past \u2013 and as he reconnects with his identity, Katy begins to piece together more of her own. In many ways, it\u2019s relatable moment for all 20-somethings: when a friend moves forward with their life, you don\u2019t want to be left behind.<\/p>\n Once Katy enters the mystical Ta Lo and witnesses the villagers training, she says: \u201cI envy you; you know exactly what you want to do and you spend your whole life doing it.\u201d Katy even praises Trevor (Ben Kingsley) for pursuing acting, even though he chose his career after he was erroneously inspired by what he believed to be monkeys acting in The Planet of the Apes. The comical misunderstanding behind his dream doesn\u2019t sway Katy\u2019s authenticity or admiration for him. She craves what Trevor has found, his purpose.<\/p>\n On this quest, Katy is given a chance to try archery as she\u2019s told: \u201cIf you aim at nothing, you hit nothing.\u201d For Katy, this takes the form of literally<\/em> taking up a bow and shooting at a target, something which she has a natural flair for in the film\u2019s final battle. A little convenient as hidden skills go, but for Katy it represents something bigger.<\/p>\n Previously, Katy has tried and given up with whatever she\u2019s attempted, and unlike her superpowered best friend she isn\u2019t good at everything. But the advice Katy is given transcends archery \u2013 in fact, it speaks to all lost 20-somethings navigating the uncertainty of their future. In a time of dwindling attention spans and crippling self-doubt, the ability to focus on one pursuit is extremely difficult, especially when you don\u2019t know if it will work or if it is even what you\u2019re meant to do.<\/p>\n More than ever, young people are so concerned with what they should <\/em>be doing that they might never decide to do anything at all. Without an end goal, life becomes aimless and opens the possibility that you\u2019ll never achieve anything, as you never tried to.<\/p>\n In Shang-Chi, this is dodged with a quick turnaround. Ta Lao opens Katy\u2019s eyes to the possibilities in her future and the post-credits scene suggests that future will be explored in upcoming MCU movies. Interestingly, even without superpowers, Katy is treated as Shang-Chi\u2019s equal and brought into the Avengers\u2019 fold as the film concludes.<\/p>\n Clearly, Katy isn\u2019t without drive or talent \u2013 it just takes a surprising revelation, a near-death experience and a quick trip around the world to find her target to channel that drive.<\/p>\n Katy knows who she is \u2013 she\u2019s confident enough to sing Hotel California in the face of bullies, drive a bus without brakes and fight against a mythical creature without even a full day\u2019s training \u2013 but she only finds her purpose through taking action, rather than waiting for her calling to find her. Like Katy, we don\u2019t all know who we\u2019re destined to be or what we\u2019re destined to do and in some ways that makes her a more relatable character than Shang-Chi.<\/p>\n By the end of the film, it\u2019s comforting that Katy finds her purpose as it gives hope to any other lost almost-adults that it\u2019s possible for them too. Though hopefully we don\u2019t all<\/em> need to dangle off bamboo scaffolding and fight an evil dragon to do it\u2026<\/p>\n Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is in cinemas now. For more, check out our guide to watching the Marvel movies in order<\/a>, check out our dedicated Movies<\/a> page or find something to watch with our TV Guide<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n Katy captures the experience of being a lost 20-something looking for purpose \u2013 even if she does have to fight international ninjas to find it. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":4138,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/09\/how-awkwafinas-katy-became-the-relatable-heroine-of-shang-chi.jpg",1831,1219,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/09\/how-awkwafinas-katy-became-the-relatable-heroine-of-shang-chi-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/09\/how-awkwafinas-katy-became-the-relatable-heroine-of-shang-chi-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/09\/how-awkwafinas-katy-became-the-relatable-heroine-of-shang-chi-768x511.jpg",768,511,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/09\/how-awkwafinas-katy-became-the-relatable-heroine-of-shang-chi-1024x682.jpg",800,533,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/09\/how-awkwafinas-katy-became-the-relatable-heroine-of-shang-chi-1536x1023.jpg",1536,1023,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/09\/how-awkwafinas-katy-became-the-relatable-heroine-of-shang-chi.jpg",1831,1219,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Katy captures the experience of being a lost 20-something looking for purpose \u2013 even if she does have to fight international ninjas to find it.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/4137"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4138"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4137"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4137"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\""Shang-Chi"\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2021\/08\/Shaun-and-Katy-5dbcb36.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"Shaun\\"")
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