"You're just making up sounds" Radical Creative Possibilities Through Translanguaging in Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)

Abstract

In the 2022 film Everything Everywhere All at Once (EEAAO) the protagonist, Evelyn, utilizes language to dismantle Asian stereotypes perpetuated in film. Through her multilingualism and learner variety of English, Evelyn has the power to control and create situations or other universes while establishing herself as the hero of the story. Though Evelyn transforms emotionally and through alternate versions of herself, her language skills remain consistent throughout the film asserting that her multilingualism and learner variety of English is not a hinderance, but a strength that is integral to who she is. This sociolinguistic analysis contributes to conversations on what roles language plays in reinforcing or subverting negative stereotypes in modern film. By deconstructing and subverting stereotypes of Asian characters, multilingualism, and learner varieties of English within film, EEAAO expands on what it means to speak a learner variety, what it means to be Asian American, and what it means to be a hero.