• All the events that took place in this movie can maybe be traced back  to the stress that these young Asian Americans are under. Each of them seems keenly aware that  as minorities they must be outstanding in all fields just to fit in among regular Americans; they must become model minorities just to achieve normalcy. Steve Choe alludes to the fact that he has reached the pinnacle of that model minority status and is now being driven mad by having nothing left to reach for in life. These and other elements combine to cause these kids who seemingly have no reason to act out, to become criminals.
  • The lack of opportunity despite achievement, (Ben Manibag is a high-achieving student who still works a dead-end fast food job) has maybe caused the teens to have internalized hopelessness so that they have to rebel in order to feel anything. Having to put in super human effort on their grades has most likely kept them from developing deeper relationships with other kids their age until they get into the petty crime; having something to belong to that’s bigger than themselves is probably the best thing they’ve felt up until that point.
  • This is a high school movie just like “The Breakfast Club” except for it spotlights a normally invisible but present clique: American kids with Asian heritage who have to deal with their sometimes conflicting cultures and who completely  identify as American despite not always being seen or accepted as such.  “The Breakfast Club” was famous for showcasing and accepting all the typical high school archetypes, how different would that film be if it had also highlighted the racial minorities as well as the social ones?