Why Are Kung Fu Movies So Patriotic | Video Essay
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- Опубліковано 21 вер 2024
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Accented Cinema - Episode 88
When we think of kung fu movies, we often think of patriotic national heroes punching Japanese invaders in WWII. However, that wasn't always the case.
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That's nice, I hope you have a great trip. Can you ever do a video about how break dancing was inspired by Kung Fu films.
Oh also the scene in 5:02 is from Five Fingers of Death not Way of the Dragon lol.
have save trip, hope you have great time.
enjoy your trip! love your work
very interesting parallels possible with Chinese Historiography.
Bruce Lee also influenced patriotism from the lens of a Chinese immigrant because of the racism he experienced here in America. I was just reminded of that from watching Warrior, which is based on his writings. It's a story and an issue that is relatable to more than just Chinese people, which might be why he was such a huge success internationally. It might also explain why he became so popular in the black community in America as well.
Yes thats so on point.Being a black man living in America and the years black people(years ago and still today)are still dealing with racism in one shape or another,Bruce Lee was or still is a person that we highly admired and respected for what he accomplished in his short time here as well as standing up to those who looked down upon the race that he represented because of the racism and humiliation which was experienced thru out the years.The scene in Fist Of Fury when his character shattered the sign that said "NO CHINESE OR DOGS ALLOWED" going into the park,gave black people a sense of pride because America, in the 1960's and earlier times,similar signs were put up in places where blacks were not allowed to venture or sit in.So any minority that dealt with racism and ignorance,seeing Bruce lee ina film like Fist Of Fury doing what he did,made us proud and cheer for our particular reasons.
That's why I liked the 4th ip man. I didn't go into thinking or knowing what it was about. But it felt so relatable. I saw it in a theater, subs only. And I was like the only non Asian there. But I felt a connection with that one.
I also think it covered new ground as an immigrant instead of invaders ect.
Bruce Lee was also discriminated by Chinese people because his mother was from Europe.
@@iche9373 I think it was his grandmother and she was English
@@Koroschiya Yea, it could be.
Of course it was because of Bruce Lee! Just as he has influenced the tournament trope, clones in Fighting games, and diversity in cinema, he also influenced Patriotism in kung fu films. A one of a kind man.
Bruce Lee's tournament thing even affect things that are not movies. See how Japanese Shounen Manga/anime always have tournament if it involves fighting in any shape of form?
It's interesting becsuse he was half Chinese half American
An immortal dragon
@@slax4884 his mother was half Chinese half English. His dad was Chinese. Bruce Lee was not half Chinese and half American. He was born in the US, so he was 100% American from Chinese parents.
@@bngr_bngr His mom was half Chinese half German
I'm convinced Bruce Lee's yells sent people to the afterlife. The punches just kept them there.
9:34 "Oh, and Thailand too"
Don't forget Indonesia. 'The Raid' movies and Timo Tjahjanto are doing some serious work. Although they really aren't 'patriotic', given their themes of crime and corruption
Timo is an Indonesian name too? Nifty. It's my dad's first name as well. lol
Ok, I'm going to get a bit nerdy about martial arts here. But I always found it funny, that chinese martial artists fight karate practisioners. Because karate has roots in chinese martial arts, hell it's even funnier seeing wing chun vs karate in Ip man because they have a common ancestor martial arts. It's like if you fought your distant cousin, for the honor of you family
But these kung fu vs. karate matchups are usually really about whose culture, and even race, is superior - that's why they tend to focus on, and talk about, which "system" is superior instead of ever just admitting that the strength/skill of individual practitioners really has anything to do with the outcome. The individual fighter only matters to the degree that they are "pure" exponents of the system in question - no one ever considers, much less worries about, the fact that one fighter might just be better or have more experience... because, if the individual fighters actually matter to who wins, then it can't really prove anything about whose "system", and culture, is "better".
It's also kinda interesting because Karate also descends from the martial traditions of the Ryukyu people, a related but distinct culture from the Japanese who themselves were conquered and colonized by Japan.
@@viktorberzinsky4781 - it's a good point; karate, unlike jujitsu, isn't really "native" to Japan, yet it's the system that's overcome in these movies to show the superiority of kung fu and Chinese culture.
Well it's a bit like Japanese always know they have Chinese ancestry since ancient time (also confirmed by modern science and genetic study, over 70% of Japanese have Chinese ancestry), but they still chose to invade and attack China and treat Chinese like s*bhumans back in WW2.
The Japanese call their written language Kanji, Han Writing.
I think "Patrotic movies" always existed in every country and culture but it depends what genre it is. For example in US, their usual "Patrotic" movies tend to focus on War movies.. especially on WW2 period.
Personally, my favorite "Patrotic kung fu" movie actors are movies with Sammo Hung in the 1980's, like Millionaire Express and Eastern Condors. But the best "Patrotic movie" for me? Probably Jet Li "Once upon a time in China" the very first movie and his breakthru movie where Jet Li modernized Wong Fei Hung.
I still think the death of Hong Kong cinema could be due to Wong Jing producing alot of sleazy crap movies in the mid to late 90's
Even on the wars that they lost, they still try to make it heroic, like anything regarding the Vietnam war.
@@Kaimax61 well.. in Vietnam or in recent war like Afghanistan. US won every single battle they encounter (due to unfair firepower and technology difference for obvious reason)... BUT... they lost the war. As a former Vietnam colonel mentioned to a former US colonel that they beat the Vietnamese every single time but the Viet guy told him "Yes, but it is irrelevant nowadays"
When I think of a American patriotic movies I think of wolf on wall street, the big short and war dogs =p
@@Kaimax61 The only country that avoid making war movie featuring them heroic is the german, and that's after an intense process of deconstructing their national identity everbody was forced to go through post ww2 and still under intense international scrutiny today. Though they recently made barbarian, yeah, it's ancient rome and about the german tribes, not "proper german" per se, but the way they frame the war is still heroic in nature.
The soviet did come and see, but most others carry the same heroic narrative.
However, Americans did make movies about war they won that isnt heroic: thin red line, letters from iwo jima, generation kill...
@@Kaimax61 also There are Vietnam war movies that definitely arent heroic: full metal jacket, apocalypse now, Deer Hunter, Casualties of war
If you see these movies and feel you need to sign up for the us army. That's unfortunately on you. People be like watching Black Panther, a movie where the whole arc is anti isolationism and their takeaway was: wakanda is advanced because it was an ethnostate.
I'm not chinese, but i'm brazilian, so you can take a guess at how i feel about colonialism. Seeing Bruce kick the shit out of colonizers is really cathartic, it's awesome. Great video!
Apparently there's a recent Indian movie called rrr where indian liberation guys bomb the shit out of British colonizers in hilarious ways.
I would not have imagined colonialism to be a big animating issue for Brazilians at all. You have not been a colony for (exactly) two centuries.
@@salvadorromero9712 Doesn't really matter how long a country has been a colony. As long as the aftereffects and proofs of colonial brutality can still be presently felt, nothing short of reparations can make up for it. The colonial powers made their wealth off the sweat, blood and lives of their colonies.
Us Native Americans also love the fuck out of Bruce Lee.
Isn't colonisation part of your identity though? Like, it's in your name? I'm not going to say you shouldn't be pissed off about it. After all, it was a brutal invasion on almost every level imaginable.... but we're talking the year 1500. Genuinely curious. As a British guy I struggle to find too much to be angry at the Vikings for ...apologies for the comparison but it's all I could reach for.
One interesting film I think you may like is "Fighter in the Wind" it is a biopic (though like IP MAN, it takes a lot of liberties) about Mas Oyama the founder of Kyokushin Karate. It is a South Korean film. And if you are wondering why South Korea would make a film about a Karate Master it is because Mas Oyama was ethnicity Korean.
The subs are greatly appreciated, its shows care and attention in your work
Recognizing that period pieces are not about the "period" but actually the feelings of the audience watching them is the essence of learning from film.
I took a History course that was centered around watching films made in different decades and countries about the same historical moment. The aim was to learn how across one country's generations the same events were viewed differently. Then we compared it with the neighboring countries' films.
It's curious that the nationalistic Hong Kong film was replaced with a buddy cop style, considering how the people of Hong Kong view their police today.
Only the separatists view the HK Police in negative light.
@@peekaboopeekaboo1165 Good to see this comment.
(bruce lee punches someone straight into the after life) gotta love this CC/AD. Perfectly accurate
"Kiss of the Dragon" released in 2001, and staring Jet Li, kind of follows the Fist of Fury clichés, as Jet Li fights his way through France, and even a dojo fight, paying homage to Fist of Fury and Bruce Lee.
Jin Yong's novels are mostly about patriotism though. His first book is about the leader of a secret society planning to overthrow the Manchu government, then Condor heroes trilogy is about protecting Song dynasty against Mongolia and Jurchen, while the Heavenly Sword and Dragon Saber is about overthrowing the Mongol government. Even his last book is about an official protecting the Manchu government from the remnant of the corrupt Ming dynasty. If anything, patriotism in Wuxia genre came from him.
If you look at his years of birth you can see that he have seen the atrocities that happen during that time he is born from the 1920s so he might have seen the atrocities of ww2 and felt the need to tell patriotic theme in his story. I mean we write what we know and what we experience after all.
He also often depicts Tibetan monks as evil heretics lol
@@nguyenvietanh2152 remind me of zhimoji from the demigod semi devils, jin lun fa wang from the return of condor heroes so yeah.... That was two as far as I know free to tell me when there is more these two are pretty much Buddhist monks
Not exactly, Jin Yong's novels are mostly "historical drama" basing on character developments rather than promoting nationalism, the historical setting are more or less the background setting rather than the main theme.
For example, in "Demigods and Semi-Devils" the main protagonist is constantly torn between his real identity and loyalty to his friends, and his quest ended by his sacrifice so he can preserve everything he cherished; the main protagonist of "The Heaven Sword and the Dragon Sabre" is basically a protagonist in a modern light novel, but even he helped overthrowing Yuan dynasty, he still ended up being betrayed and choose to exile himself.
Hell, that from "The Deer and the Cauldron" is basically a jerkass who just want to bang girls that joined the main fray only because he caught up with the Qing court.
@@nguyenvietanh2152 Tibetan monks were practicing exotic arts, but not really all of the are evil. One of the running theme is always like that of Spiderman, when you have the power you should be careful when choosing your path, it's you and yourself who choose to be evil.
Bruce Lee promoted more "real", more impactful martial art films, so people would obviously try to take on the theme of nationalism, trying to follow the leader. And with Mainland fell into chaos during the Cultural Revolution and Taiwan's "White Terror" since 1960s, martial art films with a more "historical" setting (be it patriotic or not) may have a better resonance to the general Chinese public for reminding who they were.
However, the decline of kungfu films in 1990s was also due to the massive number of films in the market (but not every of them were good), saturating the market with mediocre films will eventually result in audiences' fatigue. Just like what happened in Hong Kong film history in 2000s, when people produced lots of love-themed films resulting in people not watching them altogether when there're enough bad films in the market.
And we don't really need patriotic kungfu films anymore, the Mainland simply use high-budget films to promote nationalism now.
Regardless of how people may feel about it, I still think Ip man 4 did a good job at bringing closure to Donnie Yen's on-screen portrayal(Getting to see Danny Chan's Bruce Lee is always great as well). The funeral scene at the end actually had me shedding my first tear in a long while.
The impact of seeing a Chinese student fiercely and methodically dismantle an entire dojo of karate students cannot be overstated. The sheer empowerment one feels when seeing an indigenous person take the fight to their oppressors... I mean, I'm not Chinese, but even as a kid I understood the message of watching that Bruce Lee fight for his people.
Nice essay of the patriotism in Kung fu films. In the 90s i remember making a comparison between them and blaxploitation films that wanted to resonate "Pride" or "Spirit" of a people. I think i remember some US film makers taking note from the Chinese cinema and incorporating Martial arts into films fueled by the Black Power movement of the time.
The intersection of entertainment media and cultural/political history is fascinating, to say the least.
I think one additional factor to consider in terms of Lee’s influence is that he was trying hard to promote Chinese martial arts as an alternative to Japanese styles in the real world, and broadly believed karate was inferior to kung fu. Given that, his use of karate fighters as opponents makes a lot of sense - he wanted to portray the style as weaker than what he was using. It wasn’t just about nationalism for its own sake. Sometimes, the nationalism was in service of Lee’s goals as a salesman.
I mean, the Chinese and the japanese aren't in a cosy relationship either, also, he didn't open a dojo chain or anything
I don't think so. As I remember in Way of the Dragon. The Japanese restaurant workers were practicing Karate in their spare time.
He tells the owner, "Why don't you practice with them?"
The owner said, "That's Japanese Karate, I want to learn Chinese Kung Fu."
Bruce said, "If it can help you in a fight, it doesn't matter where it comes from."
@@angsern8455 erm lots of red flags but too long to correct you..... Bruce did open dojos.... cant remember if he opened enough to call them a chain? but i think there is a quote saying that he couldve gotten rich and wealthy sitting on his arse just opening franchises teaching jkd..... and teaching the rich and famous.... but he didnt do that.... he did the opposite he closed them all down.....
his thinking was he was still on the journey discovering his way his tao..... his way his tao is not your way your tao hence he wasnt ready to give you his way his tao as the only way only tao! XDDDDD
the Chinese Japanese Korean dynamic is historical...... its not like current China hates Japan..... Japan and Japanese know why they should not expect open arms from either the Chinese or Koreans..... China doesnt currently hate anyone including the west! BUT China knows and remembers! Heck the West are still pulling off their colonial BS right now!!! Along with the Japanese!!!! And still not a shot or antagonistic thing fired..... But im sure more Pelosi clown BS will change that
its like saying the americans are friends with the russians..... there was a time when russia was declining that the US saw russia as "oh silly you! ruffles hair*" funny that aint it..... the same way the americans saw china as the hardworking slave worker in the background! but is all of a sudden a threat because the suddenly the foreign slave worker is proud and strong and can speak better english and dance and move and think better!?
Saying that the US also did the same to the japanese during the 80s when japan was king of the tech hill! The West and the US in particular demonised the japanese! and the japanese car industry!
theres a mistrust with the countries because most of the colonial countries are still carrying out their BS!!! in front of your very eyes but spinning it!!!
@@quach8quach907 lol it was a chinese restaurant with chinese workers practicing karate.....
also this might offend karate purists..... karate is an offshoot of chinese kung fu.... look it up..... karate is just a small ummmm segment? im trying to find the words.... anyway its in chinese martial arts documentaries and the japanese martial artist and karate elders also acknowledge this Karate came from the Chinese Crane style.... theres a japanese martial arts channel kuro obi world or something....
karate being an offshoot of chinese ma means it is not the complete package..... hence where "considered inferior" comes from and being a martial artist i understand..... like taekwondo is only leg focussed
obviously im not stating karate is in the right hands inferior! the best chnese kung fu is crap in the wrong hands..... it is what it is karate came from the crane style kung fu and there is several animal styles and techniques that obviously didnt follow over hence.......
again its documented by the chinese marts lovers as well japanese karate experts with japanese master visiting chinese master etc etc or the originator had a chinese name i cant remember... its in kuro obi world or no its in a chinese journey or martial arts doc.....
to put it in perspective the chinese say ALL Martial Arts originate from China or was born but we know the seed of it came from yoga and buddhism etc from india but nobody practices or has heard of indian martial arts also capoeira was somehow invented outside of chinese martial arts..... and to complicate things other asian styles ALSO EXIST within Tai Chi!
talk to a learned Tai Chi master and he will show you Thai Kick boxing and other asian techniques buried within Tai Chi....... this is ALL out in the open.... people just dont talk about it.... Chinese know it and accept it.... others obviously dont shout from the roof tops and accept it lol
It might not have been as influential in this regard as Bruce Lee's films, but I think Jin Yong's Condor Heroes trilogy definitely had strong themes of patriotism with the struggle against the Jurchen Jin and Mongol Yuan dynasties. However, the most popular version of the drama didn't come out until the 80s, so it's safe to say Bruce Lee set the tone in cinema for the next few decades.
But they existed as books before the film.. I see the theme quite often in wuxia which I think came to influence most kungfu movies.
@@reagancapwell685 Oh yeah, I know the books predate the adaptations by a couple decades. I was just talking about their impact on cinema/television (in keeping with the video's theme), which didn't pick up until after Bruce Lee's films came out. It's actually kind of wild how there was only 1 Condor Heroes adaptation prior to the mid-70s, despite the popularity of the series and wuxia films in general.
You really made learning history excellently interesting.
I appreciate your works mister!
10:17 I would have to disagree a thousand times. There is a reason why the most popular scene in IP man one was when he challenged 10 of them. The rage and angst of the Chinese people against Japanese people won't go away so easily.
Not when it’s fostered as part of the national character.
@@pumpkinhill4570 Not when Japan still pay respect to war criminals in Yasukuni shrine.
@@peekaboopeekaboo1165 No one pays respects to war criminals at Yasukuni. It's like Arlington, it represents the millions of people who died for Japan. Hell, America honors war criminals way more than Japan ever will. But if you think China wouldn't foster hate against Japan if Yasukuni didn't exist, I'd like to sell you the Brooklyn Bridge.
@@pumpkinhill4570 War criminals are enshrined in Yasukuni...
i definitely feel like i am getting old...I know i cannot expect trends to be in line with the type of movies I like. I find myself starved for good kung-fu movies. I wish there were more, but as I said, it is not what is really popular, and I can't expect to be served the entertainment I always like. I will have to be patient for a time when high end martial arts choreography becomes mainstream appealing.
I feel like there are still good martial arts films, but most of them aren't made in Hong Kong anymore. A lot of them now come from places like Taiwan, South Korea, Thailand, or even the U.S.A. I'd love to see Hong Kong film make a comeback on the world stage, even if it's a different sort of cinema.
The Villainess was amazing if you haven't seen it. And the Raid movies
Recently, the film "Everything everywhere all at once" had some awesome old school kung-fu scenes. Definitely check it out.
@@ginnylin YES! ❤️ watched it, LOVED it to death. I think it is fav movie in the last 5 years... Maybe 10
@@LLee-oe8nz I recommend reading the book "These Fists Break Bricks," if you can find yourself a copy. It's a recounting of martial arts cinema coming to the USA, during the 1970s and '80s. The passages about Angela Mao, Bruce Lee, and Jimmy Wang-Yu had me riveted. I literally cried when I read his description of Bruce's funeral. Grady Hendrix is a marvelous author, and it's a wonderful book.
I love this series/channel since I grew up watching a lot of kung fu movies. Thanks for igniting my nostalgia.
Your view on history through film being as people saw it reminds me of that quote :" Artists tell the truth through lies"
hi there! :) i didn't expect to have so many personal connections with this video essay bc my knowledge of kung fu movies is limited to what my dad has watched with me and some other analyses from ur channel, but wowwww when u introduced the topic it really did pique my interest!!
i read a lot of xianxia/xuanhuan serialized web novels so i am somewhat familiar with the genre that kung fu movies originated from (wuxia) bc i think these genres have very similar elements, in particular the themes you mentioned (love/hate, cultivation philosophies, etc.) and i noticed that yeah you're absolutely right these novels have no patriotic tinges at all (at least not overtly that are noticeable to someone like me) so i really wanted to see if i could apply ur analysis to movies to these novels bc i think novels also had a phase of patriotism, this can be seen in e-sports novels that emphasize fighting for national glory and beating the world in the championships, so how did we get back to these older themes as the web novels i read are all from 2010s-onward??? and honestly i totally agree that the reason why is that people's taste has shifted!!
i think a certain mindset created the patriotism phase in both kung fu movies and webnovels, chinese writers and audiences had totally lost confidence in the merits of chinese culture, particularly philosophy such as daoism that is so often referenced in wuxia/xuanhuan/xianxia genres (perhaps as a result of forced cultural modernization?? idk i'm slightly ignorant in chinese history i apologize) and was always looking at themselves, their culture, their heroes, their history from an outsider's perspective self-consciously as though they had something to prove, if the story made them look good to an outsider then it was good, but now i feel that this sort of self-conscious method of writing has largely faded as writers and audiences return to traditional sources of inspiration (cultivation, stories about love and hate, etc.) partially bc their audience has shifted from international/domestic split to entirely domestic bc china's media is increasingly cut off from the rest of the world (so writers don't have to worry about other countries not understanding chinese-specific history or traditions), as well as bc china has ascended to global power level status since the 80s and 90s, which has sparked a new wave of national pride that manifests not in vanquishing themselves against enemies that they have already vanquished or redeeming a past that is already redeemed, but from the nostalgia of the pre-colonial glorious past that people feel that they are on the verge of returning to bc this reinforces the idea that china's default state/destiny is glory, i think this becomes particularly more clear when u realize that the demographic that these novels are written by and for is for people in their 20s and younger, who are the ones spearheading the hanfu movement and loving and glorifying the pre-colonial past
so tldr i agree that people's taste has shifted but the only point that i disagree with is that their taste is no less patriotic than before, it's just that chinese audiences and writers no longer care about proving themselves to the west (japan is included for the purposes of this comment lol) or writing stories about beating the west bc china's rise and successful escape from the poverty trap has proven enough and has reinstilled chinese audiences and writers with confidence and pride in their culture and history, however this is from my own analysis of serialized web novels written for 20-somethings so generalizing the popular mood and tastes of an entire country from just that is obviously flawed
i was just very excited to be able to make a connection between a hobby i love and your content as i really enjoy and look up to your insights, so i wanted to share the thoughts that were running through my head :))) thanks for another thought-provoking essay!!!
edit: originally i used the word "nationalistic" where i now use "patriotic" bc i forgot what word u used in the title, i don't mean anything different even though their dictionary definitions are different, and "nationalistic" tends to have a negative connotation, i just meant "patriotic" in the same way that i thought u meant it, media that tries to express/instill love or favor for one's country :)
Kung fu is great legacy of Buddhism, as an Indian it make me happy even if the Buddhism get destroyed in India, it's legacy is safe in China
For a time, that was what connected China to India
It's on shaky ground in China. Nothing can be greater than the CCP or it will be destroyed.
@@professorm4171 it is connected with the greater Chinese culture and the government is leaning hard on culture again though you are right
Sorry I’m not very knowledgeable with religions. What happened to Buddhism in India?
@@user-ty2fm3ge9m it's destroyed the same way Christianity destroyed in Turkey Or Islam destroyed in Spain
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The Once Upon a Time in China series has a lot of patriotic sentiments especially with the setting being the waning years of the Qing Dynasty where the Western powers are tearing China apart like a pie and the Chinese people are either willing to embrace Western culture or defy it!
I find it funny how this as far as I know have at least five movies and one of them include wong fei hung going to the wild west which felt ridiculous just by saying that but I do agree the movies have this type of theme pretty much in the entire series but my most concern was how the heck does wong fei hung doesn't seems to age a bit I mean from the timeline itself he might going to get a few weinkles and all that
@@fraderiktan1505 I remember that during Jet Li’s stint as Wong Fei Hung, he fought a bunch of deranged cultists, especially their leader who had an iron vest concealed in his clothes, he fought in a brutal Lion Dance competition, he dressed up like a rooster and beat up a giant centipede as well as going on full Drunken Master Mode on his enemy and of course, his showdown with Donnie Yen where they fought first with bamboo sticks and Donnie just laid the smackdown on him with a cloth before whacking him with a splinter.
As far as aging goes, Wong Fei Hung didn’t get to age and he remains youthful and Vincent Zhao got to replace Jet Li in the fourth and fifth Once Upon a Time in China movies and he happened to be younger than Jet Li.
I love videos that explain why a movie was relevant for a certain era. I learned more history which made the movies even more interesting to me. 👍
In My Country (Indonesia) there's something i called Sinema Pendekar (Swordman Cinema). It was popular in 70 to early 90s.
I classified that cinema into three:
Ancient Swordman: a knight that was tasked by his king to do a quest and followed a way of dharma.
Islamic Swordman: a Santri (Religion student) who followed the way of islam by fighting againts the practitioner of Dark Magic
Colonial era Swordman: robin hood-like vigilante who fought againts injustice that was enforced by Colonial goverment
Indeed. Martial arts movies are not exclusively Chinese. It's true Hong Kong's are the most famous but not unique. You can find and enjoy wonderful films from all of Asia... And eventually through America and Europe.
The quality of your work and depth of the topic you delve into keep getting better. Amazing stuff, Accented Cinema!
Your channel is one of my favourite film channels. Very insightful and enjoyable stuff :)
This is one of your best videos IMO. Great essay on the history of Chinese identity and culture through film. Thanks again!
*Anglo-Saxon guy from New England confronting Cthulhu* "Oh dear! This is too much for my poor Protestant mind to bear! I've gone mad!"
*Bruce Lee confronting Cthulhu* "Chinese people... are not sick men! HWYAAAAAAAAAAOGH!"
Years of meditation under a waterfall has given him a mind strong enough to face Cthulhu.
“Heroes of the East” was an uncharacteristically fair and progressive 1970’s “China Vs Japan” Kung-Fu film in that it was nuanced and actually *respectful* towards Japanese Warrior Culture, outright having its lead declaring their fighting-arts to be the *equal* of Kung Fu, and worthy of being admired as such. A pity the 4th Ip-Man film went decades *backwards* in that regard in spite of being made in 2019.
Of all Bruce Lee's film, his second film in 1972 "Fist of Fury" has a LOT OF REMAKES.. There's "Fist of Legend", Chen Zhen played by Jet Li in 1994 and "Fist of Fury TV Series" in 1995 and 2010 Kung Fu movie "Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen" (Chen Zhen played by Donnie Yen) ... I think majority of the Chinese people who watch Kung Fu movies REALLY LIKED "Fist of Fury" because of the main character's patriotism, that's Chen Zhen 👍🏻
The wuxia genre =/= kungfu /martial arts genre though, the way that many of the comments here seem to conflate. Wuxia is inherently different from the kungfu genre because wuxia is set in the "fantasy" jianghu world and kungfu is set in the actual 'real' world. There's a reason Jin Yong was a political journalist and used his wuxia stories to keep people reading his newspapers in the 60s. The politics in wuxia goes beyond national identity and explores patriarchal societal structures (and the best of wuxia cinema from the 80s and 90s explores this even more) and this is way more complex and layered compared to the simple nationalism and 'history-telling' of the martial arts kungfu genre.
This is why the best Sinophone filmmakers like Wong Kar-Wai, Hou Hsiao-Hsien, and Ang Lee all eventually made their own definitive wuxia films: Ashes of Time, The Assassin, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, and all of them play with gender and sexual politics, with women and emotions being a huge part of their stories. It is also notable that they are Sinophone filmmakers not from Mainland China (although yes Hong Kong was eventually returned to China). Hou Hsiao-Hsien and Wong Kar-Wai's films are also entire deconstructions of the wuxia genre. Even Tsui Hark's more traditional wuxia films in the 90s is very subversive and captures the essence of what the golden age of wuxia novelists like Gu Long and Jin Yong were trying to do as an expression of them in Hong Kong in the 60s responding to the turbulent politics in Mainland China.
I think people can look at kungfu films to see the way the Chinese framed their history such as in Wong Fei-Hung and Fong Sai-Yuk and Bruce Lee films, and I grew up watching those films and learning about Chinese history that way too. But I actually think wuxia goes beyond tradition and doesn't box the Chinese identity and culture as neatly into patriotism/outsiders etc and I prefer it for that.
Did a paper on this same topic for my last college English course on media. It covered Bruce Lee with the Big Boss vs the British, Jackie Chan with Drunken Master II vs the British, Jet Li in Fearless vs Western forces, and Donnie Yen in Ip Man 4 vs 70s America - the latter I saw in a theatre with my Asian American friend, my Chinese immigrant friend, and an audience of diverse American all with different reactions.
These comments sure do show that people definitely watch before they comment, something about this topic sure does summon the finest minds of UA-cam
I'm just commenting to feed the algorithm :)
Indonesia is also going up because of The Raid..
Another way I think we can contextualize this is how we're gonna hate media that even mentions the pandemic, let alone uses it as a main story device. The people who raised their families through the century of humiliation probably would not have liked to be reminded of the struggles they went through, but their children who lived to see a more hopeful future and found something to be proud of might have a different understanding.
Thank you and much Love from the Philippines.
Thanks for showing the clip from Ip Man 2 with me standing between Donny and Darren! Keep up the great work.
The one thing that I notice in their patriotic movies it is quite common for them to depict the era between the late or early qing dynasty or ww2 era movies to me , it kinda becomes a cliche at this moment since they appear over and over again they felt like it is a reminder of what had happen to our country in the past you can see these as telling us to not repeat the dark past of our history or you can view this as a way to let people to never forget the scar they had receive from other countries so they can use it as an counter-argument to be toxic to another country like the Chinese c
Get very sensitive when you mention something about Japan especially the atrocities they made
But I also notice the different between patriotic movie back then vs patriotic movies now the movies back then show some weakness on the main character of the story as he symbolizes the weak china during that period , nowadays whenever I see patriotic movies I see a boastful, always right, arrogant, complete jerk of a character that has no flaws as if they are saying that they're country is perfect and the only thing need to change are the world not them
This shows the difference between the two movies it just felt so wrong especially in story telling pov making a character have no flaw is the worst thing you can do to your character
Anyway, this is all my opinion only free to reply if you want to
What movie are you referring...?
Watching this I am reminded of Xu Xiaodong's story and how the "patriotic" kung fu that is ingrained in the Chinese psyche is still very much present in modern China.
It also shows us the toxic side of patriotism in xu xiaodong story when you have a people that love their country so much that they would rather believe the lies and denied the truth that is where the patriotism needs to stop as they treat there country like a baby that or a glass that can't accept even a single criticism
Honestly it's not. Xu Xiaodong killed it. All mainlanders want to do nowadays when anything traditional martial arts are brought up or posted on any chinese social media is "LMAO DANCING LMAO GET IN THE RING LMAO ONE "CRAZY BASTARD FIST" (Wild haymaker from a random joe) WILL KNOCK YOU OUT". It's such a funny coincidence that China's international image dropped from "stereotyped but generally ignored and allowed to exist" to "absolutely despised" and our one cultural export besides cheap food (which we desperately change to suit local tastes anyways) gets fucking trashed.
I'm amazed at how butthurt the authorities are regarding xu Xiaodong. It's like his career is an insult to Chinese heritage, which is nuts.
@@El-Dorado930 MMA in China is exploding, ironically. XXD def sparked a few flames
@@El-Dorado930 Its because the CCP has an extreme level of contempt to westeners and since Xu Xiadong was defeating Kung fu masters that represent Chinese Culture with Western fighting styles they see him as a traitor to their nation. For the CCP admitting that a westener does something better is a sin.
Well, Chinese Takusatsu might be a rabbit hole I need to dive down.
Here's a list: Infra-Man, Mighty Peking Man, I Love Maria, Future Cops, Sixty Million Dollar Man, Robotrix.
And if you want something from the mainland, Armor Hero is surprisingly decent.
@@AccentedCinema Thank you sooooo much for this, and opening up a world of cinema to us all. You are doing amazing work.
There's mooooooreeee a lot Chinese Tokusatsu there
The Super Riders Trilogy, San Lin Jun Trilogy, The Invicible Space Streaker, The Iron Superman, Mars Men, War God, and more
Another factor that Kung Fu Movie is not as patriotic as before is that the biggest Kungfu Movie made in Chinese language fan community -- Chinese mainlanders -- are not interested in Kung Fu heroes any more. Just as the 90s HK film makers who are not born in the century of humiliation, the new Chinese generations were grown up in a complete different country. They experienced the biggest living condition progression in Chinese history. They were grown up in a country that is catching up or surpassed the western countries in many aspects. They don't have any grudge towards stronger foreigner that only a kung fu heroes can avenge for.
Instead they watch wu Jing kill a bunch of foreigners instead
Fist Of Fury was popular in Japan despite the stereotypes and Japanese audiences said they didn't really see themselves in the stereotypes. But as Japan became a bigger consumer of Hong Kong cinema, Raymond Chow and Golden Harvest tried to bridge the gap a little. Japanese characters were made more likeable. Jackie, Sammo and Yuen Biao played on their popularity in Japan. They shot My Lucky Stars there. Hiroyuki Sanada became a star in Hong Kong cinema for a moment since his movement style translated well (Sonny Chiba couldn't quite mesh). Yukari Oshima was a major Hong Kong star.
Then it all dried up after the handover to the PRC. We're now back to stupid Japanese stereotypes. Ip Man 4 is embarrassing, like a bad 1950s Ronald Reagan movie.
Aside from period pieces, in which, I would simply dislike you as a person if you have a problem with the demonisation of Imperial Japanese soldiers, I feel like mainland films respect Japanese people, Detective Chinatown 3 was set in Tokyo and I think it was entirely respectful, I don't remember any Japanese characters regardless. but yeah Ip Man 4 has its problems and also leaves me feeling more sad about Chinese identity than actually proud. Like... the fuck did he prove by beating an army sergeant who still beat up all the other masters in Chinatown? And just the general sad tone because he's dying has me thinking like "damn, but our country still so poor that our icons of nationalism be flocking to San Francisco). And the ending is like "and that's why the world respects kung fu!" It's like, no the world does not, it really does not.
@@peterwang5660 yeah people has never respect kung fu because it use for beat up others people to prove that its a superior martial art, people respect it because of it philosphy and how it is portray as an technique use for against the bully
Those "stereotypes" are based on reality. Every interaction between japan and China is negative because Japan has had something against China since the ancient days. Japan having a fondness for Bruce Lee, who himself moved away from Chinese tradition, doesn't change that. You'll never see characters like Wong Fei Hung, Huo Yuanjia, or any of the Shaw Brothers be accepted in Japan. You surely won't find Japan accepting Chinese martial artists unless they're Bruce Lee.
Thought provoking and enlightening as usual.
Drunken Fist vs Cthulhu...I didn't expect to see such an interesting thing during the sponsor's message.
Your videos are always a pleasure to watch. Thanks for this wonderful essay!
What do you mean Wong Fei Hong never fought a gorilla? My world is shattered
I'm so glad you had a topic to talk about Bruce Lee again. Please do more!
I'm just a casual kung fu fan, but I was surprised that the Han Chinese v. Manchu Qing films from the HK classical period of kung fu movies were not mentioned. That certainly is a form of nationalism.
Thank you for making and sharing these interesting and educational video histories and observations. They are each a mini-course in themselves.
I thoroughly enjoy your video essays and eagerly anticipate your next release. Keep up the awesome work!
I finally watched the IP man series. As an a American I actually liked 4 and the various conflicts and tensions between the Chinese and American characters. I preferred it to the over the top patriotic style of 1 & 2.
But more interesting to be was the virtues of the character himself. Again, for an American, the stoic and gracious IP man is like an older style of virtue, compared to the more sassy characters of today.
This is a very interesting video! I always thought the reason why kung fu movies are so patriotic to Chinese people is because of the action. It looks really cool to watch and it pumps up your energy while watching it. And I'm sure lots of kids have tried mimicking what they see in those movies too. And like what you said, it shows people that the Chinese aren't sick men after being humiliated. I didn't know history had something to do with it, until I saw your video.
I've always thought you've had really nice music choice in your videos. Keep up the great work!
Great video. Grew up with many of the 70's and 80's films.
If a Martial Arts film doesn't have you walking around your house @ 3am throwing Karate chops and Kung-Fu kicks its not a good martial arts film. HIYA !!! 💥🤛😂
Doesn't the lonely road in the street counts though cause iv seen this a lot in shaw brother movies or even kung-fu movies
Was checking through to see what movies mentioned here are available on Netflix, and the first one I was finally able to find was Ip Man. While it wasn't my first choice, I ended up loving it
Ah, just watching a Taiwanese movie called: The Five of Super Riders
It was an adaptation of Kamen Rider X
Do you know what? That movie also had a patriotic elements on it lmao
Ah... thank god you made this movie
🤣This genre just evolved into Wolf Warrior 2 , old kung fu masters fight to defend the honour of nation , new chinese rambos fight to reshape the world.
Just wanna say thank you for your awesome videos! I really enjoy them :)
Absolutely fantastic Video Essay.
Speaking of Patriotic themes, part of me had an idea about Kung Fu series…or rather the theory that the company stole it from Bruce Lee.
In one episode, Kane meet with a Chinese person watching Geisha. This kinda seems anachronistic (being closed off at the time before Meiji) and writer being ignorant…but if the theory is true, Lee was intending that to be “Kane return to China” and have that character’s foreign fetish as evil (more so after Sino Japanese war).
Also like Kane, Lee is part European and treated as outcast…so maybe.
The CC at 2:27 slayed me hahaha
Idk about Ip Man 4's unnecessaryness, but I was really happy to get to see an Ip Man movie in the movie theater. I cried at the end of the movie so I enjoyed it.
I thought it was more a callback to Ipman 1 and 2 myself while still having a touching ending like Ipman 3
I think the movie creators in China took themselves a bit too serious and were trying to enter Hollywood when people didn't really want Hollywood. When Hollywood actors entered the Kung Fu scene it looked ridiculous.
This. Kill Bill and Matrix are prob the best examples of westerners trying to do kungfu, and holy crap they suck.
Now I’m just upset about finding out that Wong Fei-Hung never fought a Gorilla
Great video as always, keep up the good work.
One can have a long explanation, or one can see the obvious answer:
Because it makes the film better.
An action film isn't supposed to be a deep dive into the nuances of history and human nature. They are supposed to be film that get you pumped up to a largely one-sided story. This is something that, for a long time, Western cinema has forgotten.
Jimmy Wang Yu's The Chinese Boxer preceded Lol Leih and Bruce Lee by almost two years. So the sentiment was already there.Bruce just made it lok GLORIOUS.
Also....kung fu was NOT being taught in HK at the time. Karate and Judo we're prolific in youth clubs and universities. Ironically most of the stuntman at the time we're proficient in both, and it shows in screen. However....the Lau Brothers (and even Leung Ting) changed that as well.
It would just take A LOT OF TIME to explain hahaha
Jimmy Wang Yu passed away. Li Ching was so good looking in the 1960's.
Such enriching videos, thanks a lot.
I was literally just thinking about this subject when I noticed you posted this video🤣
Another great video. I love your channel, my friend.
Are any of the king fu movies from the 40's/50's available in America? I'd like to see those.
A lot of Kung Fu Cinema like I feel like hides a lot of themes about our tradition conflicting with modern times especially with the struggle to shrug off the Century of Humiliation that is still to this day very incomplete. Take Wong Kar-Wai's "The Grandmaster" (his own interpretation of Ip Man), the whole movie is like one giant reflection on China's martial arts and its place in national identity, Ip Man's life which gets fictionalised beyond recognition in the movie is just a vehicle.
Didn’t think about it this way but it’s something I’ve always wondered…
I think this video is operating on a kind of narrow definition of "Patriotic." As yes, there are fewer "Let's go punch the Japanese!" movies coming out of China these days. But on the flipside, 2002's wuxia film Hero has a very Chinese-nationalist theming (which one can still argue about, but hey). Alternately, look at 2015's Wolf Warrior, which was so popular and nationalistic that they even named "Wolf Warrior Diplomacy" after it.
Agreed on Wolf Warrior, but would you say that movie falls under the purview of "kung fu cinema"? Leaving out Hero feels like a larger miss than Wolf Warrior, if only because I'd say WW is more a "Rambo-esque" movie than a kung fu movie.
Good point about Wolf Warrior-- it's Chinese ACTION, but not kung fu. I was definitely conflating the two, unfairly.
This said, there's still a bunch of jingo-tastic kung fu movies out there. Like, there was one I watched a few years ago whose name I forget (Legend of the Heroes, or something like that?) set in early 1900's China that made it a point to have THE PEOPLE gang up and kill the evil Qing official, instead of the guy getting killed in a duel or something.
@@HaberdasherThe Mm, I think the video feels like it's about a... specific sort of movie, one that I'd summarize as "through the use of our superspecial awesome-sauce martial arts that's unique to G L O R I O U S Han mainland we revisit eras of the past and have adventures in which we cultivate strength which we demonstrate many times upon arrogant outsiders".
Won't exactly make for a catchy acronym, but it feels like that's the gist of the movies he brings up here, that they have to have martial arts AND have some elements of historical payback to them. In that sense one could possibly also understamd why he excluded Hero (I've seen some in the comments argue that you can't really put wuxia stories in the same cathegory as kung fu because they're more fantasy/superhero stuff than gritty down to earth revenge stuff, but eh- I think I'll leave that debate to those more studied in the field than me. Point is- Legend of Heroes sound like it fits the field he describes here more than Wolf Warrior- almost impressed they choose to give what sounds like the kill-glory for a major villain to the people he abused, rather than a single glorious hero. Whereas Wolf Warrior DEFINITELY feels like it wants to metaphorically fellate Leng Feng with the same energy US films of old wanted us to be throat goats for Rambo. Definitely level 10 patriotism, but not really the same MOOD as kung fu patriotism, you know?
The political points of Hero were not intentional, which was said by the director at the time. Aside from that, the director of Hero, Yimou Zhang has never been into politics in that sense, like say how a feminist director would focus on a female protagonist and have her beat tons of people that are at least twice her size without getting injured. He doesn't do stuff like that.
Anyways, in regards to Hero, you also have to consider the time period. Prior to the establishment of the Qin Dynasty was the Warring States period, which consisted of 250+ years of war. There are people who don't know that, who as a result, think that Hero is promoting autocracy.
But they've been doing Game of Thrones reruns like constantly, so to me, it just doesn't seem right to connect the mentality, culture, issues for that time period to China today, especially since the largest ethnic group in China today identifies as Han Chinese, named after Han dynasty which overthrew the Qin Empire 20 years after the Qin dynasty was established.
The two time periods are just so far removed from each other that the former might as well be a story told in some fantasy setting like Middle Earth and the wuxia elements just adds to that. We also don't look at Gladiator as a nationalistic story for Italians, even though it shares a lot of similarities with Hero.
Skilled warrior, lost everything, consumed by hatred wanting to kill the tyrant emperor and dies at the end.
Hero would be more similar to Gladiator, if Nameless killed the emperor instead. And you'd still be able to see it as a nationalistic story through how a single man stepped up to free his country from a tyrannical emperor. Or one could also see Nameless as the symbol for CCP and that he will kill anyone who stands in his way, even if it would result in war and that's just how determined they are.
There are many ways of interpreting things. You just need a few breadcrumbs.
If anything, Hero, through Nameless is better suited to reflect Americans today than Chinese people. Left/Right hate the hell out of the opposite side's president, but still have to bear with it, make sacrifices, look to the country's longevity and remind the opposition's president of the harm that they've wrought as the lead and hope for that president to do better even if they have hard time believing that it can happen.
I do agree that Wolf Warrior was intentionally nationalistic (not jingoistic), but also in an unintentionally bad way sort of, bcos Scott Adkins' character outsmarted the entire Chinese army except for one guy, who only managed to beat Adkins' character through sheer luck.
I do certainly appreciate the respect the gave to Scott Adkins though, even though he died, that was still a legendary feat to toy around with the Chinese army like that.
Nice video , thank you 👍👍🙌
Excellent video, as always
Bruce Lee punches someone straight into the afterlife- Best, caption, ever!
Next the impact of the Raid movie
I'm a great fan of yours and grew up watching HK triad and gangster movies! Would love if you ever did one. Thanks!!
Infernal Affairs
Election 1&2
Exiled
A Better Tomorrow Trilogy
The Killer
City Under Fire
An in-depth review of those movies are truly a must see
great conclusion, i never thought about history like that
instead i subscribed to the "objectivity at all costs" school
excellent work per usual fam
fascinating video as always cheers
2:09 WTF moment no. 1
5:09 WTF moment no. 2
Totally didn't expect those 2 in this video xD
I was secretly hoping you would make this one day
I hope that the bit about making a martial arts C'thulhu film is a joke. I'll be disappointed if it isn't called "Kung-Thulhu".
Thanks for another great video.
mate, are you really SURE wong fei hung never fought a gorilla?
I really liked this one. Thank you.
2:29 I CRACKED HERE WITH THE SUBTITLES!!!!!
Would like to see a documentary on Lo Wei.
And a documentary on Jackie Chan's long term manager. Who sadly passed a few years ago
Noting it all down to 'Must watch' list