The Influence of Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee was a worldwide superstar who didn’t get to experience his fame. He died before the release of his greatest film Enter The Dragon. He is a true inspiration to me and I don’t believe he gets the credit he deserves. Bruce Lee changed the way that Asian people were portrayed in wider society.
Bruce Lee is arguably the most significant figure in relation to Asian society. Even though he was born in America he was raised in Hong Kong. During Lee’s early years in Hong Kong, the Japanese were in control and this brought about a tough childhood. Many gangs controlled the streets of Hong Kong and Lee had to learn how to defend himself. He began to learn Wing Chun which allowed him to develop his martial arts ability. During his childhood Lee experienced both the Japanese Empire and British Empire. He moved to America when he was 18 to study at University but began to teach martial arts. He was unsuccessful in breaking into Hollywood and moved back to Hong Kong to eventually become a global icon. Lee produced four completed films before his untimely death, The Big Boss (1971), Fist of Fury, Way of the Dragon (1972) and Enter the Dragon (1973) which was the first ever joint production between a Hong Kong studio and American company.
The Big Boss broke box office records around Asia and Lee was thrust into the spotlight. He became a role model for Asia and Hong Kong martial arts movies were introduced to a wider audience. No other figure in Hong Kong cinema has done as much to bring East and West together in a common sharing of culture as Bruce Lee in his short lifetime. In him, Hong Kong cinema found its most forceful ambassador; an Asian role model espousing aspects of an Eastern culture who found receptive minds in the West.
Bruce Lee transformed the martial arts film genre and created the idea of a Chinese hero, rather then embracing his American heritage. Bruce Lee stood for Chinese nationalism as a way of feeling pride in one’s identity. Lee incorporated this strong symbol of China within all of his films; one can argue that this represents a resistance against colonial rule and desire to rejoin China.
When I look at the influence of Bruce Lee in terms of Hong Kong cinema, it is evident that his films represented Chinese nationalism. Hong Kong was a western realm when Lee produced his films but his films did not reflect this concept. Instead he promoted traditional aspects of Chinese culture. The colonial influences within his films were represented as the villain and something which he must overcome.
The three Hong Kong films Bruce Lee completed, The Big Boss, First of Fury and Way of the Dragon were expressions of ethnic pride in the idea of “Chineseness”, a universalised quest to make the Chinese character a dignified, respected and honoured one. The perceived need for this revitalisation of Chinese national identity draws on the legacy of China’s humiliation and partial subjugation by foreign powers.
Bruce Lee really did change the world.
