East Meets West (Core Response #4)

Bruce Lee did what few Asians in Hollywood could do (even today Asians do not have much of a presence in this town), and that is appeal successfully to the mainstream culture at large. In his article “Bruce Lee: Narcissus and the Little Dragon,” Stephen Teo says that Bruce Lee is “all things to all men.” This is an interesting statement given that Bruce Lee is not your typical white male, Hollywood star. He is clearly an Asian foreigner, more specifically from China, and has a body type that differs from white male stars in that he is short in stature, petite, and does not seem threatening when he’s fully clothed and not doing his kung-fu moves. But, Bruce Lee has been able to transcend his physical appearance by what he does with his fighting and what this ultimately stands for in his films.

The films of Bruce Lee have themes that combat racism and reinforce values like standing up for yourself and having pride for you country. This is done with Bruce Lee’s fighting skills and the sense that he is fighting for something. In each film he puts his life on the line for some kind of change that will do good in the world. And in keeping Teo’s reading in mind, one can think of Lee’s fighting style and the narcissism that apparently goes along with it as something positive because it reinforces pride in oneself. You aren’t supposed to take the narcissism as being conceited, but take it as Bruce Lee being aware of what he stands for and through his fighting he can help his cause. This kind of self-assuredness is what makes Bruce Lee so appealing because audiences want to be able to attain a similar confidence.

The masculinity on display in Bruce Lee’s film also speaks to his appeal because it is all about physical empowerment. Being empowered on the outside seeps back into the inside, which audiences seem to connect with. Yvonne Tasker talks about this in the article “Fists of Fury: Discourses of Race and Masculinity in the Martial Arts Cinema.” Tasker states that the protagonist’s body is his only weapon, and Bruce Lee certainly uses his body to spark ideas about what it means to be an Asian in American culture and how to use that to change negative stereotypes into something more positive.

Questions

1. Is the protagonist’s body the only successful weapon in Hollywood films?

2. Has there been another Asian star that has connected in the way Bruce Lee has with American audiences?

3. Why aren’t Asian Americans depicted as equally as Blacks and Latinos in mainstream films and television shows?