BRUCE LEE INFLUENCE

The Influence of Ethnicity Made by Bruce Lee



The Influence of Ethnicity Made by Bruce Lee

Introduction

Film is a cultural object which can affect highly on cultures and lives. Watching a cross cultural movie often plays a vital role to develop the ideas about that culture. Bruce Lee was the most famous martial artist of the 20th Century. He belonged to Chinese American by ethnical group, acted in Hong Kong movies and was a successful martial arts instructor. He developed a new field of Martial arts known as Jeet Kune Do. Besides, he was also a director, film producer and screenplay writer.

In the period of 1970's, Bruce Lee's film created the interest of West (particularly America) in martial arts. His films also created negative stereotypes (Bowman P., 2010). In this essay, I will discuss that how Bruce Lee's films had affected the American Society. I will also discuss that what changes of American ideas about Asian American occurred due to these films.

I chose this topic because I wanted to know that how a person was able to change the thinking of American society completely about the Chinese community. This essay will help people to know about some facts that how Bruce Lee, an individual changed the views of America and helped his community to get a better place in American society.

Discussion

Bruce Lee successfully portrayed Chinese nationalism in his movies. He got fame in the film industry mainly due to his 5 films which include The Big Boss (1971), Fist of Fury (1972); Way of the Dragon (1972), Enter the Dragon (1973), The Game of Death (1978). Each of these films left remarkable impressions on the world about the Asian American and Chinese culture. He was the first Chinese actor who got a chance to Hollywood and made tremendous progress.

Lee moved to Los Angeles at the age of 24, along with his wife in search of better opportunities for his future. In 1966, Lee started working in America. He first got a role in the TV show “The Green Hornet” in which his role was to play Kato. Lee's first step made him get a broad stardom in American public (Fitzpatrick E, 2010). Just with the first show, people started loving Lee's fighting style. This is the first time American people started to think that martial art can be a source of entertainment.

Before the entrance of Bruce Lee in American movies, the genre of Martial arts was never used in movies before. Main reason behind this is the popularity of Bruce Lee for his fighting abilities. The three Chinese films The Big Boss, Fists of Fury, and Way of the Dragon were the basis of this popularity. These films were all successful hits not only in China but also in Europe and America some time later. If Bruce Lee would not have these hit Chinese movies, he would not have gotten the lead roles in Hollywood as it has always been difficult for Americans ...