Much more than just a movie with a lot of blood, sweat, and martial arts, I thought that Enter the Dragon subtly commented on a few larger issues than just beating up the bad guy. After reflecting on the film, what strongly caught my attention was the issues of how the film addressed race and the comments it suggested about larger society. The film included Williams who is on the run in America because he fought back against racist white policemen. While this was only one short scene, it struck me as the director’s commentary about the relationship between blacks and whites in the United States during the 1970s. In this case, the white male policemen are depicted as the bad guys whose prejudices corrupt the law. This could have been a social comment on recent events such as the 1965 Watts Riots and other race riots that were sweeping the country.
Also, the relationship between whites and Asians is visible in the scene in which the martial arts guests are aboard the boat on the way to the island. A white man in a blue suit is shown kicking and beating up an Asian servant, knocking the boy’s basket of oranges. This suggests that the aggressive white man thought he was better than the Asian male and looked down on upon the boy almost as if he were a dog. As payback, Lee convinces the white male to take a smaller boat to the island so that they can fight one-on-one. Lee tricks the man and instead forces him to spend the remainder of the trip in the small boat away from the group and at the mercy of the Asian youths who control whether the white male will make it to the island. Maybe the director is suggesting that although there was a racial hierarchy in the United States in which arguably whites held the superior position, Asians can stand up for and protect themselves. Interestingly, it is Lee’s smarts that allow him to prevail over the white man. This plays into Asian stereotypes because Lee uses his brains to be triumphant and not his athleticism. Although this is a movie where Asians are depicted as extremely athletic and strong, this scene illustrates the power of intelligence.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Response: Enter the Dragon
First of all I, like many other posters, am really glad we got to watch this movie because it became clear to me how pervasive its influence has been. From the plot of Mortal Kombat (which is said to have been based on this film) to the villain in the cartoon series Inspector Gadget (an iron-clawed figure always shown stroking a white cat, much like the villain in Enter the Dragon) to the omnipresent shrieking noise (which--I agree with others who have said this--really did cheapen many of the action scenes), this film really seems to have left its mark on popular culture in ways that I was previously unaware of.
As to the film's portrayals of Asian people, I thought it was interesting that both the main bad guy and the main good guy were Asian, rendering Lee's defeat of the main villain free from racial power dynamics. Although we do see Bruce Lee kick some white people's butts (most notably that of Oharra), none of them are truly worthy opponents (Oharra fights unfairly and his death is seen as justifiable anyway because he is responsible for the death of Bruce Lee's character's sister). I can't help but feel that this is not just a coincidence. Would it have been taboo to have depicted Lee triumphing over a white opponent who was actually a real match for him? I for one would have been excited to see such a blatant overturning of racial power dynamics. Unfortunately Enter the Dragon chose not to "rock the boat," opting to take the safe route of pitting Lee against an Asian villain.
Moreover, Lee (as many others have noted) was desexualized in his portrayal. Although I was glad that, unlike the other men, he would not pick a woman from the harem to be his sex slave (soo sexist!), it did set him up as being different and somehow less of a man than Roper and Williams (the other two "good guys"). Even if Lee didn't pick a woman from the harem, I am so used to the heroes of action movies ending up with a beautiful woman that the fact the Lee had no love interest whatsoever seemed strange and reinforced this notion of the Asian man as asexual.
Even so, Bruce Lee's fighting was truly awe-inspiring--so graceful and yet so effective--and I found it gratifying to see such a powerful Asian man in a mainstream American movie. Granted, his fight scenes were made somewhat comic by the ridiculous shrieking noises that seemed to be dubbed in, but Bruce Lee was nonetheless quite a force to be reckoned with, and I have no trouble understanding why he is seen as an icon by many young Asian Americans (particularly boys).
My Chinese American fiance was certainly a fan, although perhaps not Lee's most devoted fan. He admits that he never really liked Lee's American films, feeling that he was always portrayed with more depth of character in the films he made in Hong Kong. He actually has a rather large collection of subtitled Asian movies and has always been more of a fan of the films of Stephen Chow, but I wonder how many other Asian Americans have had that exposure. I suspect that nowadays (owing to globalization, etc.) that number is relatively high, but in the 1970s Bruce Lee may have been one of the few Asian film stars young Asian Americans ever saw. Whether or not this is the case, he was and remains one of only a few Asian actors to make it big in American mainstream cinema, and so I cannot help but feel an affection for Enter the Dragon, even as I reject some of its more problematic elements.
As to the film's portrayals of Asian people, I thought it was interesting that both the main bad guy and the main good guy were Asian, rendering Lee's defeat of the main villain free from racial power dynamics. Although we do see Bruce Lee kick some white people's butts (most notably that of Oharra), none of them are truly worthy opponents (Oharra fights unfairly and his death is seen as justifiable anyway because he is responsible for the death of Bruce Lee's character's sister). I can't help but feel that this is not just a coincidence. Would it have been taboo to have depicted Lee triumphing over a white opponent who was actually a real match for him? I for one would have been excited to see such a blatant overturning of racial power dynamics. Unfortunately Enter the Dragon chose not to "rock the boat," opting to take the safe route of pitting Lee against an Asian villain.
Moreover, Lee (as many others have noted) was desexualized in his portrayal. Although I was glad that, unlike the other men, he would not pick a woman from the harem to be his sex slave (soo sexist!), it did set him up as being different and somehow less of a man than Roper and Williams (the other two "good guys"). Even if Lee didn't pick a woman from the harem, I am so used to the heroes of action movies ending up with a beautiful woman that the fact the Lee had no love interest whatsoever seemed strange and reinforced this notion of the Asian man as asexual.
Even so, Bruce Lee's fighting was truly awe-inspiring--so graceful and yet so effective--and I found it gratifying to see such a powerful Asian man in a mainstream American movie. Granted, his fight scenes were made somewhat comic by the ridiculous shrieking noises that seemed to be dubbed in, but Bruce Lee was nonetheless quite a force to be reckoned with, and I have no trouble understanding why he is seen as an icon by many young Asian Americans (particularly boys).
My Chinese American fiance was certainly a fan, although perhaps not Lee's most devoted fan. He admits that he never really liked Lee's American films, feeling that he was always portrayed with more depth of character in the films he made in Hong Kong. He actually has a rather large collection of subtitled Asian movies and has always been more of a fan of the films of Stephen Chow, but I wonder how many other Asian Americans have had that exposure. I suspect that nowadays (owing to globalization, etc.) that number is relatively high, but in the 1970s Bruce Lee may have been one of the few Asian film stars young Asian Americans ever saw. Whether or not this is the case, he was and remains one of only a few Asian actors to make it big in American mainstream cinema, and so I cannot help but feel an affection for Enter the Dragon, even as I reject some of its more problematic elements.
Bruce Lee: the model minority?
In spite of bad acting and cheesy one-liners I generally appreciated the entertainment value of Enter the Dragon. As it was my first Bruce Lee film, I finally understood the origins of the martial arts films, and it was in a sense a mini popular culture history lesson for me. While observing the emasculation and de-sexualization of Bruce Lee, I also realized how far more recent kung fu movies starring Asian men such as Jet Li or Jackie Chan have come in terms of a more masculine portrayal (although they are not much better).
The major issue I had with the Asian American men in the movie was that, like Fu Manchu and Charlie Chan, they are inserted into a plot with very extreme roles. Whether it be as one of the villains or the emasculated comedian, these men almost have to compensate for the fact that they are Asian or "different" by being molded into a stereotype. In doing so, they often create or perpetuate different stereotypes of Asian American men that is neither fair nor accurate. Like so, Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon represents the American audience's captivation with martial arts at the time and can be viewed more as a symbol than an actual human being. His uncanny ability to fight and kill dozens of men with mere scratch here and there is not new to an American action flick hero, but unlike 007 or Superman, he does not have a leading lady by his side either. Perhaps Bruce Lee's role as an "asexual" marital arts extraordinaire demonstrates the idea of Asian Americans as a model minority. Without his ability to be a sexual character, the Asian male is not a threat to the sexuality of the White male- an interesting departure from the predatory image of the Asian male that preceded it.
Throughout the film, Bruce Lee is not given much of a voice. After the first half of the movie being a meager attempt at creating a plot, the last half is pure action, perhaps after the realization that an actual plot may never materialize. After a few lines in the first half of the film, the only sounds that come from Lee are the high-pitched noises that have made him so famous. Without all the fighting, one could easily assume that Roper is the leading male, as he was the only person whose character development reached an acceptable level.
The major issue I had with the Asian American men in the movie was that, like Fu Manchu and Charlie Chan, they are inserted into a plot with very extreme roles. Whether it be as one of the villains or the emasculated comedian, these men almost have to compensate for the fact that they are Asian or "different" by being molded into a stereotype. In doing so, they often create or perpetuate different stereotypes of Asian American men that is neither fair nor accurate. Like so, Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon represents the American audience's captivation with martial arts at the time and can be viewed more as a symbol than an actual human being. His uncanny ability to fight and kill dozens of men with mere scratch here and there is not new to an American action flick hero, but unlike 007 or Superman, he does not have a leading lady by his side either. Perhaps Bruce Lee's role as an "asexual" marital arts extraordinaire demonstrates the idea of Asian Americans as a model minority. Without his ability to be a sexual character, the Asian male is not a threat to the sexuality of the White male- an interesting departure from the predatory image of the Asian male that preceded it.
Throughout the film, Bruce Lee is not given much of a voice. After the first half of the movie being a meager attempt at creating a plot, the last half is pure action, perhaps after the realization that an actual plot may never materialize. After a few lines in the first half of the film, the only sounds that come from Lee are the high-pitched noises that have made him so famous. Without all the fighting, one could easily assume that Roper is the leading male, as he was the only person whose character development reached an acceptable level.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Nerd or Martial Artist
Americans tend to label Asian Americans as either nerdy or martial artists. Normally, it is the former, but if an Asian looks semi-athletic or aggressive, people assume it must be because he knows tae kwan do or kung fu. They classify accordingly because these are the two main depictions of Asians the media feeds to the masses. Enter the Dragon marked the first time an American audience had a chance to witness the famous martial artist Bruce Lee. After the debut of this movie, Lee became a pop culture icon and the gold standard for kung fu. This opened up an entire new genre of cinema and led to the production of notable movies like Ong-Bak and The One. When I was watching this movie, I immediately compared it to the movie Mortal Kombat because of how similar the storylines were. Then, I also constantly thought of Mortal Kombat, the video game, because of the dubbed sound every time someone connected with a kick or punch. While I found the shrieking unnecessary like the previous poster, I found this sound to be even more annoying and a primary detractor from the skill of Bruce Lee. The sound effects for the fight scenes makes the movie seem less real and gives the viewer more reason not to take it seriously.
“Waaaaaaa!!!” It’s Bruce Lee
Was anybody else annoyed/humored/confused by the ridiculous dubbed piercing squeals and shrieks when Bruce Lee was fighting?
Bruce Lee poises an interesting image for Asian American masculinity, one of physical strength, brute force, and bulging muscles. In essence, he is the opposite of the “yellow man” in broken blossoms.
At the same time, Bruce Lee is not sexualized in the way (even though sexism, misogyny, and women as objects are highly problematic in this film). Both Williams and Roper (the other antagonists) sleep with women every night since they arrive on the island. Choosing which woman/women to sleep with is like choosing candy from a candy store for these men (soooo problematic) however, Bruce Lee does not engage in this behavior showing a troublesome conflict: he is depicted as moral and desexed.
I’m not suggesting that Bruce should sleep with many women in the film (a way masculinity is commonly constructed), but I just question how he’s constructed in comparison to other main male characters in the film, specifically Williams and Roper.
I also want to bring up the male body in the film- there’s a bit of objectification and homoerotic undertones in this film around the male body.
Even though there’s all this male-on-male ass kicking in the film, there is something about the way Bruce Lee is visually shown especially when he’s fighting. To me there’s this sense of desirability in the male body that’s shown in scenes like Bruce Lee fighting (mostly with no shirt on) and when Williams is putting on his robe after having sex with many women.
Bruce Lee poises an interesting image for Asian American masculinity, one of physical strength, brute force, and bulging muscles. In essence, he is the opposite of the “yellow man” in broken blossoms.
At the same time, Bruce Lee is not sexualized in the way (even though sexism, misogyny, and women as objects are highly problematic in this film). Both Williams and Roper (the other antagonists) sleep with women every night since they arrive on the island. Choosing which woman/women to sleep with is like choosing candy from a candy store for these men (soooo problematic) however, Bruce Lee does not engage in this behavior showing a troublesome conflict: he is depicted as moral and desexed.
I’m not suggesting that Bruce should sleep with many women in the film (a way masculinity is commonly constructed), but I just question how he’s constructed in comparison to other main male characters in the film, specifically Williams and Roper.
I also want to bring up the male body in the film- there’s a bit of objectification and homoerotic undertones in this film around the male body.
Even though there’s all this male-on-male ass kicking in the film, there is something about the way Bruce Lee is visually shown especially when he’s fighting. To me there’s this sense of desirability in the male body that’s shown in scenes like Bruce Lee fighting (mostly with no shirt on) and when Williams is putting on his robe after having sex with many women.
The Grand Illusion of the Enemy
Throughout the screening of Enter the Dragon, I could not help but focus on the "James Bond style" villain character of Mr. Han. Despite Bruce Lee's role as the protagonist and all the involved issues concerning sexuality, Asian masculinity and the angry Asian body, Mr. Han is presented as a direct contrast to Bruce Lee. Mr. Han is thoroughly emasculated through his usage of henchmen, technology (ex. the claws) and vast personal wealth.
However, the status of Mr. Han as the "patriarch" of his criminal organization, glaringly apparent when surrounded by his personal female guards, provides a grand illusion of a powerful, albeit evil, Asian male figure. As the self-made and de facto leader of all persons on his island, Mr. Han is able to manipulate the actions surrounding Bruce Lee and the other fighters. Nevertheless, Mr. Han's gun prohibitions on his own island originate from the lingering fear over the decapitation of his hand. Direct and supreme control is the only setting where Mr. Han's power is ensured in the film. The immense power of Mr. Han is thereby only an artificial construction, which may allude to a rather negative assumption that most Asian males require the traditional, patriarchal societal structure as a means of safeguarding masculinity and power. The presence of Bruce Lee's character may upon first glance undermine the aforementioned argument since Lee is an independent undercover agent, but even Bruce Lee is situated in a rather patriarchal system where head Shaolin monks and British police chiefs essentially have absolute control over him.
Returning to the subject of Mr. Han, viewers can cleary see that the martial art skills he utilized against Bruce Lee's character towards the end of the film did not allude to an angry Asian body but were rather a desperate attempt of self-preservation. Prashad states that "90 percent of Oriental self-defense is baloney...it's organized despair" (132). In the case of Mr. Han, this may prove true. Mr. Han thus embodied a pitiful archenemy and black market businessman clinging to pride and power.
However, the status of Mr. Han as the "patriarch" of his criminal organization, glaringly apparent when surrounded by his personal female guards, provides a grand illusion of a powerful, albeit evil, Asian male figure. As the self-made and de facto leader of all persons on his island, Mr. Han is able to manipulate the actions surrounding Bruce Lee and the other fighters. Nevertheless, Mr. Han's gun prohibitions on his own island originate from the lingering fear over the decapitation of his hand. Direct and supreme control is the only setting where Mr. Han's power is ensured in the film. The immense power of Mr. Han is thereby only an artificial construction, which may allude to a rather negative assumption that most Asian males require the traditional, patriarchal societal structure as a means of safeguarding masculinity and power. The presence of Bruce Lee's character may upon first glance undermine the aforementioned argument since Lee is an independent undercover agent, but even Bruce Lee is situated in a rather patriarchal system where head Shaolin monks and British police chiefs essentially have absolute control over him.
Returning to the subject of Mr. Han, viewers can cleary see that the martial art skills he utilized against Bruce Lee's character towards the end of the film did not allude to an angry Asian body but were rather a desperate attempt of self-preservation. Prashad states that "90 percent of Oriental self-defense is baloney...it's organized despair" (132). In the case of Mr. Han, this may prove true. Mr. Han thus embodied a pitiful archenemy and black market businessman clinging to pride and power.
What are we going to do about the other generation?
I would say that Flower Drum Song was very much a success of a musical; catchy song and dance numbers, colorful sets, and memorable characters. On its own it stands out as a well produced musical. Most of all it is very reflective of the time period especially with the main theme of women trying to get married. Even with various complex female characters that one could not really fit in one box, they all shared a similar ideal of marriage being important to a successful life.
Another predominant theme was the generation gaps within immigrant communities. This was made very obvious just in the way each character spoke, with Master Wang using traditional Chinese phrases and being oblivious to the American slang that his youngest son repeatedly used, almost in spite of his father rejecting his Chinese culture. And then Wang Ta, who was almost in the middle, although he did reject a lot of his Chinese culture, he still was not the polar opposite because he was aware and knowledgeable of the culture, but just actively chose not to participate. Another scene where this generation difference was very different, was in the Chinatown square where Mei Li was performing, the police officer scoffed at the idea of leaning Chinese, and the Chinese American crowd agreeably laughed at his statement. This showed the huge difference between assimilated Chinese Americans and first generation immigrants such as Master Wang. All the characters in the musical were assimilated to different degrees, which I think accurately portrayed a Chinese American community at this time.
Another interesting correlation was between assimilation and sexuality. For instance Wang Ta in the beginning is very drawn to character of Linda Lo who is very sexualized and is always making out with him, but based on her song about her love for being a girl, her materialistic qualities make her seem very American and assimilated. And on the opposite side, Mei Li is a recent immigrant, and she is portrayed and sexually inexperienced, just having a crush on Wang Ta in the beginning, and it is not until the end of the movie when she has watched enough TV to become more assimilated, does she actively flirt with Wang Ta, and pushes her sexuality on to him, asking him to kiss her, and kiss her 'hard.
Another predominant theme was the generation gaps within immigrant communities. This was made very obvious just in the way each character spoke, with Master Wang using traditional Chinese phrases and being oblivious to the American slang that his youngest son repeatedly used, almost in spite of his father rejecting his Chinese culture. And then Wang Ta, who was almost in the middle, although he did reject a lot of his Chinese culture, he still was not the polar opposite because he was aware and knowledgeable of the culture, but just actively chose not to participate. Another scene where this generation difference was very different, was in the Chinatown square where Mei Li was performing, the police officer scoffed at the idea of leaning Chinese, and the Chinese American crowd agreeably laughed at his statement. This showed the huge difference between assimilated Chinese Americans and first generation immigrants such as Master Wang. All the characters in the musical were assimilated to different degrees, which I think accurately portrayed a Chinese American community at this time.
Another interesting correlation was between assimilation and sexuality. For instance Wang Ta in the beginning is very drawn to character of Linda Lo who is very sexualized and is always making out with him, but based on her song about her love for being a girl, her materialistic qualities make her seem very American and assimilated. And on the opposite side, Mei Li is a recent immigrant, and she is portrayed and sexually inexperienced, just having a crush on Wang Ta in the beginning, and it is not until the end of the movie when she has watched enough TV to become more assimilated, does she actively flirt with Wang Ta, and pushes her sexuality on to him, asking him to kiss her, and kiss her 'hard.
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