{"id":2228,"date":"2021-03-16T06:24:02","date_gmt":"2021-03-16T06:24:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/transnationalhistory.net\/doing\/?p=2228"},"modified":"2021-03-16T06:27:43","modified_gmt":"2021-03-16T06:27:43","slug":"project-proposal-fists-of-fury-a-transnational-guide-on-how-bruce-lee-punched-his-way-against-asian-stereotypes-in-hollywood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/transnationalhistory.net\/doing\/2021\/03\/16\/project-proposal-fists-of-fury-a-transnational-guide-on-how-bruce-lee-punched-his-way-against-asian-stereotypes-in-hollywood\/","title":{"rendered":"(Project Proposal) Fists of Fury: A Transnational Guide on how Bruce Lee Punched His Way Against Asian Stereotypes in Hollywood"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cTo hell with circumstances; I create opportunities\u201d is what martial arts king Bruce Lee said and did.[1]<\/a> Bruce Lee adapted from his being one-quarter Caucasian and three-quarters Chinese, living both in the United States and Hong Kong. He adapted from his street-fighting abilities and utilised his skills by training in martial arts by the legendary Ip Man. Bruce Lee\u2019s background and his roles in films \u2013 both in Hollywood and in Hong Kong – offer insight into how Asians (specifically East Asians) have been portrayed in Hollywood films during the Cold War. My project will aim to understand two fundamental questions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. What does a study of Bruce Lee in a transnational context tell us about East-West relations during the Cold War?<\/li>
  2. What does a study of Bruce Lee tell us about the representations of East Asian masculinity?<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    By researching racism experienced by Asian-Americans during the Cold War, especially during the Korean War and the Vietnam War, studying Bruce Lee as a case study could highlight perceptions of Asians and Asian-Americans in this period and how they are portrayed in films. Is Bruce Lee an exception to the general portrayal of emasculated Asians? Were perceptions of Asian masculinity changing, or did racist ideologies perpetuate them? My inspiration for this project stems from watching Murder by Death<\/em> (Robert Moore, 1976) as a kid. I saw Peter Seller\u2019s portrayal of a Chinese detective and immediately hated the stereotypical portrayal of a timid Asian man contrasted next to hypermasculine detective Sam Diamond, portrayed by Peter Falk. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Taking a transnational approach to this project, I will examine Bruce Lee\u2019s turbulent rise to fame and his role in both Hollywood and Hong Kong. Firstly, in Hollywood, Bruce Lee\u2019s struggle to get hypermasculine roles and his eventual progress into him being given lead roles in films such as Enter the Dragon<\/em> (Robert Clouse, 1973) will be explored. Therefore, this is significant as the lens will highlight the general trend of hypermasculine roles given to white men versus emasculated roles given to Asian men. I will then look at Hong Kong and how Bruce Lee is depicted there. How different are the two areas comparing one man? Will the lens in which Asians view other Asians be different from Americans\u2019 lens viewing an American-born Chinese? I will use an ethnographic method in studying how the locals view Bruce Lee versus how diaspora\u2019s view the mixed martial artist. This method will be used because, during COVID, it is hard to gain access to online primary sources. Thus, fieldwork may be necessary to interview various non-white perspectives, including Filipinos and Indians. I believe non-white perspectives in Asia on Bruce Lee is significant as this multi-scaled dimension illustrates a various interpretation on the concept of Asian masculinity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The sources I will be using in this project will primarily be secondary sources, examining relations between the East and the West during the Cold War and Asian representation in Hollywood. These include Jane Junn and Natalie Masurka\u2019s article on Asian American Identity and Sangjoon Lee\u2019s article on Cinema and the Cultural Cold War. However, I will be using primary sources such as Bruce Lee films highlighting the emasculated or hypermasculine roles played by him and white men, respectively. Ultimately, I will be using transnational history as a lens to view masculine portrayals in films. Thus I will use AHR Conversation: On Transnational History<\/em> and OXO: Or, the Challenges of Transnational History<\/em> by Jan R\u00fcger as main sources for my project. Their definitions of transnational history will be useful in this project\u2019s investigation of how studying Bruce Lee as a case study can illuminate East-West relations during the Cold War, and the difference in representations of masculinity and how different audiences view Asians in masculine roles. Going beyond Hong Kong and Hollywood, this project will analyse Bruce Lee\u2019s contributions and legacy in other areas around the world, such as Japan (he inspired some anime and manga franchises), Bollywood (films such as Deewaar<\/em>), videogames (Streetfighter) and America (UFC Championship). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Ultimately, my project will aim not to give Bruce Lee too much agency in \u2018uniting\u2019 the East and the West. Nevertheless, studying Lee as a lens into East-West relations during the Cold War, specifically, how Asians are represented in the West and how Bruce Lee will provide insight into emasculated versus masculine roles in films. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Working Bibliography<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Primary Sources<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Nguyen, Bao (dir.), Be Water<\/em> (United States, 2020).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Lo Wei (dir.), Fist of Fury<\/em> (Hong Kong, 1972). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Lee, Bruce (dir.), Way of the Dragon<\/em> (Hong Kong, 1972).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Clouse, Robert (dir.), Enter the Dragon<\/em> (Los Angeles, 1973).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Clouse, Robert and Lee, Bruce (dirs.), The Game of Death <\/em>(Los Angeles, 1978). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Chopra, Yash (dir.), Deewaar <\/em>(Mumbai, 1975).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Streetfighter<\/em> (videogame).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Secondary Sources<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Ascarate, Richard John, \u2018About Chinese Cinema\u2019, Film Quarterly<\/em> 62: 2 (2008), pp.72-76. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Bayly, Christopher A., et al., \u2018AHR Conversation: On Transnational History\u2019, American<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Historical Review<\/em> 111: 5 (2006), pp. 1441-1464. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Dumas, Raechel, \u2018Kung Fu Production for Global Consumption: The Depoliticization of<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Kung Fu in Stephen Chow\u2019s Kung Fu Hustle\u2019, Style<\/em> 43: 1, (2009), pp. 65-85. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Goto-Jones, Chris, \u2018Is \u201cStreet Fighter\u201d a Martial Art? Virtual Ninja Theory, Ideology, and the<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Intentional Self-Transformation of Fighting-Gamers\u2019 Japan Review<\/em> 29 (2016), pp. 171-208. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Hillenbrand, Margaret, \u2018Of Myths and Men: \u201cBetter Luck Tomorrow\u201d and the Mainstreaming<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    of Asian America Cinema\u2019, Cinema Journal<\/em>, 47: 4 (2008), pp. 50-75. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Jennings, George, Brown, David and Sparkes, Andrew C., \u2018\u201cIt can be a religion if you want\u201d:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Wing Chun Kung Fu as a secular religion\u2019, Ethnography<\/em> 11: 4, (2010), pp. 533-557. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Junn, Jane and Masurka, Natalie, \u2018Asian American Identity: Shared Racial Status and<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Political Context\u2019, Perspectives on Politics<\/em> 6: 2 (2008), pp. 729-740. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Kato, M. T., \u2018Burning Asia: Bruce Lee\u2019s Kinetic Narrative of Decolonization\u2019, Modern<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Chinese Literature and Culture<\/em> 17: 1 (2005), pp. 62-99. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Kolluri, Satish and Lee, Joseph Tse-Hei, \u2018Hong Kong and Bollywood in the Global Soft<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Power Contest\u2019, Indian Journal of Asian Affairs<\/em> 29: 1\/2 (2016), pp. 101-112. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Lee, Sangjoon, Cinema and the Cultural Cold War: US Diplomacy and the Origins of the Asian Cinema Network (Cornell, 2020). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Mackintosh, Jonathan D., \u2018Bruce Lee: A visual poetics of post-war Japanese manliness\u2019,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Modern Asian<\/em> Studies 48: 6 (2014), pp. 1477-1518. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    R\u00fcger, Jan, \u2018OXO: Or, the Challenges of Transnational History\u2019, European History Quarterly<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    40: 4 (October 1, 2010), pp. 656\u2013668.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Yip, Man-Fung, \u2018In the Realm of the Senses: Sensory Realism, Speed, and Hong Kong<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Marital Arts in Cinema\u2019, Cinema Journal<\/em> 53: 4 (2014), pp. 76-97. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n\n\n\n

    [1]<\/a> Bruce Lee, quoted in Bruce Lee.com, Website, <https:\/\/brucelee.com\/podcast-blog\/2017\/11\/28\/74-to-hell-with-circumstances#:~:text=%E2%80%9CTo%20hell%20with%20circumstances%2C%20I%20create%20opportunities.%E2%80%9D&text=Bruce%20was%20in%20dynamic%20motion,with%20a%20proactive%2C%20positive%20tone<\/a>.> [retrieved 10 March 2021].<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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