Bruce Lee

November 8, 2018December 10, 2018
actors, film/TV
by Hwee Lin Yeo

Left: Screenshot from a an Interview, in which Bruce Lee talks about martial arts. Middle: Bruce Lee wielding a Nunchuk. Right: A wax statue of Bruce Lee in Madame Tussauds, Shanghai (photo from Flickr Commons).

Bruce Lee is THE martial artist of the 20th century, a celebrated movie star, founder of Jeet Kune Do and a revered cultural icon. Unlike James Bond who wields flashy guns and weapons, Bruce Lee stood for the underdog, and is unwaveringly stoic in his fight against capitalist systems (such as in his last film Enter the Dragon). His work revolutionized Hong Kong martial arts, changed the way Asian American masculinity is portrayed in media, and inspired many athletes, MMA legends like Manny Pacquiao and rappers like Wu-Tang’s RZA with his physical prowess and discipline.

Lee was born in Chinatown, San Francisco on November 27, 1940, and was raised in Kowloon, Hong Kong. He later moved to Seattle to receive his higher education at the University of Washington in Seattle, and also began teaching martial arts. While he did find fame in Hollywood, his status as an Asian American actor did not present him with many opportunities. Lee proposed a television series of his own The Warrior, but his idea was retooled and renamed as Kung Fu, lost the starring role in the US television series Kung Fu to the Caucasian actor David Carradine, and after his projected US series The Warrior had been written off by the studio, Lee said he had been denied opportunities because he was Chinese. Thus, Lee went to Hong Kong, where he starred in many films. His films (both Hong Kong and Hollywood-produced) were global box office hits, and sparked interest in Chinese martial arts in the West in the 1970s.

He is known for several films, such as The Big Boss (1971), Fist of Fury (1972), Way of the Dragon (1972), and Enter the Dragon (1973). Unfortunately, Bruce Lee died shortly after filming Enter the Dragon, at the prime age of 32 in Hong Kong. He is succeeded by his son, Brandon Lee, who later unfortunately died in an accident during filming, his wife, Linda Emery and his daughter, Shannon Lee. Shannon Lee is the president of the Bruce Lee Foundation, which “encourages people to strive for honest self-expression” and “provides financial assistance to students and families within the United States”.

The next time you go to Chinatown of Los Angeles, or Guangzhou, China or Hong Kong, you should definitely look out for statues of Bruce Lee!

Asian Americans should remember Bruce Lee for his work in dismantling the emasculated Asian male stereotype in Hollywood, where racist tropes are recycled and depict Asian males as variations of Dr Fu Manchu and Charlie Chan. He gave Asian Americans dignity and pride, and a face to look out for in the big screens.