![]() ![]() The film also depicts a romance that is the polar opposite of onscreen western mainstream love affairs Li Mu Bai and Shu Lien’s feelings for each other are constantly repressed and when addressed, they are discussed in a very indirect manner. There is also an emphasis on the oriental philosophy of enlightenment and inner peace, especially shown through Chow Yun Fat’s character of Li Mu Bai. The film does this masterfully with the music, the setting, the time period and even with the unfamiliar title of the film. This hybrid nature of the film – not unlike that of Enter The Dragon and many of Jackie Chan’s films – is another way in which filmmakers can explore the concept of cultural purity and challenge the nationalistic ideas of Chineseness with both negative and positive consequences.Ī part of what makes Crouching Tiger so successful with a Western audience is its presentation of Asia as a unique and exotic ‘other’, proven correctly by the film’s use of the Western gaze. Variety magazine went so far as to call it a “cultural chameleon” and the film own’s executive producer and screenwriter James Schamus calls it “an Eastern movie for Western audiences and in some ways a more Western movie for Eastern audiences”. Ang Lee himself had been living in America for almost as long as he had lived in Taiwan by the time he started making the film and the film’s main stars – including Chow Yun Fat, Michelle Yeoh, and Zhang Ziyi – originate from different countries and all speak the language with varying accents. Production of the film involved five different companies in five countries, making it particularly difficult to place the film singularly as a Chinese, Hong Kong, Taiwanese or Hollywood production. However, Crouching Tiger carries a more international identity than it appears. One of the most popular martial arts films to make a mark in America is Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) which grossed well at the box office and won four Academy Awards including Best Foreign Film. The only Asian films that are hugely promoted by studios and have done well in the box office are either action-based or martial arts based. Due to the success of Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan, Hollywood begin viewing Asian films – especially Hong Kong and Chinese films – as “reductive caricature” action style films. ![]() Martial arts stars such as Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh have achieved a small level of success in Hollywood by appearing in action movies, but other Asian stars such as Chow Yun Fat who are not action stars by nature have failed to make a mark. Since Bruce Lee’s death in 1973, there have been constant attempts to create a “series of Bruce Lee clones” to regain the global audience. ![]() The advancement of Asian actors in Hollywood depends mostly upon their ability to master the Kung Fu genre in a way which appeals to a Western audience. The success of both Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan in America reflects Hollywood’s Kung Fu craze and created the trope of Asians as action or martial arts stars. This article is the fourth part in the “East Asian Representation in Mainstream American Cinema & Television from 1970-2013” series. ![]()
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