The New Generation

With the 1965 Immigration Act in place, skilled Asian immigrants began to arrive in the United States. The films that follow this period are gentler toward Asian characters, many involving the "cool" aspect of Asian cultures. Bruce Lee also dispeled many stereotypes that Asians were frail and weak, eventually becoming a global celebrity.

During the 1970s, martial arts films and television became very popular and set the template for future martial arts films. In this era, Bruce Lee rose to fame and starred in many martial arts films, including titles such as The Big Boss (also known as Fists of Fury, 1971), Way of the Dragon (1972), The Iron Hand (1972), Enter the Dragon (1973), and The Game of Death (1978). Other films and television shows, like Red Sun (1971), Kung Fu (1972-1975), and The Yakuza (1974) helped to create a genre of martial arts films. Some of these films, like The Big Boss, were import films from Asia that were then dubbed in English.

The film Red Sun is notable for its portrayal of Toshiro Mifune’s character Kuroda Jubie as the equal or partner of the film’s main character Link Stuart, played by Charles Bronson, as opposed to his sidekick. The film The Yakuza is also notable for portraying the character Tanaka Ken, played by Ken Takakura, in a more respectable fashion than similar roles in other movies of the period.¹

Representative Films and Television Shows of this Decade

Red Sun (1971)

A cover for the film Red Sun, which has elements of both western and martial arts/samurai films.²

"Kung Fu"

DVD cover of the first season of the television series "Kung Fu". This was interesting because, although the film revolved around an Asian cultural experience, the protagonist is a white American.³

The Yakuza (1974)

Movie poster for the film The Yakuza, staring Takakura Ken.⁴

Master of the Flying Guillotine (1974)

The following video is the theatrical trailer for Master of the Flying Guillotine. This film is hailed as one of the best martial arts movies of the 70s. ⁷

Enter the Dragon (1973)

Bruce Lee plays a kung fu warrior who helps out British Intelligence.⁸

The Dynamite Brothers (1974)

Alan Tang plays Larry Chin, who partners up with Stud Brown in fighting a drug ring. Larry Chin is then captured at one point as an “illegal alien.”¹⁰

The Hawaiians (1970)

Tina Chen and Mako play indentured servants, Nyuk Tsin and Mun Ki, on a Hawaiian plantation farm.¹¹

Survey!

Whether or not you have seen the films mentioned in this decade, what stereotypes/trends do you see for Asian American male Actors?

kung fu warrior
rich businessman
small supporting roles
manual laborers

Name some martial arts movies!

Name some films Bruce Lee starred in!

Show Answers

Stereotypes/Trends

The Kung Fu Warrior emerges as an Asian-American male stereotype through Enter the Dragon and The Dynamite Brothers. However, Asian-American actors still do not play complicated characters, and generally do not receive the main role unless the movie or role is kung-fu related. The Hawaiians depicts Asians as immigrants and manual laborers, and nothing more, on the other hand.

Validity

Kung fu is a fighting style which has developed over the centuries in China. The genesis of the form of martial art is attributed to the need for self-defense, hunting techniques and military training in ancient China. However, in modern China, few people are fluent in Kung fu. In general, people do not learn Kung fu. Some monks do learn Kung fu to keep this part of Chinese traditional culture alive, but that’s about it.

With regards to manual labor, for roughly the first century of Asian Immigration, Asians worked in manual labor for lower wages. Over time, after World War II, some 2nd and 3rd generations of Asian Americans start getting better jobs than their parents, grandparents, etc. Silicon Valley becomes a major attraction for Asian immigrants as technology began to boom in the 1980s.

The 1970s