Kung Fu Moves in American Movies A Category for Kung Fu Movies Xiaxin Chen

Transcription

1 Kung Fu Moves in American Movies A Category for Kung Fu Movies Xiaxin Chen

2 Kung Fu Moves in America Movies A comparative visual study of the three most representative American Kung Fu movies and Chinese Kung Fu Thesis Presented By Xiaxin Chen The Department of Art + Design In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Fine Arts In Information Design and Visualization Northeastern University Boston, Massachusetts May, 06

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4 Abstract of Thesis This project investigates how Chinese Kung Fu has influenced American movies, and how we read a Kung Fu movie from the information of its Kung Fu moves. This project examines the different representations of Chinese Kung Fu in American and Chinese films through a comparative visual analysis. Based on the observed differences, I discuss possible reasons why specific Chinese Kung Fu moves might have been chosen in different movies. I believe that each Kung Fu move contains its own information. Every Kung Fu move is carefully designed by action directors to help a movie tell a story and build its characters. I believe that considering the meaning of each move is a way to help people understand both Chinese Kung Fu and Kung Fu movies.

5 Acknowledgements This project would not have been possible without the help of so many people. I thank for my advisor Dietmar Offenhuber, assistant professor, who provide a lot of research relevant resources, suggestions and experience to all part of this project, which do the greatly support to the project. And also I'm very appreciate to get so many helps from the stuff of information design department in Northeastern University. Thank you to Paul Kahn and Douglass Scott, who provide sufficient suggestion to my web project and exhibition posters. And also appreciate to Thomas Starr, who help me a lot on my project thesis text, layout, grammar and so on. In addition, thank you to Nathan Felde, Kristian Koleckl and Ann McDonald, who provide very precious suggestions to this project. Furthermore, thank to Xuan Zhang, Skye Moret, Mahima Pushkarna, Xiangyi Fu, Jin Wang, Yangdong ye, Jessica Hopkins and all of my classmates who offer me valuable suggestions. Their assist help me build this project, and change it become better and better. In addition, I would like thank to my Kung Fu sifu Bob Rosen and all the other sifu in Wah Lum Kung Fu school, who provide me a lot of important knowledge of Kung Fu. And also thank to Param Ajmera who work in Northeastern University writing center, he presents me numerous useful suggestions on my text work of this project.

6 4 Table of Content Abstract Acknowledgements Table of Contents Introduction Chapter : Different Perspective of Chinese Kung Fu Chinese Kung Fu in Hollywood Chinese Kung Fu in America Chinese Kung Fu in China The characteristics of Chinese Kung Fu Chapter : Relevant Kung Fu Background Chinese Kung Fu styles Kung Fu History in America Kung Fu influence in America Chapter : Kung Fu moves in three Kinds of Kung Fu Movies Tragedy Kung Fu Comedy Kung Fu Visual Kung Fu Chapter 4: Conclusion Appendix Bibliography 86

7 6 7 Introduction Chinese Kung Fu has become increasingly famous, transported from China to the rest of the world through Kung Fu movies. Film scholars categorize Chinese Kung Fu movies in different ways such as tragedy, comedy, visual effect, Northern style, and Southern style. However, American and Chinese scholars have different ways of categorizing Kung Fu movies, choosing the category based on the theme of the movie and how it relates to Kung Fu, or based simply on the Kung Fu styles that are portrayed. Based on those categories alone, viewers might not be able to understand the function or meaning of the Kung Fu moves, as the categories focus on the characteristics of the plot or the historical context of the Kung Fu style used in the movie. It may be difficult to understand why action directors design a specific Kung Fu move or use it in a movie, although this knowledge could help answer the question of why Kung Fu movies look so similar today. Actually, a wide range of different Kung Fu styles exists in China, all of which differ significantly. Thus, I offer the following research, which I hope will help readers understand more about Kung Fu. According to Peichi Chung's paper, Hollywood is at the forefront of the global movie market and Kung Fu movies hold a lofty position in Hollywood cinema (Chung, 007). David Desser considers Kung Fu movies to be a miracle, and catches the office box unprecedented (Yuan, 00). Stuart Kaminsky argues that Kung Fu movies translate violence into an elegant art so that viewers can more easily accept it (Kaminsky,974). Kaminsky s primary research is on Bruce Lee's Kung Fu movies and Lee s efforts to create the term Kung Fu. Stuart examines the reasons behind the popularity of Bruce Lee's movies in America. Lee changed the way violence was depicted on screen. Yuan Yuan observes that Bruce Lee s movies sought to build a new impression of a Chinese man in America (Yuan, 00). Lee wanted to show the strength and masculinity of Chinese men in his movies. Thus, he often used plots in which Chinese individuals suffered from unfair treatment because they were seen as weak and easy to bully. Lee fought back with his Kung Fu, defeating his oppressors and revealing his strength and by extension representing all Chinese men. Stuart believes such plots reflected the feelings of many citizens of that time, who loved to see someone fighting for fair treatment on the big screen. This is probably a fundamental reason that Kung Fu movies became so popular at that time. Yuan refers to this kind of movie as tragedy Kung Fu due to its theme and the way Kung Fu is used.

8 8 9 Tragedy Kung Fu movies dominated the genre until 996, when Jackie Chan, who is one of the most famous Kung Fu movie stars in the world today, introduced his brand of comedy Kung Fu. In place of Lee's idolized hero, Chan presents himself as a good regular person in his movies. While he also showcases impressive Kung Fu, he can get hit or hurt himself. Rather than showing the power and strength of Kung Fu, Chan portrays Kung Fu in a funny and humorous way. He punches his enemies but can be hit in return. He appears humorous and maybe a little clumsy, never elegant like Lee. In an interview, Chan said that he tried to imitate Lee s style for a long time, but now he prefers his own style, which is opposite of Lee's (Logan, 995). Before 996, there was always at least on Chinese actor in movies related to Kung Fu. However, in 996 the Matrix broke this mold. Utilizing several months of intense training and combining computerized visual effects, even an actor who had never learned any Kung Fu was able to perform like a master on the screen. The Matrix was a milestone that introduced a new genre: the visual effect Kung Fu movie. In this genre, Kung Fu is a subordinate element. As spices are added to food to improve its taste, Kung Fu is added to make the movie amazing. As a result, however, Chinese Kung Fu on the screen looks increasingly similar. From Chung's paper, we can see that Kung Fu enhances box office success (Chung, 007). So I doubt for some Kung Fu movies, it is enough for them to use only some of the Kung Fu moves to let their viewers to know that they are showing the Chinese Kung Fu. In China, the role of visual effect Kung Fu is controversial. Some papers debate whether effect Kung Fu or actual Kung Fu is better for the screen. For the Chinese, Kung Fu is not only a type of martial art; it is also a culture treasure. Chinese people enjoy talking about the styles of Kung Fu movies and the styles of Kung Fu. However, it is hard to differentiate among the many Kung Fu styles, as many appear very similar and each has a complicated relationship with the others. Hence, I will attempt to differentiate Kung Fu moves in terms of their meaning, which allows me to more easily distinguish between Kung Fu movies and categorize them so that movie viewers without knowledge of Kung Fu can better understand Kung Fu on the screen. I hope this analysis of Kung Fu moves will provide a new perspective on tragedy, comedy, and visual effect Kung Fu. The three Kung Fu movie styles are based on the theme of the movie, and they each use Kung Fu in different ways (Yuan, 00). In Lee's films, we find more moves intended to show the strength of his body, whereas Chan performs Kung Fu almost as a self-sacrifice. Although tragedy and comedy movies have totally different stories and themes, Kung Fu is strongly connected with their stories and helps build the character of those movies. However, the third type, which I call visual Kung Fu, utilizes Chinese Kung Fu as a subordinate element. That is, if we removed Kung Fu from those movies, they would still tell a complete story. The Matrix exemplifies the visual effect Kung Fu movie style. I believe we can also distinguish those three kinds of Kung Fu movies by their meanings and the function of their Kung Fu moves, as well as the time those movies dedicate to Kung Fu. My purpose is to help movie viewers without knowledge of Kung Fu to better understand the Kung Fu system by understanding the meaning of the moves that are portrayed. The first chapter of my book will discuss the different perspective on Chinese Kung Fu, offering my view on how to interpret the Kung Fu moves in Kung Fu movies. I will visualize those moves to talk about their purpose, providing greater understanding of the information they contain. The second chapter of my book will talk about the Chinese Kung Fu culture and its influence in America today. My sifu told me that studying Kung Fu is not only about learning actions or moves. Chinese Kung Fu has its own culture, and the more we know about that culture, the more Chinese Kung Fu we may learn. The third chapter will introduce how I analyze Kung Fu moves in Kung Fu movies. I will describe three kinds of Kung Fu movies and offer three examples of each. I will examine the design of the Kung Fu moves in those movies as well as how the design works to help the movies tell their stories. Admittedly, a single example of each Kung Fu movie style may not be enough to define a pattern. Even so, based on the research I have done so far, I believe the three movies are the most representative examples for each style. In the future, if it is possible, I would like to add more examples to support my argument. Generally, I am writing this thesis in the hope that my perspective on how to interpret the Kung Fu in Kung Fu movies will help movie viewers better understand the different moves and understand the reason that the action designers or movie directors designed the moves for their movies.

9 0 Chapter Different Perspective of Chinese Kung Fu Chinese Kung Fu in Hollywood

10 Chinese Kung Fu in Hollywood When thinking about Chinese Kung Fu, what comes to your mind? Bruce Lee? Jackie Chan? Jet Lee? Kung Fu Panda? You may recall even more Kung Fu stars. What they all have in common is that they are part of the Hollywood film industry. Hollywood movies have brought Kung Fu to the world, and Hollywood itself has benefitted from Kung Fu. In 008, Peichi Chung investigated the relationship between Kung Fu and Hollywood movies in her paper Hollywood Domination of the Chinese Kung Fu Market. Chung teaches in the Communications and New Media Programme at the National University of Singapore. Her research interests include Hollywood film studies, the new media industry in Asia, and popular culture in online games (Chung). Dominate

11 4 5 In her paper, Chung observes that Kung Fu movies enjoy great box office success even with limited budgets, comparing the famous movies Titanic and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. She mentions that Titanic had the largest production budget at that time (US$ 00 million), and its worldwide gross earnings were times its huge budget, US$ 07 million. Meanwhile, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon earned more than 4 times its budget: it cost only US$ 5 million but earned US$ million. The ability to earn money is a big reason Kung Fu has had such an important influence in Hollywood. However, not all Kung Fu movies have enjoyed the same success. While Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon performed well in the US (over US$ 8 million, and nearly US$ 85 million overseas), the Hero, another Kung Fu movie, earned only US$ 8 million in the US and US$ 7 million overseas (The Numbers - Movie Budgets, 06). Titanic Worldwide Income Budget Not all Kung Fu movies will be popular in US, and this shows that moviegoers from different countries may have their own opinions. This seems to relate to the different culture in different countries of Kung Fu. Even so, based on the data and my previous discussion, it is clear that Kung Fu has had a positive effect on Hollywood, and this is the reason Kung Fu is often viewed as a box office success maker. While Kung Fu movies work well in both China and the US, scholars from the two countries investigate the success of those movies in different ways. In the US, it seems that scholars care more about how Kung Fu relates to the movie theme as well as its influence on American society. In China, the focus is more on how the Kung Fu on screen relates to the Chinese Kung Fu culture (Zhao, 007). However, I believe we may learn from the Kung Fu in movies without focusing on the culture or social meaning. Different people will have varying opinions on culture and social aspects. Kung Fu is an ancient martial art, and in my opinion, each move contains a different meaning. Considering the meaning of each move could allow us to form a united viewpoint of Kung Fu, and I believe this would also help us interpret the Kung Fu in Kung Fu movies better. First, however, I will show how Kung Fu became different in China and the US. Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon Worldwide Income Budget 4

12 6 7 Chinese Kung Fu in America There seems to be considerable interest in why Kung Fu movies have become so successful. David Desser is the Dean of the Anaheim University Akira Kurosawa School of Film, and he has conducted a great deal of research on Hong Kong and Japanese history. One of his books, The Cinema of Hong Kong: History, Arts, Identity, reveals his opinion of Kung Fu movies (Desser, 00). When talking about Kung Fu movies, Desser argues, it is not possible to avoid the importance of Hong Kong movies. Before Kung Fu movies were transported to the US, Hong Kong already had its own Kung Fu movie production line: Although Hong Kong cinema would never again dominate U.S ticket sales as it did in the summer and fall of 97, for a number of years after dubbed action films from Hong Kong maintained a powerful presence on U.S screen (Desser, 00). Lee's movies are representative of the tragedy Kung Fu genre, and this tragedy comes from the content of the movie. For example, The Big Boss is one of Lee's most famous works, and its story is an absolutely tragedy. The protagonist, Chen, played by Bruce Lee, suffers through a series of unfair events, and nearly all his friends are killed by his black-hearted boss. Chen ultimately fights against his bad boss. He displays amazing Kung Fu skills, finally exacting his revenge. However, the end of the story reminds us that the movie is a tragedy as Chen is arrested for his violence by the local police. Stuart believes that viewers accept the violence in this movie because the tragedy supports and justifies the revolt. Moreover, Lee performs in an elegant way, leading viewers to focus on the beautiful moves rather than on the violence. Bruce Lee successfully introduced Kung Fu culture to the US, so he is often associated with Kung Fu. Stuart M. Kaminsky, the American mystery writer and film professor, examines the secret of Lee's success in his article Kung Fu Film as Ghetto Myth. For Kaminsky, traditional television battles are not particularly graceful, whereas Chinese Kung Fu changes them into a dance in Kung Fu movies. Audiences accept these battles as performances, responding to the agility and grace of the performers ( Kaminsky, 974). Lee's Kung Fu films are thus elegant and beautiful, but this is due to the action, and we could call such action Kung Fu moves.

13 8 9 Comedy Kung Fu is another genre. The representative star for this type of movie is Jackie Chan. In Chan s movies, comedy comes not only from the Kung Fu but also from the story. In New Police Story, Chan uses his Kung Fu to fight against his enemies, but he also gets hurt and sometimes even cries out for his punches performed by himself. Lee would also get hurt, but instead of crying out, he preferred to show his strength. In a famous scene, Lee licks his own blood and acts as if nothing has happened, demonstrating his great strength. On the contrary, Chan effectively utilizes his facial expressions to create a funny and humorous environment. This is how Chan's comedy Kung Fu works. Chinese Kung Fu in China When talking about Chinese Kung Fu in China, we may not relate it immediately to movies. Chinese Kung Fu has been basically separated into two forms based on geography. These two forms are called the Northern and Southern styles, and there is indeed a large difference between the North and South of China. The Qinling Mountains act as the boundary between the North and South, and the different environments build different people. Different levels of physical fitness result in different Kung Fu styles. Moreover, movies using the Northern and Southern styles have different meanings. Until 999, Chinese Kung Fu had been the province of Chinese actors; that is, in every movie related to Chinese Kung Fu, there was at least one Chinese actor performing the Kung Fu. Blitz notes this change: If the characters in The Matrix can have information instantaneously downloaded into their heads, they should, for example, be able to be as good a Kung Fu master as Jackie Chan, says Larry Wachowski(Blitz, 999). Kung Fu movies are thus classified based on their theme and how Kung Fu is used. Research indicates a number of reasons that Kung Fu movies have become popular, pointing to the relationship between Kung Fu and American culture and between Kung Fu and the story of the Kung Fu movies. However, there is a question I could not find an answer for in the literature. In China, there are many different styles of Chinese Kung Fu; in fact, it is hard even for the Chinese to count the number of Kung Fu styles in China. Nowadays, however, Chinese Kung Fu on the screen all looks largely the same. Is it possible that Chinese Kung Fu is used simply as a tool to improve box office earnings? Is that why US movies do not bother to show different styles of Chinese Kung Fu but simply remind viewers that Chinese Kung Fu is being performed? It is hard to judge this idea. Meanwhile, in China, people view Kung Fu in a totally different way. Qingling Mountains

14 0 Weifang Zhao, who works at the China Art Research Institute, is the secondary leader of the Department of Researching the Art in the Movie and Television. In Zhao's book The History of Hong Kong Movies ( ), Northern style Kung Fu movies refer to the Peking Opera and other acrobatic moves that are popular in the Northern area of China. On the other hand, Southern style Kung Fu movies are action shows that combine the punching and martial arts that are popular in the South of China. At first, Kung Fu movies in China were more portrayals of the Peking Opera on screen. The famous Hong Kong director Peng Hu, who directed the Once Upon a Time series in 949, said, Those movies performed without realism (Huang, 05). Thus, movie viewers soon became bored. In order to change this situation, some directors such as Hu started to design Kung Fu movies in a completely different way. They began to put real fights and Southern style Kung Fu on the screen around 949 (Huang, 05). Based on Zhao's definition of Southern and Northern styles, we could consider the Southern style as the opposite of the Northern style. However, those who explore Kung Fu look beyond those two general styles. Chinese people like to investigate various Kung Fu styles more precisely as well as the culture underlying Kung Fu movies. Two blogs serve as examples. The first, a blog named feihonghuang, chronicles the detailed history of Kung Fu movies in China (Huang), pointing out that the founder of Northern style Kung Fu movies was a master of Hung Ga. Hung Ga is a kind of Chinese Kung Fu that is popular in the Guangdong province (Huang, 05). In the other blog, the author chooses the eight most famous Kung Fu moves, providing a detailed explanation of his choices. While these blogs are not academic, the point is that Chinese people really like to discuss Kung Fu styles and culture. Discussing the culture of Chinese Kung Fu and trying to distinguish the different styles of Chinese Kung Fu requires considerable knowledge. Thus, in order to learn more, I decided to take a Kung Fu class for several months. While I learned a lot from the class, I was still unable to distinguish between the different styles of Chinese Kung Fu. Therefore, I began to consider whether there was a way to simply discuss the Kung Fu moves separately, to consider the design of each move and see what information it could provide about the movie.

15 The Characteristics of Chinese Kung Fu Kung Fu movies can provide us with some understanding of Chinese Kung Fu. In addition, the movies have some cultural influence. However, they do not teach us to perform Chinese Kung Fu or understand its place in the martial arts. Such information does appear in some martial arts magazines, but they do not relate Kung Fu knowledge with the performance of Kung Fu in movies. Does that mean we cannot learn Chinese Kung Fu from Kung Fu movies? The answer is no, as someone has already done this. Rodolphe Guenoden, the action director of the Kung Fu Panda series, never studied Chinese Kung Fu, but he did an excellent job of designing Kung Fu moves for the cute animated pandas. His knowledge of Chinese Kung Fu came from watching Bruce Lee and other Kung Fu movies (McShane - Baike). Similarly, Panna Rittikrai is a famous action movie director in Thailand who learned Chinese Kung Fu from Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan movies. He often combines Kung Fu with Muay Thai when designing and choreographing his movies (Rittikrai - Baike). As evidenced by the success of McShane and Rittikrai, it is possible to learn to perform Kung Fu by watching Kung Fu movies over and over, particularly with a background in other kinds of martial arts such as karate and Taekwondo (both directors had such backgrounds). People who have some training in martial arts can get more information about Kung Fu from movies, and that can help them to understand and learn Kung Fu. In order to prove this idea, I began my Kung Fu training in Boston. L R one preparing position I learned at the Wah-Lum Kung Fu school, which is a traditional Kung Fu school in Boston. My sifu, Bob Rosen, and some other teachers helped me greatly. The images on the left will help me explain what I learned from the Wah- Lum school. The first is a preparing position, a stand position. In this position, we use our left leg to remain in place and the muscle of our right thigh to lift our right leg up. The purpose in doing this is to protect our left knee and to prepare for the next move. We can refer to such a move as a preparatory move because it shows that someone is preparing for an upcoming fight. We are unable to gain more information from this action since it does not immediately indicate offense or defense; well-trained people could use this position to organize an attack or a defense. Thus, the meaning of such a move is that the person is preparing, control his breath, and so on. L R one prepare Kung Fu moves

16 4 5 L The second kind of move is representative of defense: the block. You must be careful when blocking. You use your arm rather than your hand to block an enemy s attack, and you are trying to hit the enemy s arm, not his punch. This kind of move is often seen in Kung Fu movies. The hero performs this action quickly and precisely to prevent the bad guys from doing damage. L The final kind of move is the offensive move, such as punches or kicks, which are used to hit enemies. I draw the gesture for the hand because this gesture is very important in Chinese Kung Fu. The term punch means that you will hurt your enemy by some flat force, while tiger hand means you will attempt to puncture your enemy or grip his hand. R R Block position Capture and punches L Closely related to blocking is evasion, where the character attempts to protect himself by evading the enemy s attack. Both the block and evade moves require a high level of neurokinetics. The martial artist needs to precisely judge the direction and speed of the enemy s attack to successfully perform such moves. The blue marks show where the character is trying to protect himself with the moves. L L R R R Evade position Tiger Hand Capture Capture and punches II

17 6 7 Moves causing pain These elementary types of Kung Fu moves are found in almost all Kung Fu moves, although not all forms of those moves are found in all movies. Sometimes, the moves are designed to allow the protagonist to get hurt. This can be important as a way to build a character, to show how he can be hurt and how he responds to such pain. Thus, I will also add a forth type of move: one that causes pain. These four types of moves allow us to understand the basic meaning of the action in Kung Fu movies. Moreover, I will use them to categorize the Kung Fu moves in movies into different groups. Then, I will analyze how those different moves could help the movie build its stories and characters. Before doing this, however, I would like to introduce some history of Chinese Kung Fu movies in China and the US. This will provide a greater understanding of how the different styles of Kung Fu movies came into being and the meaning behind the moves that are used in different types of Kung Fu movies. One prepare but different kicking

18 8 9 Chapter Relevant Kung Fu Background From Peking Opera to Kung Fu movies

19 0 Chinese Kung Fu Styles There are many types of Kung Fu in China. However, we see only a few in movies. This leads to misunderstanding on the part of viewers that the only kind of Kung Fu is what they see on screen, such as the famous Shaolin Kung Fu and Tai Chi Kung Fu. This is not true. In China, Kung Fu is divided into two forms, the Southern and Northern sects. The Qinling Mountains separate China into North and South. Kung Fu is divided in the same way. Generally, most Kung Fu we see in movies belongs to the Southern sect. However, in the movies, the Southern sect is somewhat different from the Southern sect of Kung Fu. Based on Zhao's book, Northern style Kung Fu movies feature the Peking Opera and other acrobatic moves that are popular in the Northern part of China. Southern style Kung Fu movies, on the other hand, are action shows that combine the punching and martial arts that are popular in the South (Zhao,007). It does not seem right to refer to the Peking Opera a movie, but the point here is that Northern sect Kung Fu movies were based on the Peking Opera show. The most significant difference between Northern and Southern movies is that Southern movies portray Kung Fu in real fights while Northern movies tend to show the moves in a more acrobatic or elegant way. When referring to Kung Fu in China, the distinction between Southern and Northern sects is important, and this caused me some difficulty while performing this research. Northern Sect Kung Fu Southern Sect Kung Fu Northern Sect Movie Southern Sect Movie

20 I would like to first discuss the different Kung Fu sects. Chinese people like to discuss the Kung Fu styles in movies, and when they talk about Kung Fu sects, they also discuss the style. The Northern and Southern sects represent the largest distribution of Kung Fu styles. In China we have very detailed styles. Some have claimed that there may be over 00 kinds of Kung Fu styles in China, but this is hard to confirm, as the relevant documents are not well organized. However, for the most famous styles such as Shaolin and Tai Chi, plenty of information is available. Northern Style.Shaolin.Praying Mantis.Bajiquan Chinese Kung Fu is a cultural treasure, and the many different styles serve as evidence of this. According to Hoare, Kung Fu has a special place in the martial arts (Hoare, 0). The differences in the Southern and Northern sects are based on geography. In China, the North is characterized by more plains, and people from the North are often taller and stronger than those from the South. Hence, Northern Kung Fu places more emphasis on strength and stretching to help them show their advantage, and this leads to stronger kicking and jumping skills. In the South of China, there are more lakes and mountain. The people focus more on dexterity than strength, believing this will help them minimize any disadvantage due to strength and size. Thus, in the South there are more punching styles and skills. The most famous Northern style is the Shaolin style, but like many other styles of Kung Fu, it is not practiced only in its place of origin. While Shaolin Kung Fu is the representative Kung Fu of the Northern style, it is popular both in the North and South of China. Tai Chi, which is representative of the South, is also famous in Northern China (e.g. Beijing). 4.Plumpile 5.Long Fist Southern Style.Taichi.Wing Chun.Drunk Fist Show the probably distribution of Kung Fu style in China today. Choose of the most famous style. The Yellow number with shadow circle represent the Northern Style, and the number link with the Kung Fu style. The Black number with white circle represent the Southern Style, and the number link with the Kung Fu style. The position of circle means this kind of Kung Fu popular and a lot of people practice it in this province. The circle dose not have any range means, just show which province have the record that a lot of people practice this kind of Kung Fu in there. 4.Hung Ga 5.Southern Shaolin 6.Ground Fist

21 4 5 Although Kung Fu is very popular in China, Kung Fu movies have long struggled in China. The Peking Opera in the 90s is considered to be the ancestor of Kung Fu movies, and because of this Kung Fu movies first looked very similar to the Peking Opera show. The lion dance has also traditionally been a part of Kung Fu movies, and such elements are reflective of the Northern style. As a result of this kind of Kung Fu, the show on the screen did not look like a real fight, and thus new ways of creating Kung Fu movies became more popular in China. We refer to this more realistic portrayal as Southern style. However, after the establishment of the People's Republic of China, all Kung Fu movies were forbidden in Mainland China. Those people whose livelihoods depended on creating Kung Fu movies had to move to Hong Kong to continue their careers. In my opinion, this is another reason the Northern Style maintained its influence on the Chinese mainland. The Northern Style dominated China until the 970s. Peking Opera Lion Dance Early Kung Fu Movies

22 6 7 The first Southern style Kung Fu movies were created during the 950s and 960s. The first was the famous series Once Upon a Time in China, which expressed the Chinese desire to watch real fights on the screen rather than just a show. In the 970s, Bruce Lee became an international star, and he made Kung Fu popular throughout the world. In fact, Lee never declared whether his movies belonged to the Northern or Southern styles, but he did try to portray real fights, so we consider his movies to fit the Southern style. At this same time, Southern style Kung Fu movies began to dominate the market. This was not only because of Lee but also because of many Kung Fu masters such as Cheh Chang and Chia-Liang Liu, who created their own movies during that time. The First of Once Upon a time in China series In the 980s, Kung Fu movies were finally allowed in Mainland China, and many of the people who were working on movies in Hong Kong returned to China. All of these factors have led to the domination of Southern style Kung Fu movies since the 970s. As a result of all of this, Southern style Kung Fu movies also became popular in Hollywood, largely due to Lee, who wanted to show real fights and the strength of Kung Fu on screen (Yuan,00). Nowadays of Once Upon a time in China series

23 8 9 The History of Kung Fu in the US In fact, before Bruce Lee became a giant star in Hollywood, Chinese Kung Fu had already spread to the US. Lee is generally credited with providing the greatest contribution to the Kung Fu field, and while this is undoubtedly true, he did not begin the spread of Kung Fu in the US, as pointed out in the US History of Kung Fu: The Big Boss which made Bruce Lee and Kung Fu become famous Rumble in the Bronx which made Jackie Chan and his Comedy Kung Fu become famous In 9, the first Kung Fu club established in America, but it is forbidden for non-chinese to practice it. And it seems like from 860s Chinese Kung Fu has already logged in America but the Chinese Kung Fu could be practiced by Chinese only during that time. 957, Tlnn Chan Lee, a master of Chinese Kung Fu, and we call them sifu, open his Chinese Kung Fu classes to the general public. And 964, Kung Fu has been opened in the U.S mainland. Ark Y. Wong of Los Angeles, who born in China broke the tradition Kung Fu 'color line' by accepting students of all races at Wah Que Studio Los Angeles(U.S History of Kung Fu, 06). The peak of Kung Fu movies soon followed, and this was also the peak time when Kung Fu culture spread throughout the world. In 970, Lee found great success with The Big Brother, a kind of Kung Fu that is called tragedy Kung Fu today. But after Bruce Lee passed away so suddenly, there was a blank period for Kung Fu movies in the world. In 990, the first animated Kung Fu movie was released, with action sequences designed by Chinese action director Chia- Liang Liu. Then in 995, Jackie Chan and his comedy Kung Fu brought Kung Fu movies back into the mainstream. A few year later, in 999, The Matrix broke new ground, showing that actors could be combined with computer effects to perform Kung Fu on the screen; that is, Kung Fu could be performed without Chinese actors. The first America movie use Chinese Kung Fu action The first America movie perform Chinese Kung Fu I believe this represents progress both for Kung Fu and Kung Fu movies, as the movies, art, and culture are seen and accepted by an ever-increasing number of people. In fact, Chinese Kung Fu culture has a strong place in America society. Kaminsky (0) mentions that Chinese Kung Fu has become a symbol of the fight against unfairness and oppression. It is a kind of violence, but like Lee, Chinese Kung Fu movies portray this violence elegantly, so that people may more easily accept it (Kaminsky, 974). director without Chinese Kung Fu actors

24 40 4 Kung Fu Influence in the US Due to popularity of Kung Fu movies, more people have the chance to learn about Chinese Kung Fu. Those movies do a good job of making people see Kung Fu in a positive light: They are performing Kung Fu! and Kung Fu is awesome! My own sifu Bob said that when he watches good Kung Fu shows or movies he has the desire to perform Kung Fu himself. Kung Fu movies have a strong appeal to the viewers, who often want to join in the action, and this is how the portrayal of Kung Fu attracts people to participate in the field. Kung Fu Show performer waiting for starring Include non-orientals performer Kung Fu culture has already had a great effect in the US. For example, in Boston there is an event called the Lantern Festival. Many Kung Fu schools join this festival and perform traditional Chinese Kung Fu. I was surprised to see that a lot of the performers were non-oriental. I believe this shows that Kung Fu is not only a martial art but also a culture that connects different people from throughout the world. Lantern Festival in Boston 05

25 4 4 Chapter Kung Fu Moves in Three Kinds of Kung Fu Movies

26 44 45 Tragedy Kung Fu L R One Move One move means one or some action cotain only one information. Like the images showing. So far, I have introduced the different perspectives with which to view Kung Fu culture, as well as some history on that culture. Now I will start to connect those ideas with the Kung Fu moves seen in Kung Fu movies. I will focus on Yuan's category of Kung Fu movies since her research is from Bruce Lee to Jackie Chan (Yuan,00), although I would like to add one more category to describe the Kung Fu movies that have been created after Jackie Chan, and they have their own styles, which are different from Lee's and Chan's. I will introduce those styles later, but first I will discuss tragedy Kung Fu movies, which are represented by the work of Bruce Lee. To analyze those movies, I will examine the Kung Fu moves in those movies. A single move here refers to one or some actions that contain only one piece of information. For instance, one kick shows one piece of information (offensive), but it may require two or more actions to complete (first lift your leg then release it). This kick, however, is only one move, regardless of how many actions it requires, because it only expresses its meaning (offensive) one time. According to Yuan, Kung Fu movies may be divided into two periods, and both are based on two giant Kung Fu stars. The first is Bruce Lee's period, which she defined as tragedy Kung Fu (Yuan,00). This kind of portrayal is very different from the Chinese way of showing Kung Fu, but it reveals how Americans think about Kung Fu (Yuan,00). What is tragedy Kung Fu? Generally, I think it is based on the theme that Kung Fu is used as a tool to fight against bullying. In this kind of movie, the story will contain two parts: how the protagonist has been bullied and how he will fight against that bullying. Tragedy Kung Fu movies also contain the theme of revenge. In Lee's movies, he sought to praise Kung Fu or his Kung Fu with the purpose of showing the strength of Kung Fu and creating a super hero. This strength could be shown in different ways, not only in the power of punches or kicking (Yuan,00). One Move One Move

27 46 47 I will use The Big Boss as an example to argue this point. In this movie, our protagonist is a young man who is very good at fighting, but he has promised that he will never participate in a fight. Someone else has to fight on Lee s behalf. Thus, Lee is forced to bear a lot, to suffer until one of his enemies breaks his promise, until the ones who fight for him and his friends are all gone; then Lee fights back, showing his amazing Kung Fu to the viewers. This is a story about suffering and revenge, just as Stuart suggests in his paper Kung Fu Film as Ghetto Myth. In The Big Boss, there is an atmosphere of constraint and suffering everywhere, not only from the plot, in which children and women often suffer unfairly, but also in each fight scene (Kaminsky, 974). villains bully the children and women Bruce Lee can not fight for some reason, his uncle is reminding him the promise Someone will substitute Bruce Lee to fight, at the first of The Big Boss

28 48 49 Almost all fight scenes in The Big Boss are situations in which Lee must fight against many enemies with only a few friends or alone. We know that this is not a superhero movie, and so our heroes may get hurt or even die. But as Yuan observed and I agree all of this plot and atmosphere was built for a reason: so Lee could use his power in the right way (Yuan,00). Thus, I think that tragedy here refers not only to the story itself but also to the way he uses his Kung Fu and how he could use it. Fight against a lot of enemies one time I Fight against a lot of enemies one time II

29 50 5 I counted almost all the Kung Fu moves in The Big Boss, 59 moves in total. I counted those moves on the hero side and attempted to avoid duplicating my count. Hence, in The Big Boss, I use offensive and defensive when talking about the Kung Fu performed by Lee and his friends. For example, when a fight begins, Lee punches his enemy's face one time, and at the same time the enemy tries to punch back. Whether or not the enemy is successful, there is only one punch to the head. Defensive moves are when the protagonists successfully protect themselves from their enemies' attacks, such as by blocking or evading to protect their heads or bodies. In addition, when they fail to protect themselves, I refer to those moves as causing pain. The other types of moves include some preparing and jumping moves, which may not show a strong meaning (offensive or defensive); the meaning of preparing or jumping moves is to get ready for a battle, to control breathing, or in hopes of making a movement. For the preparing and jumping moves, I counted the moves performed from both sides because such moves could be observed separately. I could not do this with offensive or defensive moves. If I counted those moves on both sides, one punch would also be defined as defensive or pain, and this kind of overlap would influence my understanding of how the moves were designed to build the character and the story. Hence, I did not count the offensive moves, defensive moves, or moves causing pain in this way. However, the preparing and jumping moves do not lead to this overlap, so I treated them a little differently (as mentioned above). Basically, I divided the Kung Fu moves in four ways: offensive moves, defensive moves, preparing and jumping moves, and moves causing pain. I also created a further category to describe how these moves work. For example, a punch or kick could land on the head, body, or on a joint. Based on my experience from learning Kung Fu, aiming for the head means that the Kung Fu performer is hoping to take his enemies down immediately. In other words, a hit on the head is the most effective way to damage your enemies. Observing the three movie examples, I discovered that when the fighters received blows to their heads they sometimes lost consciousness, and it looked very painful. When a hit occurred on the body, it caused some pain, but the fighters were still able to continue with their movements. Sometimes, the protagonists would try to hit or grab their enemies joints. These moves were intended to stop their enemies' actions, so they caused pain. I categorized hits on the head, body, joints, or grabs. Moreover, I observed whether the painful hitting caused the protagonist to bleed. Based on watching the three movies a number of times, I doubt that bleeding is used to convey the meaning of serious pain. Generally, the movie hero is seldom hurt, and it is hard to make him bleed because he is strong and powerful. Sometimes, the Kung Fu scenes focused only on the heroes or only on the enemies, showing how they practice Kung Fu. In such cases, I considered some of the enemies as heroes in that scene and divided the people into two sides so that I could continue counting the Kung Fu moves. I also created a visual website to show my data, which I collected from the three Kung Fu movies. Generally speaking, the website shows the number of moves I counted in the example movies, the amount of moves in the different categories, and a comparison between the stars and all actors. For example, in The Big Boss, I compared the number of moves performed by Lee and the number of moves performed by all the other actors. Because I believe that the different distribution of Kung Fu moves will create different characters in the movies, I counted those numbers and put them into the category I mentioned above. The different colors on this page indicate the different categories of Kung Fu moves. The width of the stroke relates to the number of moves. The number on the left bottom is the total number of Kung Fu moves in the movie. If you move your mouse along the path, this number will change to show the number of moves at the point where your mouse is resting. In addition, if you click on the path, relevant movie clips will be shown on the left black part of the screen. It is also possible to access the website by scanning the QR code on this page, or by simply using the web link on this page. Page Link:

30 5 5 Kung Fu moves in Three Kinds of Kung Fu Movies How they fight Where they hit Tragedy Kung Fu movies mainly to show the power of the Kung Fu, to create a Kung Fu hero in this kind of movie. The Big Boss A example of the Tragedy Kung Fu movies. Click the path on the right to see movie clips. Tragedy 00.0% of all moves Punches Bruce Lee who performed 09 moves in this movie Comedy 00.0% of all moves Kicking Blocking Visual 00.0% of all moves Evading Bleeding Preparing Jumping Offensive Kung Fu Moves Deffensive Kung Fu Moves Moves causing pain Other Kung Fu Moves My visual design of the movie data(more precisely data could see in the appendix) Count the moves and category the moves The time perform Kung Fu in The Big Boss is 987s, 6min 7s The time perform Kung Fu in Bruce Lee perform Kung Fu is 660s, min The time perform Preparing or Jumping moves is 6s, min 4s

31 54 55 Based on the data (Table I The Big Boss), I came to understand The Big Boss in the same way as Yuan and Stuart: Lee's Kung Fu movie shows his powerful Kung Fu. The offensive moves in this movie caught my attention for two reasons. First, Lee and his friends performed 8 moves trying to hit their enemies heads. There were 99 offensive moves in the movie, so that means that almost 40% of the offensive moves were aimed at the enemies' heads. I also found that in the movie, when Lee and his friend succeeded in hitting their enemies' heads, their enemies were usually defeated or knocked down. Based on this, many enemies were beaten by Lee and his friends. I think this is one way Bruce Lee shows the power of Kung Fu in his movies. The second thing I noticed is that Lee performed a lot of kicks, which were also usually aimed at his enemies' heads. There were 44 kick moves aimed at enemies heads in this movie, 0 of which were performed by Lee. When I studied Kung Fu, I learned that a kick to the head is one of the most difficult moves to perform, requiring both strength and speed. Thus, I think Lee performed so many kicks to demonstrate his technique and strength. Kick on the head Kick on the head The Big Boss contains 59 Kung Fu moves, 99 of which contain the meaning of offense. Of these offensive moves, the number performed by hand, such as using weapons or punches, was 7. The remaining 7 offensive moves were kicking moves. There were 8 moves directed at enemies' heads, 74 by hand and 44 by kick. As for defense, Lee performed 5 blocking moves and 6 evading moves. In the movie, there were 0 total defensive moves, and Lee only performed 4 of them. Lee attacked a lot but needed little defense because he defeated most of his enemies before they could attack him. To be sure, Lee was seldom hurt. Only 6 moves hurt him without causing bleeding while 4 moves caused him to bleed. There were 78 hurt moves in the movie, which means that Lee's friends were much easier to hurt than Lee, and I think this is another way that Lee is portrayed as strong and heroic. Jump kick on the head Three consistent kick on the head

32 56 57 Next we will talk more about the defensive moves. Evading and blocking are two main elements of defensive moves, but the difference is that blocking seems more powerful. When blocking, it is necessary to touch your opponent, which requires more risk than evading. Evading moves sometimes make it appear that the character is trying to run away, and this is a point we will stress in the following movie examples. In The Big Boss, there were 49 block moves and 6 evading moves as well as 78 hurt moves without bleeding and 9 that caused bleeding. Hence, the enemies make 97 attacks in this movie. I should emphasize the idea again that in Lee's movies, his enemies do not attack less often because they are too weak; it is because Lee is built as a super hero who seldom gives his enemies the opportunity to hurt him. Also of note is that in The Big Boss, unlike in other movies, the bleeding of the hero only makes him stronger. Bleeding will not weaken him but will make him stronger A series of scene show the response of Bruce Lee when he got hurt in his movies. Realized that he get hurt and start bleeding. Change his eyes sight and try to know how serious this wound is. Prepare to show his anger. Spit his blood, show his anger and he doesn't care this wound.

33 58 59 Lee s disdain for bleeding is not the only deep impression from The Big Boss. Lee is also famous for his gestures and some of his fancy tricks. Like Yuan, I agree that those things shatter the stereotype of the Chinese man, and this is how Bruce Lee tried to change the impression of the Chinese man in the US. Representative Gesture Another thing that caught my eye is how Kung Fu information is caught by viewers and how this works in movies. While The Big Boss has a running length of over 99 minutes, only 6 minutes and 7 seconds are dedicated to the performance of Kung Fu. Based on this, the average time for performing a single Kung Fu move was.9 seconds. I think this is a very short time, and indeed, for most of the Kung Fu moves in the movie, the time was even shorter. Thus, while I think the impression viewers receive is that the Kung Fu is awesome, it is hard for them to remember what Lee actually did. However, the gestures and preparing positions before the fights, which I divided into the positional move category, took an average of 5.8 seconds to perform. This is much longer than the other moves, and I believe this means that these kinds of moves are much easier for viewers to remember. Perhaps this could help to answer the question of why the Chinese Kung Fu on the screen today looks so similar. Lee's Kung Fu movies were the milestone of the genre, and because the preparing positions and jumping skills of Chinese Kung Fu take a long time in his movies, they leave a deep impression on viewers. One additional impressive thing is that of the 6 minutes and 7 seconds of Kung Fu in this movie, Lee performed for minutes almost all the time. However, in The Big Boss, Lee first receives a promise and is unable to participate in any fights. Thus, the viewers need to wait nearly 44 minutes to watch his first real fight in the movie. But, faced with the data, I agree that Bruce Lee's tragedy Kung Fu movies create a lot of prerequisites to build anticipation and help him showcase his Kung Fu later. L R Bruce Lee's Prepare moves

34 60 6 Comedy Kung Fu What is comedy Kung Fu? In contrast to Bruce Lee's style, Jackie Chan built a different style of Kung Fu movies, and his style created a new trend in Hollywood. Chan struggled for a long time to emulate Lee and he felt he failed in his attempt so he ultimately decided to perform Kung Fu in a totally opposite way (Logan,995). I choose the movie Rumble in the Bronx as an example to study Chan's style. This movie is the one that helped Chan make his mark on Hollywood, and it is a milestone of his career. Rumble in the Bronx makes it clear that Chan is totally different from Bruce Lee. The element of humor is everywhere in this movie. At the start of the movie, Chan wants to hug with his uncle and forgets to hold onto his package cart, and the sounds of a crash and car horns tell the viewers what results. This kind of obscure humor is a sharp contrast to Lee's movie atmosphere, which is characterized by pressure and revolution. In Chan's comedy Kung Fu movies, he lets his viewers know that the movie will be fun. The time Jackie Chan leave his package cart. Start to make a hug with his uncle, but totally forget his package cart. Package cart continue run away. A car crash sound, and the response of the people show what happen on that pool package cart.

35 6 6 Chan shows this humor in his Kung Fu. In the beginning of his movies, he does not try to establish a complicated plot or build a reason to show his Kung Fu. The reason for fighting could be anything related to justice. In Rumble in the Bronx, some villains bully his friends in their supermarket and Chan fights for them. In fact, this same plot device is used in Lee's The Big Boss, but this alone is not enough of a reason for Lee to fight. Why? I think it may be because Lee represents the highest Kung Fu master in his movies. Once he shows his Kung Fu, he is never defeated, regardless of how many enemies he faces or how strong they are. Lee will always find a way to beat his enemies, demonstrating his Kung Fu and building a new impression of the Chinese man as very strong. Chan does not have such grand intentions in his movies. In Rumble in the Bronx, he is simply a normal good guy who is good at Kung Fu. He helps his friends, but he also gets hurt. In Chan s case, the wounds are real. Where Bruce Lee is trying to build a hero, Jackie Chan just wants to show the story of a good normal guy. Help his friend and fighting with the villain. But he will also get hurt and bleeding. And sometimes show his powerless. Jackie Chan hurt seriously, almost died

36 64 65 Kung Fu moves in Three Kinds of Kung Fu Movies How they fight Where they hit Comedy Kung Fu movies mainly to show the sacrifice of the protagonist, to create a good people who will try his best to help his friend, even himself will be painful Rumble in the Bronx A example of the Comedy Kung Fu movies. Click the path on the right to see movie clips Tragedy 00.0% Punches Jackie Chan who performed 0 moves in this movie Comedy 00.0% Kicking Blocking Visual 00.0% Evading Preparing Jumping Offensive Kung Fu Moves Deffensive Kung Fu Moves Moves causing pain Other Kung Fu Moves My visual design of the movie data(more precisely data could see in the appendix) Count the moves and category the moves The time performed Kung Fu in The Rumble in the Bronx is 657s, 0min 57s The time performed Kung Fu by Jackie Chan: 654s, 0min 54s The time performed the preparing and jamping moves is 4s, 0min 4s

37 66 67 Looking at the data, there are a number of differences. In Rumble in the Bronx, there are Kung Fu moves, far fewer than the 59 in The Big Boss, and a low number for Kung Fu movies. Moreover, nearly all the moves are performed by Chan himself. I think this is because in Lee's tragedy movies, he hopes to use a comparison between his Kung Fu and that of others to show that his is stronger. In The Big Boss, one of Lee's friends is very strong, and the movie builds this character well. However, this friend is beaten so Lee takes his position in this movie to exact revenge. This process leaves viewers with the impression that Bruce Lee is the strongest fighter. Chan, on the other hand, just performs Kung Fu for self-defense and does not place much emphasis on competition, so we see little of his Chinese Kung Fu in this movie. A lot of villains surrounded Jackie Chan. Where Lee's style is to show his powerful force and revenge, Chan prefers to use Kung Fu to show his sacrifice. In Rumble in the Bronx, Chan faces the same situation in which he must fight a number of enemies at the same time. Unlike Lee, Chan does not take them all down. Often, Chan just tries to run fast, and he is so clever that he always finds some way to escape danger. However, he still receives a lot of pain in Rumble in the Bronx. He is often hurt, being hit on the head 9 times, including 5 that lead to bleeding, on his body times, including 5 that lead to bleeding, and 6 times on his joints or where he is grabbed by his enemies. Many of these moves make him look very difficult to move in the movie. In other types of Kung Fu movies, the hero does not get hurt so often. In The Matrix, Keanu Reeves does get hurt, but most of this occurs during Kung Fu practice with Laurence Fishburne, another hero and one of the protagonists in the movie; the hurt is from practice, not real fights, as in Chan s movies. Chan also showcases a lot of defensive moves to protect himself, although he is still the fighter most likely to be wounded. He is alone and looks like no way to run away. He chose to use an unique way to go upstairs.

38 68 69 Since Chan is often the one to get hurt and try to run away, his movies may not immediately sound like comedies. In my opinion however, I think this is a clever method Chan uses to create his comedy Kung Fu, adding humorous elements to reduce the tense atmosphere of being chased or attacked. For example, sometimes he will suddenly fight in a funny way when being chased by his enemies, and the responses of his enemies provide the comedy relief. Then, Jackie Chan change a big punch, and the 5 Punches his head again. 6 enemy looks so scared. His enemy shows an attitude that he does not Jackie Chan punches the enemy's head want to care what Jackie Chan's saying give him a lesson. It looks work well. 7 But the enemy still does not yield. 8 And also punches the enemy's body. But the enemy still looks like he doesn't regret. 4 And then, Jackie Chan changes his equipment 9 This time, the enemy give up before Jackie 0 again. Chan attack him.

39 70 7 Chan uses humor to reduce the tense atmosphere and show Kung Fu in a totally different way from Lee. Moreover, Chan shows sacrifice. He gets hurt and feels pain, but he still helps his friends, even some who are not real friends at the time. Chan knows that he will get hurt and that he is not assured of success, but he will not give up. Rather than trying to create a hero like in Lee's movies, Chan focuses on telling some funny stories that happen to a normal guy, and the Kung Fu in his movies is also designed for this purpose, to show his humor and, occasionally, his powerlessness and sacrifice. Sometimes Chan also shows some real Kung Fu because his movies are still about Kung Fu movie, not only comedy. Block the enemy's attack on his head. L R Hit the enemy's hand joint and let Jackie Chan has time to pay the enemy back. L R Punch the enemy's body. L R

40 7 7 Visual Kung Fu Now, I will discuss the last style of Kung Fu movies: visual effect. This type of movie did not appear in Yuan's paper as she focused on American movies from Bruce Lee to Jackie Chan. However, many other documents, both in China and the US, argue that after the birth of The Matrix, Kung Fu movies also transformed for a new century. This is the first movie that did not invite any Chinese actors to perform Kung Fu, demonstrating the ability to combine people with computerized visual effects to create wonderful Kung Fu moves. Even the actors had no prior training in Chinese Kung Fu. In the past, the challenge in making a Kung Fu movie was to make every action appear real while minimizing injuries to the actors. Visual effects can solve this problem. Combine Kung Fu with visual effect Combine Kung Fu with visual effect Combine Kung Fu with visual effect

41 74 75 It still seems odd to place tragedy and comedy together with visual effect. The first two words appear to be talking about the theme or atmosphere of the Kung Fu while the other is talking about the technique by which it is represented. What must be understood is that in this kind of Kung Fu movie, Kung Fu is not the content but rather a tool. In both tragedy and comedy movies, I think we could consider Kung Fu as a part of the content. Especially in tragedy Kung Fu movies, we cannot remove the Chinese Kung Fu because the movie itself is an advertisement for Kung Fu. Lee admitted that his purpose was to portray the masculinity of the Chinese people in his movies, and in order to achieve this he had no choice but to show Chinese Kung Fu. If he tried to show Chinese masculinity only through his muscle or strength, it would be not be as convincing. Rather, Lee would look like a man who is good at exercise, and that would not relate specifically to Chinese people; anyone could love to exercise. By showing his strength through Chinese Kung Fu, which is a unique part of Chinese culture, Lee s movies relate to Chinese people more easily. Would Jackie Chan's comedy Kung Fu movies be the same without Kung Fu? Because his movies do not intend to show the power of Kung Fu or to spread Kung Fu culture, it seems that the most important thing is the comedy, so why could he not just choose some other type of action to demonstrate his humor? However, let us look at The Matrix. Does the hero, the one, really need Chinese Kung Fu to fight against agent Smith? In the scene in The Matrix where Keanu Reeves practices with Laurence Fishburne, Chinese Kung Fu is shown in a very consistent and wonderful way; it is cool, and it left a deep impression on me. But just as Mouse (a character in the movie) says, that scene is intended to show that Reeves is somehow different and his neurokinetics are somehow better than normal. I believe there are other choices to convey this information. While performing Chinese Kung Fu is one way, it is hard to say this it is the best way. Generally, the idea here is that in visual effect Kung Fu movies, Chinese Kung Fu may not be necessary. The movies combine a number of computerized visual effects with Chinese Kung Fu. Some of the moves in this kind of movie may even be impossible to perform in the real world, such as in the last part of The Matrix, when a lot of agents try to shoot Reeves but he stops all the bullets with a single palm. I believe Chinese Kung Fu itself is also necessary for Chan s movies. For example, in Rumble in the Bronx, Chan is just a normal good man. If he did not know Chinese Kung Fu, how could he fight against four or more enemies at once? Moreover, Bruce Lee already created the impression of Chinese Kung Fu as a powerful and amazing art, so while there may have been some other choices for Chan to show his fighting ability, Chinese Kung Fu is still the best choice. Do not need the Kung Fu to kill the agent Smith.

42 76 77 Kung Fu Moves in Three Kinds of Kung Fu Movies Visual Kung Fu movies mainly to show the elegant and the beauty of the Kung Fu, to leave a strong impression of their Kung Fu to the movie viewers. The Matrix Punches How they fight Where they hit Keanu Reeves performed 44 moves in this movie A example of the Visual Kung Fu movies. Click the path on the right to see movie clips Tragedy 00.0% Kicking Comedy 00.0% Blocking Visual 00.0% Evading Bleeding Preparing Offensive Kung Fu Moves Deffensive Kung Fu Moves Moves causing pain Jumping Other Kung Fu Moves My visual design of the movie data(more precisely data could see in the appendix) Count the moves and category the moves The time performed Kung Fu in The Matrix is 49s, 8min s The time performed Kung Fu by Jackie Chan: 76s, 6min 6s The time performed preparing and jumping moves: 5s, min 5s

43 78 79 What difference does the data reveal in visual effect Kung Fu moves compared with other kinds of Kung Fu moves? The Matrix contains 5 Kung Fu moves, which is similar to the comedy example above. Of that number, Reeves performed 44 moves. Notably, the other moves make up a higher percentage of the Kung Fu time in this kind of movie than they do in tragedy and comedy Kung Fu movies. In addition, the total time given to performing Kung Fu is also much lower than in the other two examples. This leads me to believe that in this kind of Kung Fu movie, a lot time is spent showing preparing positions or jumping skills. While these Kung Fu moves may not contain a strong meaning (offensive or defensive), they are the most representative moves to let the viewers recognize that this is Chinese Kung Fu. In Lee's Kung Fu movies, if we consider the number of moves, the preparing and jumping moves do not take an important position. Prepare moves I Prepare moves II Prepare moves III Each of them need or more seconds, and leave a strong impression to the viewers.

44 80 8 I feel that this means these kinds of moves are more likely to be remembered by viewers because each time they appear in Kung Fu movies they have another chance to leave an impact. Often, many Kung Fu moves will be shown in a single scene and in a short time, as in The Matrix, where Keanu Reeves performed 4 kicks in seconds. During those seconds, Carrie-Anne Moss, who played the female protagonist in the movie, also performed punches, meaning that 0.5 seconds were given to each move in this scene. How could viewers possibly remember those moves occurring in such a short time? Some preparing moves, on the other hand, were shown for as long as 7 seconds. I think the director chose to add so many preparing and jumping moves to help the viewers realize that the characters were performing Chinese Kung Fu. Tragedy and comedy Kung Fu movies cannot separate Kung Fu from their stories. If Kung Fu is left out of those movies, the stories would be incomplete or irreparably changed. Such movies have the responsibility to share Kung Fu culture. The difference between tragedy and comedy Kung Fu is that the purpose of the tragedy movie is mainly to show the strength and power of the Kung Fu by building an invincible hero. Comedy Kung Fu is completely different in its intent, seeking to show sacrifice and to portray a regular person, a good guy, who sometimes may also be a hero, who will fight for his friends but still feel pain. Visual Kung Fu movies contain Kung Fu elements, but only as a subordinate element, and they could easily be replaced by other elements, such as other martial arts. 5 seconds for this jump and kick Kung Fu move