Globalizing Hong Kong Cinema Through Japan

Releasing Masculinity for a More Just World: Lessons on How to “Be Water” in Hong Kong

“…In practice, the “real” is validated through the embracing of “real kung fu”—authentic hand-to-hand combat with “vivid sensory spectacles involving not only violent bloodshed but also thrilling displays of physical action” rather than technologically assisted swordplay with special effects (Yip 2017b, 58). This masculinist tradition was carved out by and attributed to the legendary director Chang Cheh, who cultivated a cohort of martial artists with stunning kinetic skills and unbridled athleticism, such as Wang Yu, David Chiang, Ti Lung, Chen Kuan-tai, and, of course, Bruce Lee (Desser 2005b). These virile men's chiseled, half-naked bodies attracted numerous female filmgoers, who became the backbone of Hong Kong's industrialization at the time (Yip 2017b), paving the way for a “golden age” of the kung fu genre.…”

“…A new style of action choreography deriving from acrobatic stagecraft in the style of the Peking Opera emerged and eventually prevailed, redefining martial movies by foregrounding women as marvelous martial artists. Different from the unarmed, hand-to-hand combat model popularized by the Wong Fei-hung series in the late 1940s, this paradigmatic shift led to “strong suppression of wu (武; the martial) in the genre's action esthetics due to the elevation of wen (文; the literary and the artistic) in traditional Chinese culture” (Wong 2017, 72) and inspired a new trend of “female centrism” that characterizes King Hu's massively popular swordplay movies (Desser 2005b). The rise of yanggang aesthetics “that stressed ultraviolence and fashioned a new cult of virile masculinity” amid Hong Kong's industrialization in the 1960s not only marked a return to the realist tradition, but also resulted in “increasing male dominance thereafter” (Yip 2017b, 84).…”

“…Despite their divergent story lines, each of these films culminates with a similar ending, in which the justice-seeking male protagonist, like Hahou, stops short of acting upon his vengeful will and releases his murderous adversaries to pursue justice in his own right. The endpoints of the films depart from the yanggang (staunch masculinity) tradition, known for using “violence to cover up violence” (Pang 2005, 45), that has characterized Hong Kong kung fu cinema since the late 1960s (Desser 2005b). By disrupting cycles of vicious rivalries and releasing hypermasculinity from the logic of domination and suppression that justifies brutal vengeance, these endings offer a new entry point for us to rethink the relationship between masculinity, violence, and justice.…”

New York: Gateway to the East

“…As I have written elsewhere, Shaw took his model for festival entry from Japan (Desser 2015). Japan had great success at Venice in the 1950s and some success as Cannes.…”