Wax on, wax off: mediatized Asian masculinity through Hollywood martial arts films

Abstract

This paper examines the mediatization of Asian masculinity in representative Hollywood martial arts films to expose the essentialism on which such films rely. Asian martial arts films are able to tap into viewers' familiarity with idealized images of Asian masculinity; such familiarity is an essential part of the pleasure provided by these films and hence of their economic success. This study focuses on non-Asian (that is, western) protagonists' appropriation of Asian masculinity because it succinctly encapsulates precisely how western hegemonies co-opt and commodify Asian-ness for their own purposes. Such appropriation is a use of intertextuality that not only allows western viewers to easily access a simplified model of Asian masculinity, but also allows them to reference earlier works to further facilitate the mediation and mediatization of Asian masculinity. This is a process which continues to Other and exoticizes Asian identities, even as it ostensibly carves out a niche for Asian bodies and identities in the institution of the film industry.

Sociolinguistic representations of the military in Greek comedy films

“…In this context, contrary to the growing interest of cultural and media research in cinematic representations of the military, the sociolinguistics of cinematic discourse, as a body of research emerging only over the last decade, has dealt with social categories traditionally linked to sociolinguistic research on non-mediated data (Stamou 2014). Specifically, most of these studies have focused on film representations of ethnicity (and gender), such as the appropriation of Asian masculinity by nonAsian protagonists in Hollywood martial arts films (Hiramoto 2015), the use of White, Hollywood African-American English for the construction of hegemonic black masculinity (Bucholtz 2011), or the German practices of dubbing Hollywood African-American Vernacular English (AAVE) into a passable target language (Queen 2004). Another important line of relevant research involves the exploration of ethnocultural stereotypes in Hollywood (Bleichenbacher 2008;Petrucci 2008) or Disney animated films (Lippi-Green 1997).…”

"So, Do You Know Kung-Fu?"

“…[12] By displaying Bruce Lee's character in this manner, it gives the impression that all he can do is fight, when martial arts is more than just fighting; it is a blend of fighting, philosophy, and culture. [13] By misappropriating the meaning of martial arts for entertainment purposes, film makers create the image that Asians use martial arts for violent means.…”