3/6/2023 0 Comments The way of the dragon![]() ![]() ![]() While it catapulted Bruce to a whole new level of fame in Hong Kong, he still wanted to bring his love of Asian culture to the West. Luckily, studios in Hong Kong had no such reservations and, with The Green Hornet having a decent-sized fanbase in Asia, they capitalise on Bruce’s popularity to make the incredibly successful films The Big Boss and Fist of Fury. This is why Lee’s dream project, the TV series Kung Fu, ended up going to David Carradine, complete with awkward "Asian-eye" make-up. But Hollywood was still resistent to the idea of an Asian leading man. His role as Kato in The Green Hornet series brought him legions of fans, and famous students including Steve McQueen, James Coburn and George Lazenby. And it wasn’t only the Chinese community that ostracised him.ĭespite racist practices of the time, Bruce fought every prejudice that stood in his way in bringing kung fu to the masses. However, he found himself subject to resistance from the Chinese community owing to his ethos of teaching martial arts to whomever wanted to learn, whether they were white, Asian or black. When he moved to the United States, in part to escape local trouble from his frequent street fighting, he wanted to bring his love of martial arts and Asian culture to the West. Whether it was his mixed-race heritage (his mother’s father was a Dutch Jew), his interest in Western and Asian philosophy (that he studied at the University of Washington) or his love of the cha-cha (1958 Hong Kong champion!), Bruce Lee always believed in inclusion. In a time when tribalism and nationalism is on the rise, many are drawn to figures like Bruce Lee whose only aim was to unite people. So how did a Chinese-American martial artist, who only made four films, become a global phenomenon? In introducing martials arts to millions he continues to inspire people to this day, myself included. ![]() He was thirty-two years old. I’m thirty-four, and Bruce Lee died more than ten years before I was born. On the 20th July 1973, Bruce Lee died from a brain edema believed to have been caused by an allergic reaction to a pain medication. ![]()
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