ALL CHINESE PRACTICE KUNG-FU, RIGHT?

Back in 1973, once I saw Bruce Lee and the tsunami of kung fu films that quickly flooded our American shores, I thought, “Man, it seems everyone in China must know kung fu.” Asian kids at school were suddenly given the wide berth because, “You just never knew.”

Then when the martial arts film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon hit the U.S. in 2000, Asian film and Asian stars were hot commodities in the U.S. entertainment world. Taiwan-born director Ang Lee was named America's best director of 2001 by Time magazine, Hong Kong star Jackie Chan commanded $15 million per Hollywood picture and Crouching Tiger sent a charge through the Academy Awards.

In the Eye of the Beholder

When you think of Bruce Lee, what's your first thought? Fists of Fury and The Green Hornet's Kato? It does for me--the last thing on my mind would be Seattle and philosophy. However, SDAFF's June 21st Member Film Forum centered on how much appearances can mask unexpected human facets. Last month's featured forum film, Arthur Dong's Hollywood Chinese--a documentary on Hollywood's history of Chinese and other Asian on-screen representations--explored these ideas about appearance, as did an amazing YouTube clip of Bruce Lee's audition for Kato during which he did an impromptu demonstration of kung fu for the camera.