Who knew? That hip-hop was a way for Black culture to resist against the white supremecy is now one of the most popular music genre’s. Overall, I think it’s sort of ironic that these forms of resistance are now popular art forms in today’s society.

People need to see this all from our eyes, from the right perspective. Too many of us let someone else have control of what we should have control of. Expression of self. – Vulcan

The first quote in the chapter of Kato started with Vulcan. He is a spray artist, disliking the term graffiti. He helped found Harlem’s Graffiti Hall of Fame. This article is all about him and his work.

Lee’s Jeet Kune Do, as seen in Game of Death, is an amalgamated art designed to be fast, fluid, and effective with as little movement as necessary.

Graffiti arts are similar in nature. Often leaving out some of the traditional conventions of other highly regarded arts. Rather than a physical reaction, they garner a textual political or emotional response.

“According to the kung fu film semiotics the karate/judo gi is reserved to signify the Japanese, hence, foreign power/imperialism.” page 152

I really enjoyed the visual aspect of this part. Seeing the entire courtyard of students in white gis and the competitors in yellow, but Lee is in his Chinese costume. I think that his refusal to wear the uniform that all the other fighters wear is a major point where everyone takes notice of him.   Also at the ending, when all of the prisoners were released, they were wearing the Chinese garb in black. It created a clear visual opposition of the”good guys” and the “villains”.

As Kato goes on to say that by using the gis the crew was trying to “embody the multinational ‘Orientalist’ aesthetic” and Lee’s refusal to participate in that aspect of the film was really great to show how individual cultures should be recognized as different.

“…”Lee,” however, maintains the transcendental state of calmness, as if ego has been liquidated from the outset of the combat.” (128)  While I agree with Lee’s calmness during his fight with Ohara, in some ways, I was able to see at times his passion and his anger he was holding inside as he was fighting him. It wasn’t until the end that Lee produces this face (pictured below) where he looks as though he is going to cry. As if this isn’t the way Kungfu should be fought.

Looking at a more recent example, in Kanye West’s work we find a huge selection of sampling that pulled from different bands and genres to create something new. Back in 2007 when Kanye West released “Stronger“, he used Daft Punk’s hit “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” as its foundation and through that created something different. The music video could also be seen as a form of “sampling” or perhaps “hermit crabbing”, as it’s massively influenced by the seminal anime film Akira. Another example is from his 2010 album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, in which he sampled King Crimson’s “21st Century Schizoid Man” for the song “Power” and made it work in a way that was completely different than before. I don’t think it’s very often that rappers or hip hop artists sample 1970s prog bands, but it’s the union of two different eras and styles that makes for a pretty interesting song. It is these influences that made Kanye feel a bit fresh compared to the “bitches n’ hoes” attitude that invaded much of hip hop through the  early 21st Century – although I have to say Kanye West can definitely be guilty of that as well. All to all, I wasn’t a huge fan of this book but it did get me to reexamine and acknowledge icons in our pup culture who are closely related in ways I never realized, and the similarities in approaches (such as sampling) are undeniable. There is a spirit of resistance found within these methods which help cross barriers and allow people of different backgrounds, gender and ethnicity to tap that same power and utilize it for themselves.

This chapter concluded the relationship between hip hop and kung fu, but it also spoke of survival and existence. It tied the medium of hip hop (and all it included such as tagging) with mediums kung fu and Jeet Kune Do together by showing us how they are representations of a people forgotten. Later on page 181, Kato writes of how the use of Subway trains was meant to remind those who rode them (“corporate clones”) of the ghetto’s youth and existence.

The survival is also seen through the use of sampling, for both hip hop artists and Bruce Lee’s creation of Jeet Kune Do. By sampling all the best parts of their respective practice, they are recreating a part of their past to fit their present and deelop their future. I described this as an “immigrant’s art form”, because it mirrors the necessity for immigrants to accept parts of their new world without forgetting parts of their old world. For example, Bruce Lee is trained in kung fu and can never fully rid himself of this. For many, he is the face of kung fu. However, his use of sampling what works and creating a new art form allows him to the ability to neither deny nor be overwhelmed by kung fu. And for him, and others, it becomes the most fluid and workable representation of what they can do (which is later explained in more detail on page 192 in reference to the fight scene between Lee and Abdul-Jabbar).

And while both of these art forms have been comodified and put into the capatilist machine to be pumped out for mass consumption without any ingredient labels, they opportunities that have arose and the expression of “I exist!” have become even larger.

Book-inspired scenes to watch for prior to film: page 123– yellow/white uniforms- Lee vs. Ohara (with special attention to the “spectator clapping” which shows us the reality of the cast dynamics) page 152- lack of acceptance for of yellow gi by Lee.
Why I’m watching for it: The context for “Lee’s” refusal with the uniform and to see the reactions during the fight. Also, to better understand Ohara as symbol (“personifies”) of imperialism (page 133).
Post film thoughts on the scene (The review): In this scene, there is a guard of Han’s that comes into “Lee’s” room and uses definitive words when referring to the (yellow) uniform: “you must attend the morning ritual in uniform.” With must, there is an “or else” attached to the end of it, even if it’s not spoken. With the yellow gi, “Lee” is refusing to be identified in a way that he has not chosen for himself. The book also mentions this theme among Lee’s real life actions in his resistance while making films and how he did not accept the traditional “Orientalist” themes. Likewise, the book explains how the reactions of those who were watching and clapping during the “Lee”/Ohara fight were real. Because of the tensions and discrimination that they [reactors] faced, the ways Lee had stood up for them, and especially the original scene with the glass bottle where Robert Wall actually cut Lee’s hand the fight scene between the two men symbolized more than just a dramatic fight scene in the movie.

Book-inspired scenes to watch for prior to film: page 126– Sin-Lu (Angela Mao Ying) and her “battle against patriarchy”
Why I’m watching for it: From what we’ve read, kung fu movies were not made with female roles as the main protagonist, so to have a woman in the film (which was made in the 1970s) fighting for herself and standing for so much– of course I was excited to see this scene.
Post film thoughts on the scene (The review): My initial reaction after seeing this was “seppuku? But the character is  Chinese…?”. I thought this was important because of the constant use of “Asian” as an all-inclusive culture and to have a Chinese character imitate an exclusive Japanese ritual did not seem to combat that idea. However, this is not a traditional seppuku and the important details on how it is done are missing. But the choice to have her stab herself in the belly instead of hypothetically slash her neck seems to be symbolic of dying honorably by her own hands. Sin-Lu’s screen time was completely spent on her fighting off the advances of the men and also running from them. While she was defending herself completely and competently, she came to a point where she was surrounded and immensely vulnerable. The only option for her that was still her own was to kill herself. So while I have mixed feelings about the details in the way she killed herself, I do think that the scene made a powerful statement.

Other notes!!
Page 146 mentions some writers who used “Oriental” themes in their stories, one of which being Arthur Conan Doyle of the Sherlock Holmes series. While I do not watch the show myself, I immediately thought of the modern television show Elementary where Lucy Liu plays Joan Watson.

My last note is very brief; merely pointing out the use of opium in Enter the Dragon and the way that stereotype continued into the 1970s.

This reminded me of Takaki’s Strangers From a Different Shore and how many Asian immigrants were tricked or fooled into thinking that they would have a great life in the U.S. I see a similarity to this happening to Lee and how many Asians feel for the deceit of America. Also, further into the reading,

After watching Enter the Dragon, the book begins to make more sense about its allegories. The book goes on to explain about the scene and Oharra on page 132, “”‘Lee’s’ face beams forth ever-changing impressions from the wrath of righteous deity, to the indignation of a woman, to the ululation of a child victimized by war.” I take this as a way of empires/countries/colonies suffering the consequences of “war for peace.” It’s ironic. Many expansions are due to this greed of power, or the true belief that one’s ruling is the best way, but the first thing that most people see is war or violence being portrayed.

Overall, I enjoyed the movie  because there was a lot of action, but I also see how it fits in perfectly with the allegories presented. As for my comparison to Takaki, I think that Lee coming up and beating Han would be the rising of the Asian cultures against invaders. Han was Asian himself and the book talks about how many Asian countries had to suffer the consequences of violence and war against other Asian invaders, so I believe that was a good representation of the protagonist and antagonist roles cast in the movie.