[Weekly Update] June 26, 2022

Sorry about the messy thumbnail image, cobble that up on a image editing site using a touchpad.

But hey, I think Bruce Lee looks good either way.

CHANNEL UPDATE

If case you don't know, I'm currently on vacation, away from home. It's kinda crazy that I don't have to think about work constantly. Hopefully, being away from work will do some good for my mind, and let me create some better videos.

As for now, I've already uploaded the next two videos, and they'll go live in July. Bonus video will be released tomorrow, and it'll be about Jurassic Park vs. Jurassic World.

Lastly, some of you may know that we filmed a martial arts short film two weeks ago. Postproduction hasn't begun yet, and won't begin until the end of July. but we have a lot of good stuff to show you this late Summer all through Winter. Stay tuned!

MEDIA TALK

Hope you enjoy our last video on Kung Fu movies and patriotism. That was a topic that comes up surprisingly often in our channel's comment section, and for a while, I have no real answer to it. I just figured Kung Fu must've been a good subject to inject national pride into, until I remember the genre hasn't always been like this.

Crazy how many things were the way it was because of Bruce Lee. Although as many commenters have pointed out, the patriotic genre actually began slightly before Bruce Lee (with films like King Boxer), there is no doubt Bruce Lee is the biggest influence.

In a way, every Kung Fu film we loved is a product made in pursue of the world's desire for more Bruce Lee action. Jackie Chan was intentionally marketed as the next Bruce Lee. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood made Jet Li famous and made patriotic folk hero the genre norm. Ip Man is basically a loose remake of Fist of Fury.

From this admittedly rather reductive view, all Hong Kong classic Kung Fu movies are Bruceploitation. And the genre faded away, because people finally lost interest in Bruce Lee.

The film industry often comes in cycles of nostalgia. Modern audience intimately familiar with this concept, no doubt. Back in the 90s, we have Spielberg, Lucas, and Burton making films that pay homage to classic film serials and horror movies from the 20s to 40s. Nowadays, DC superheroes flicks are modeling itself after crime films of the 60s and 70s.

And martial arts cinema in Hollywood is now modeling itself after the works of Jackie Chan (Shang-Chi, Everything Everywhere All at Once).

So, here is my prediction for the future of martial arts cinema: Once our craving for classic Jackie style action comedy reaches a tipping point, a new era of Kung Fu cinema will begin. And I can only imagine what that would be. When people craved Bruce Lee, Jackie completely transformed the landscape of the genre. And when American audience wanted more Hong Kong action, The Matrix became a landmark in cinematic history.

So, here's my question for you this week: What do you want from the next wave of kung fu films? Personally, I'd like to see the genre return to a more indie, and less VFX enhanced route that's so common these days. EEAAO is definitely a step towards my preferred direction. What about you?

In any case, I'll see you next week in our next update!