The Martial Arts Cinema of the Chinese Diaspora: Ang Lee, John Woo, and Jackie Chan in Hollywood

185 Pages·2011·1.27 MB·English

by  Kin-Yan Szeto

The Martial Arts Cinema
of the Chinese Diaspora

The Martial Arts Cinema of
the Chinese Diaspora
Ang Lee, John Woo, and
Jackie Chan in Hollywood
Kin-Yan Szeto
Southern Illinois University Press
Carbondale and Edwardsville
Copyright © 2011 by the Board of Trustees,
Southern Illinois University
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
14 13 12 11 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Szeto, Kin-Yan, [date].
The martial arts cinema of the Chinese diaspora : Ang Lee, John Woo,
and Jackie Chan in Hollywood / Kin-Yan Szeto.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-8093-3021-8 (pbk. : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-8093-3021-0 (pbk. : alk. paper)
ISBN-13: 978-0-8093-8620-8 (ebook)
ISBN-10: 0-8093-8620-8 (ebook)
1. Martial arts films—United States—History and criticism. 2. Lee,
Ang, 1954– —Criticism and interpretation. 3. Woo, John, 1948– —
Criticism and interpretation. 4. Cheng, Long, 1954– —Criticism and
interpretation. I. Title.
PN1995.9.H3S94 2011
791.43´657—dc22 2010038673
Printed on recycled paper.
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of
American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence
of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1992.
Contents
Acknowledgments vii
Introduction: Cosmopolitical Consciousness,
Film, and Transnationalism 1
1. Martial Arts Cinema, the Chinese
Diaspora, and Hollywood 13
2. Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon:
Gender, Ethnicity, and Transnationalsim 33
3. Facing Off East and West in the Cinema of John Woo 71
4. Jackie Chan and the Politics of Comic Displacement 113
Conclusion: Cosmopolitical Thinking 144
Notes 153
Bibliography 157
Index 167

Acknowledgments
T
his book has benefited from the contributions of many people.
I extend my deepest gratitude to Margaret Drewal, Chuck Kleinhans,
and Dwight Conquergood for their insight, guidance, and inspiration
that shaped this project. Their advice and encouragement have driven
me to expand my own horizon and abilities. I am grateful to the Hong
Kong Film Directors’ Guild, the Hong Kong Film Archive, Centro Digital
Pictures, and the China Film Archive for providing resources. I wish to
thank the Lilla Heston Fellowship, the China Times Cultural Foundation
Young Scholar Award, and the Appalachian Foundation Fellowship for
their financial support in making this research project possible. I would
also like to thank the editorial board and production staff at Southern
Illinois University Press for their help and professionalism at every stage
in the process of production. I am very appreciative of the generous com-
ments and suggestions from the anonymous reviewers. Modern Chinese
Literature and Culture has kindly granted me permission to include in
my book the revised version of the previously published essay “Jackie
Chan’s Cosmopolitical Consciousness and Comic Displacement” (Mod-
ern Chinese Literature and Culture 20.2 [2008]: 229–60).
vii

The Martial Arts Cinema
of the Chinese Diaspora