2010 Shanghai World Expo

Hai Bao, meaning "treasure of the sea," looks at you with big bright eyes and a large, unchanging smile. As the ambassador of the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, he bears the message: I am embracing friends from all over the world with my open arms and confident smile. This is what visitors, tourists, and representatives from throughout the world see—a little blue character that is welcoming, happy, and secure; so, this must clearly mean the people of China are the same way. But is this really the case?

The next images that I envision come out of a hypothetical horror scene from a cartoon. It is dark, rainy, and ominous and little Hai Bao is trapped in a corner being terrorized by the Chinese government to never stop smiling and looking cheerful. Regardless of how much he is frightened, that same exact smile stays glued to his face as he is not allowed to express any other form of emotion. Similar to Hai Bao’s unwavering happy face, many critics of the Expo were silenced in order to uphold this perfect image. Some reporters, like Hong Kong’s Apple Daily, were banned from reporting even though they were initially given a license to document the event. In addition, a Shanghainese punk band criticizing the government and event were deleted off the internet.

In connection, this theme of “Better City, Better Life” evokes the same questions as Hai Bao does. Is it really a better city? And who is enjoying this better life? The theme itself revolves around the idea of the city and urbanization being the better way of life, leaving subtle inferences to be made about what Shanghai thinks about rural life. The 2010 World Expo website explaining the theme states, “With the urbanization, more and more people become urban dwellers. People’s life is inevitably affected by the development of cities.” This description of this inevitability of Chinese people to urbanize is slightly worrisome because it completely disregards the rights, desires, and lives of rural people, who may or may not want to urbanize. This continual idea of old versus new, traditional versus modern seems to be a repeating theme throughout China’s popular culture—the two constantly clash with one another, but the latter seems to be winning. What does this say for marginalized people of China?

There are further contradictions in the Expo’s theme and message of sustainable economic development. Another statement on the Expo website says, “People’s life and development of the cities are closely related. With the rapid process of urbanization, the interaction between cities and the biological circle as well as the resources on earth have become more and more strong. The relationship among people, city and earth runs through the urbanization. The three will become an inseparable complex.” People, city, and earth will become inseparable? That must mean the city is going to be good for the earth through urbanization with all of its fossil fuel excretions, deforestation, and polluting of the land.

Accordingly, an article posted by NPR discusses the question of the actual sustainability of the 2010 World Expo. There were 56 pavilions built for the Expo and only the four China ones will remain, meaning 52 will be torn down. This hardly resonates with sustainability practices and leaves the issue of what is to be done with all the left over material used to build these grand structures.

As magnificent as the 2010 World Expo is, it is important forget about what occurs behind the scenes when the grandeur is so easily distracting. China has made a lot of progress in development and has seemed so inviting to the rest of the world; however, there is still a lot to be said about its practices of human rights and its treatment of its own people.

Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony

The 2008 Beijing Olympic ceremony was utterly spellbinding. It was an eye-popping, jaw-dropping extravaganza that celebrated and showcased hundreds of years of Chinese history and traditional culture. It is without a doubt that Director Zhang Yimou and choreographer Zhang Jijang had outdone themselves in this magnificent event that was cleverly accomplished with pure artistry.

The Beijing Olympic ceremony metaphorically can be seen as China’s grandeur entrance to the global stage of world-wide importance. At the cost of over $40 billion for the Olympics Games, over $100 million just for the opening ceremony; The Chinese regime has really demonstrated and flaunt their prowess as a communist nation to pull off such a feat.

The drumming performance was a very powerful piece. As the massive drummers filled the stadium and roar, it is undeniable that a statement as been made. The performance was colossal and executed with great precision and vast energy, almost militaristic. I felt the piece was one that symbolizes a powerful unity that can be translated as communist strength. The drummers are uniform and completely disciplined in their performance. Not one drummer stood out, each simply was a part of a whole entity. It promotes a sense of a collectivism rather than individualism.

As the sparkles of dust come together to form the Olympic rings, vivid fairies can be seen gracefully floating around. Not soon after, the crowd cries in awe as the fairies magically lifts the Olympic rings suspended in the air. When I saw this scene, I automatically thought of the Wuxai genre. I couldn’t help but smile to see this incorporated into the opening act. I thought it was very strategic the way they play into this commercialized fascination that is prevalent in films such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Hero, House of Flying Daggers, etc. Simultaneously, the performance also reminds me of Disney productions, specially Disneyland and its midnight firework showcase with Tinker Bell flying across the sky. I thought it was interesting that it was kind of a mixture of these two very dominant Hollywood theatrics, however coincidental might it may be.

The center piece would have to be scroll performance. It was a harmonious piece that brought together many traditional cultural arts such as calligraphy, dancing, music, and natural elements. It was this collective artwork that truly animated these various cultural forms. Again, it was a piece that was produced through massive manpower and dedication.

Overall, the Beijing Olympic ceremony was an extraordinary success. The CCP has made their statement that China is a rising nation and continues to grow industrially, economically, and culturally. It was a proclamation of power and unity. Though however politically driven it may be, it is unquestionable that the Beijing Olympics and opening ceremony is symbolism of Chinese national pride and glory.

Beijing Opening Ceremony

The Opening performance of the Beijing Olympics was China’s turn at showing the world just what they were made of. China finally had the chance to show the world that they are not far behind you; in fact, it is possible that they have already surpassed you in some areas if not most. The performance by the drummers showed all the drummers dressing in rather Chinese traditional clothes, with red being the main color they wore and tried to display. I think this is because the Chinese flag is also red, so it makes sense to use red to display China’s prowess. Even when they were using glowsticks to hit the drums and to wave to the audience, the colors of the glowsticks were red. The number of drummers is also a sight to see, as it can also serve as a sign from China to the outside world proving their large population and therefore abilities. Of course, most already knew that China had the most population in the world, but many questioned the ability of the Chinese since much of that population consist of people living in the countryside, but such a display of perfection from so many drummers serves as a sign to everyone else that not only does China have the highest population, we are also individually very adept too.

Followed by the drum performance was the display of fireworks being put up in areas all over Beijing, Tiananmen and the areas that used to serve as imperial China. Although displaying fireworks is nothing new nowadays, I kind of think of it as China’s way of declaring their own independence from every other country, that they do not need the help of any foreign country anymore, that they can flourish on their own as they have already shown the rest of the world and will continue to show that ability. After the fireworks was a lighting display of the Olympic sign while there are traditional dancers dressed in long traditional robes floating in the sky, similar to House of Flying Daggers as the commentators were talking about. They also talked about Zhang Yimou, who was the director of House of Flying Daggers, and his role in the preparation of this opening ceremony. Afterwards, a little girl starts singing while once again, she is wearing a red dress standing on a red podium while the lights in the stadium are displaying red. O c’mon that is just excessive. I know you want to prove to the world how strong you have become, but you don’t have to rub it in everyone’s face.

Other than that, China also displayed many traditional Chinese feats, such as the portrayal of calligraphy, the dancers dressed in black who were painting on the canvas that had appeared in the middle of the stadium while the man plays gu zheng in the background. Everything we see here shows traditional Chinese roots. Its as if China is trying to etch into the minds of the rest of the world the defining features of ancient China and to not forget that this is the country that surpassed (or will surpass) your own country.
I also think it was a very big honor for Zhang Yimou to be chosen as the director of the opening ceremony. Of course, because of this he will become even more known and famous, but other than that I think he did a splendid job at displaying the ancient cultures and traditions of China. I’m sure most of the people sitting in that audience at that time would not forget all that they saw, and those who saw it on TV or the internet will also remember the elegance of Zhang Yimou’s abilities.

Candy Review

"This book exists because one morning as the sun was coming up I told myself that I had to swallow up all of the fear and garbage around me, and once it was inside me I had to transform it all into candy. Because I know you all will be able to love me for it." - Mian Mian

Candy by Mian Mian is spun around a world of love, sex, drugs and rock & roll. It’s no wonder that this book was banned by the Chinese government for four months after its release. Despite that, it became a huge sensation in underground China because of the pirated copies that were being distributed illegally.

After the suicide of her classmate, Hong decides to drop out of her competitive high school and moves to Shenzhen, a Special Economic Zone. There, she immerses herself in the world of drugs, sex and rock & roll. Soon, she meets Saining, an aspiring musician, and they fall in love but in very destructive way. The novel shows love in a twisted way as Hong and Saining fall in and out of love. Hong and Sianing live the degenerate lifestyle wandering around not doing much but being sucked into the worlds of addicts, prostitutes and other such vices. Mian Mian writes in both first person and third person which give the reader insight into not only the narrator’s life but those around her as well. The author also uses very descriptive and candid portrayals of the people around Hong that the reader gets a clear understanding of how the youthful crowd lives in Shenzhen.

For me, the idea of the disillusioned youth in China at the time and the changing economy did not really register in my mind as I read the novel. I enjoyed the novel purely for the candid and blunt way Mian Mian writes. The swear words, references to drugs and the blunt nature of how she describes her life kind of reminds me of my friends who are smart but oddly self-destructive. Even if you are not involved in the world of sex, drugs and rock and roll, there is something about the book that is relatable. The lifestyle that Hong and her friends lead can be seen here in the US. In fact, you might even have a few friends that lead a similar lifestyle. The idea of the hard partying, lost souls that are trying to find themselves is nothing new but somehow the novel does not come off as clichéd. Maybe it is due to the setting of the novel, where the traditional views and rules are being casted aside but Candy comes off as a refreshing tale.

2008 Beijing Opening Ceremony

The opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2010 Shanghai World Expo were opportunities for China to showcase what they have achieved in both technological and cultural aspects. The 2008 Beijing Olympics was directed by Zhang Yimou who had put together a spectacular ceremony for the world to see. Zhang Yimou incorporated the latest technology into traditional Chinese culture utilizing huge LCD screens, complex dance choreography, and awe-inspiring visuals. However, it seems as though behind all the spectacles and bright lights were massive amounts of controversy regarding human rights and preparations for the ceremony.

Liu Yan, known to be a famous Chinese dancer, fell from a platform that was 3 meters high during rehearsal and as a result sustained spinal injuries. Due to the injury Liu Yan is now paralyzed from the waist and downward even after a six hour operation. Even though Zhang Yimou is apologetic towards this incident, I still see that China as a whole is to blame for the fate of Liu Yan. I understand the pressure that China must have been under in order to produce a performance that will wow the audience and viewers worldwide, but I believe because of their yearning to achieve this, they were careless in preparation thus Liu Yan having to face this accident.

Another controversy with the opening ceremony deals with the singer Lin Miaoke who lip-synched to the song Ode to the Motherland by Yang Peiyi, who stood behind the scenes during the performance. It is reported that this decision was made last minute and I wonder how devastated Yang Peiyi was after much preparation and excitement to show the world her own talents. Instead it was masked over by Lin Miaoke only because of her better appearance. I believe this is a direct representation of the dark side of China that they still are trying to cover up. Just like how they are faking the truth behind the singing with a beautiful girl, China is also trying to cover up its wrongdoings by showing us this extravagant ceremony.

China already had been under much controversy ever since the Tienanmen Square incident and during the opening ceremony, there seems to be no acknowledgement of those who died in 1989. It seemed as though China had purposely tried to cover up any of the controversies that either happened in the past or was happening the time. I believe showcasing such a spectacular and brilliant ceremony only puts China into much more scrutiny. Though as if China is going to great lengths in order to “make up” for its wrongdoings, it further shows how big the wrongdoings were if we were to compare it to the size and detail to the opening ceremony.

I personally thought the opening ceremony was brilliant and beautiful – never considering the fact that all these tragedies had occurred. To viewers like me, whom had no knowledge of what went on behind all the preparations, will most likely receive the ceremony positively. However, we should always consider if something is so beautiful and perfect, there must be something to hide.

Review of the 2008 Olympic Games and 2010 Shanghai World Expo

The country where one of the four major civilizations began, where people started to write on oracle bones thousands years ago, where paper, gun powder, and fireworks were invented and used for the first time in the world is China. China has the longest history and the most abundant culture in the world. Approximately two centuries ago, however, when the western countries landed on China with advanced technology and science due to the Industrial Revolution, Chinese people realized that China was far behind those countries in terms of technology and science. Ever since, they have been trying to renovate and develop every aspect of China such as economy, science, medicine, military, and culture.

Recently, China has become one of the fastest developing countries in the world, and the Chinese government has been striving to accelerate its economic growth and science development by hosting the 2008 Olympic Games and 2010 Shanghai World Expo in order to catch up with the West; China is also trying to further their goal to become the most powerful country in the world, competing with America. As we witness the process of Chinese development towards a world power, the eyes outside China see certain issues and problems to be concerned and solved—the issue of human rights, the independent movement of major minority peoples, the negative consequences of urbanization, and so on.

At the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, the world was stunned by the magnificent and massive drum and print/opera performance and impressed by the wonderful and aesthetic scroll painting ceremony. Some might say it was possible only because “China” is a communist state and the most populated country. When every country launches such world events, however, they train mostly soldiers and students who are not voluntary and sometimes force people to prepare massive performances in order to impress the world. When I was in military, I also had to prepare for national performances. While I was practicing the performances every day, I had to sacrifice myself and go through hard times to perform well. And yet, when I actually was performing what I had practiced for a long time, this experience not only gave me great satisfaction and achievement, but also gave me the unity and the patriotism for my own country as the audience got impressed and felt united patriotism as well. As for Chinese performers and people, through the performances at the opening ceremony of the Olympics Games, they all felt the same unity as Chinese and patriotism even though they had to endure hardships and difficulties. This is why, of course, hosting international events themselves—Olympics and Expo—provide economic investment and scientific benefits to China from the outside. The Chinese government emphasized “harmony(和)”and unity(同一)—56 different peoples in different costumes symbolizing different cultures as one under the Chinese national flag, in order to not only tell the world that although China has social and political issues China is still united as one and a part of the world, but also implant the idea of unity into Chinese people so that they are proud of being Chinese.

Nonetheless, China has to overcome a pile of problems to truly harmonize between its own peoples within China, urban and rural, the rich and the poor, and industrialization and humanitarianism. As the mascot of the Shanghai World Expo, Haibao(海宝) manifests the meaning of “human-oriented” and harmonious relationship between nature and society, the direction of where China is heading Haibao originated not just from emphasizing the theme, “Better City, Better Life,” which drags China blindly into industrialization and urbanization without concerning itself with genuine harmony among the people and the world. Also, in order to be a new leader of the world, China should not follow unconditionally what other developing or advanced countries did to develop such as South Korea that is dominated by materialism and pariah capitalism losing its own “beautiful and fine customs cultures.” Again, I believe that the most powerful weapon to succeed in the world’s economy and society is innovating endlessly with one another by self-evaluating and accepting criticism, as well as and harmonizing with others based on its own uniqueness and still accepting heterogeneity.

2008 BOCOG

The motto of the Beijing Olympics is “One World, One Dream”. The opening ceremony was meant to show the growth and prosperity of the Chinese nation, as well as unite China with the rest of the world. The ceremony took place on August 8th, 2008, which is very symbolic because the number 8 in China represents prosperity and wealth. Zhang Yimou, Zhang Jigang, and Chen Weiya directed the spectacle. The cost was estimated at $100,000, and the performance received rave reviews from people all over the world. 20,000 performers put on a 3 hour show containing drumming, dancing, storytelling, and martial arts. The performance was divided into two parts: the first part represented the long history of China and the second part put on display the new, modern China. Although the performance was a grand success in many ways, the opening ceremony was also marked with much controversy.

The fact that China was hosting the Olympics in the first place was a topic of debate. Many people from different countries held protests against China hosting the Olympics, mainly because of China’s poor record in terms of human rights. Groups such from all over the world held protests, asking China to be more concerned with the rights of the their people, not the Olympics. Some groups even sent out a plea, asking people to boycott the Olympic games all together. China was put in the hot seat on this subject matter in 1989 with the Tiananmen Square incident, which gained negative attention worldwide. Many feel like China hasn’t improved well enough in terms of human rights to be given the honor of hosting the Olympics.
Another controversial topic occurred following the opening ceremony, when it was revealed that certain parts of the performance were “faked”. For example, a young girl who sung China’s national anthem was lip singing to another young girl’s voice. Chen Qigang, the musical director of the Olympic ceremony, provided an answer for this swap on a Beijing radio station stating, "It was for the national interest. The child on camera should be flawless in image, internal feelings and expression." Many were shocked to hear that the original singer was not allowed to sing because she was not attractive enough. Also during the fireworks display, out of the 29 footprints meant to represent the 29 past Olympic games only one of those was live and the others were added in as effects for the television viewers.

The first half of the ceremony was meant to show the rich history of China, but some questioned if it truly did this, or if only an idealized version of Chinese history was shown. Where were any references to Mao Zedong, the leader who influenced China for three decades? Even Ai Weiwei, an artist who helped design the Bird’s Nest, was displeased with the ceremony saying, "[The government] tried so hard and wasted so much money. The ceremony was stupid, a real wasted opportunity." Despite all of the controversies, many people remain hopeful that the Olympics have given hope to the future generation. Tony Blair, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom said that when he visited China, “These people weren't living in fear, but looking forward in hope. And for all the millions still in poverty in China, for all the sweep of issues -- political, social and economic -- still to be addressed, that was the spirit of China during this festival of sport, and that is the spirit that will define its future. “ He also said, “People ask what is the legacy of these Olympics for China? It is that they mark a new epoch -- an opening up of China that can never be reversed. It also means that ignorance and fear of China will steadily decline as the reality of modern China becomes more apparent.” I believe that despite the controversies and criticisms of the opening ceremony, China proved that it is well on its way to improvements in all aspects of society.

The 2008 Beijing Olympics Opening

In the 2008 Beijing Olympics opening ceremony, China undoubtedly made it clear to the rest of the world that they were no longer a world of the old, but had, just like every other country in the world, become very modernized . The way Zhang Yimou collaborated Chinese traditional elements with the choreography, LCD screen, and fireworks show was amazing. I loved the footprints making their way through the streets of Beijing, Tienanmen Square, and the Forbidden City, up until the very mouth of the Olympic stadium. I dare to say, that this suggests that, although what happened in the Tienanmen Square was devastatingly tragic, that there is no choice but to move away from the past and to move forward into the generation of a new China. A China that hosts the world renowned Olympics.

Another point in the opening ceremony that I noticed suggested a new China, was right before the singing of the national anthem. All around the flag post where women and men dressed in the traditional clothing of various different eras of China. Carrying the flags towards this congregation, was a small group of children donning the same types of outfits, and carrying the national flag of China. I took this as a symbolic representation of the youth promoting a new generation of China. Young children to me suggest innocence and a fresh start, therefore I believe that the group of children signifies that a new innocent China should be given a well deserved fresh start by the rest of the world.

Now, this review is just my personal interpretation of these particular segments of the opening ceremony. I am in no place to say whether the Chinese government has a right to a fresh start when they still violate so many human rights laws it is not even funny. However, I do believe that this opening ceremony did shine a new light of the previous ambiguous and shady portrayal of China. What with its' beautifully artistic numerous presentations promoting harmony, dedication, hard work, and a collective mind set, the opening ceremony was breathtaking, and I am sure that it made a lasting impression on all those who watched it.

Personally, my favorite part of this piece was the dancers imprinting their moves onto the LCD scroll. I absolutely adore any form of dance as well as art, and this segment was wonderfully awe-inspiring and precise. Not only were the dancers moves hard to keep my eyes off, Zhang Yimou's well known color schemes also held my undivided attention.

All in all, Zhang Yimou did an amazing job with the opening ceremony. Many may say that he sold out in order to help the PRC better promote themselves, however during the actual opening ceremony, I doubt that there was anyone in all of China who did not feel proud and inspired having their nation in all its glory shown to every other country in the world. Will the promises that the PRC made in order to book the 2008 Beijing Olympics ring true? Only time will tell, but it is definitely something that we can all hope for.

opening ceremonies review

The opening ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Olympics was not only a celebration of Chinese culture and history, but also allowed China to send a very clear message to the world: We will no longer be considered undeveloped and looked down upon by the western world; maybe we are not yet completely caught up, but we are capable of things just as great, if not greater. China had been preparing for the Olympics for years and seized the opportunity with the world watching them to show what they were capable of.
Beginning with the drumming performance, the opening ceremonies was clearly going to feature China’s ability to mobilize its large population for public projects. Each following scene included countless individuals all with specific roles required to be carried out flawlessly in order for the performance to proceed smoothly. The most impressive of which may have been the moving display of the characters and evolution of the “he” character, in which each box was operated by a human. The coordination required to perform such a routine requires endless hours of training and preparation, and there is only one noticeable mistake, when a single box does not fall on time. At the end of each of these massive human performances, the performers all wave to the crowd, receiving acknowledgement for the show that they just put on. Perhaps reading more into that, by showing that the performances were all done by humans and not programmed into a computer, China is proving that they are capable of using their enormous man power to great result. While not overtly communist in its presentation, this is also a nod to the idea of sacrificing individual accomplishment in order to achieve a greater common goal. Indeed, in this case, the whole was definitely greater than the sum of its parts.
The story the opening ceremonies took was that of the great history and culture of China. China seemingly wanted to remind the world that while it may have had a turbulent recent history, the greater history of its culture was one to be admired for its accomplishments and contributions to the world. The constant use of fireworks may appear to simply be a visual display, but it is important to remember that China is credited with the invention of gunpowder and fireworks, and the pervasiveness of fireworks only serves to remind us of one of China’s great contributions. During the scroll movement, the gu qing is also played, which China claims is the oldest plucked string instrument in the world. The showcasing of the calligraphy and evolution of Chinese characters goes to show how one of the world’s oldest languages came about, and it is of note that the Chinese written language is the basis for Japanese and Korean written languages as well.
While China was clearly trying to put on the greatest show possible, it was also straightforward in its message to the rest of the world. China may have had troubles the last few decades, but it has an extensive history filled with cultural phenomena and contributions to the world. The world should not look at China as a nation still trying to catch up to the western world, but as a nation that is on the cusp of becoming one of the great world powers for years to come.

Kung Fu Hustle: The Asian Scary Movie

Stephen Chow’s Kung Fu Hustle laced our minds with bits of brilliance sprinkled upon an airy story.

Some things are meant for certain people and Stephen Chow's Kung Fu Hustle fills nicely into that paradigm frame. Unfortunately for me, I do not speak Cantonese, therefore I did not get the same dosage of humor that Cantonese speakers did. Chow’s use of mo lei tau, appeases the ears of its native speakers but leaves others in the dark in regards to dialogue. Foreign tongues such as myself are brought in closer via the film’s other media (computer graphics, Kung Fu, story). From the outside looking in, the film’s veil of vanity blinded its viewers of a true story. With undeveloped characters creating gaping holes in the story, Stephen Chow’s true comedy lies in the film itself.

Contrarily, Kung Fu Hustle was a critically acclaimed and Oscar-nominated picture with an incredibly well received batch of reviews attached to its resume.

Kung Fu Hustle is a parody of classical Hong Kong and Western gangster and martial arts films. Chow takes classical elements of Chinese martial arts and classical Chinese music and juxtaposes the images with American Western films, Western animation and Liumang culture. He uses slapstick comedic devices and extravagantly exaggerated kung fu to create this critically acclaimed picture. The irony that ties itself to the film is that: it is hard for one to believe that this film was made with the intent of being taken seriously, as seen in the simplicity of the story, characters and CGI. Imagine the following: Buster Keaton meets Ong Bak meets Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon’s flying sequences meets Looney Tunes slapped upside the head with Kill Bill. That tied around an incoherent plot and you have Kung Fu Hustle!

Chow’s film takes place in pre-CCP China during the earlier part of the century (1930s-1950s). The story doesn’t really follow any particular story, but the story that connects itself with the others is that of Sing. Sing is the male protagonist, who idolizes the bad and has a misconstrued idea of right and wrong. There is a point in the movie where he says in reference to the homeless people behind him, "We don’t want to be like these beggars, no ambition." The comment shows his misapprehension of ambition. Sing’s ambition is to join the powerful Axe Gang that runs the city through fear. As a viewer searching for a greater answer, his ambition to become a gangster seems to be very tough for him because it is not his natural calling. However, because of the hole in his story, sans a flashback to his childhood, we never truly find out how decent he really is.

Sing makes a number of attempts to gain respect and fit in, but falls short the same number of times. Ultimately, due to his lock-picking skills he is given his initiation mission; set loose the most evil warrior in order to destroy the good warriors of a city called Pig Sty. He realizes his full potential after he betrays the Axe Gang & the evil warrior and succumbs to a beating of epic proportions. However, while he is in a body cast, he heals quickly and becomes the strongest warrior of all and he saves the day.

Like the last paragraph and a large portion of this review -which I deliberately made dry to prove my point- the story is dry and empty and misses every chance to develop its story. Maybe, I was not ready for this film yet.

Kung Fu Hustle

The start of the 21st century was the doorway in which Chinese films began to reach transnational success, starting from Ang Lee’s “Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon,” to Zhang Yimou’s series of films including “Hero.” “Kung Fu Hustle,” a film, in which Stephen Chow directed and starred in, was another example of these highly successful transnational Chinese films, with the addition of its surprising comical base.

The setting of the film takes place in the 1940’s where a local group of hoodlums known as “the axe gang” is seen murdering members of another gang. Meanwhile, the stars of the film, Sing (Stephen Chow) and Bone, are shown in a poor town known as Pig Sty Alley, impersonating the members of the Axe gang. It is revealed in the film that Sing one day attempted to save an innocent mute girl from bullies by applying his newly practiced form of martial arts, known as the Buddhist Palm. He obtained this form through a manual that was sold to him for his life savings from a bum, who claimed that Sing’s flow of chi will potentially make him indestructible. When he ultimately fails and gets urinated on to add salt to wound, he concludes that being good-hearted is worthless and bad guys always win, therefore, he wanted to be a gang member.
Sing and Bone stir mischief as they fuel a dispute between the axe gang and the people of Pig Sty Valley. Fortunately, three masters of martial arts resided there and defeated the axe gang, so Sing and Bone were captured. They do not look the part of gang members but they are ultimately given a chance to prove themselves after Brother Sum, the leader of the axe gang is impressed with Sing’s efficiency in picking locks.
Brother Sum and the axe gang go through a series of events as the higher the second best master and the greatest known master, respectively, in order to defeat the landlady and landlord of Pig Sty village, who also happen to be masters. When Sing gets in the mix to save the masters from Beast, the greatest master of them all, he literally gets pounded into the ground. As Sing heals quickly, his flow of chi finally gets unleashed and it becomes apparent that he is the greatest master of them all. The film ends where Sing becomes the owner of a lollipop store and he sees the mute girl that he saved when he was young. Finally, they are shown in their younger image as they hold hands and run into the store.

This film marks a remarkable difference between older Chinese films due to its transnational success. This film had many aspects of a successful Hollywood film while still incorporating Chinese traditional values. It was a martial arts film, language was in Chinese, and Chinese music was played throughout the film. The aspects which make it clear that it is a Hollywood film is the comedy, the use of guns and gangs, and the utilization of romance at the end of the film. When I first viewed this film, I knew immediately that this was not a typical Chinese Kung Fu movie because of the scene where the gang members are dancing in choreography in the beginning of the film. Instead, it surprisingly became one of my favorite comedies that I have ever seen.

With Chinese films, it is common to see such a binary concept applied to them, where the film is judged in one spectrum or the other between a Chinese film and a Hollywood film, leaving no room for grey areas. In my opinion, I think this film is a perfect combination between Chinese values and Hollywood aspects and should be considered such and not categorized as either or.

Kung Fu Hustle...not what you expected?

As the movie opens with gangsters dressed in suits and top hats shooting people and dancing to music in a city setting, you wonder if you are watching the right movie. You think to yourself, “Wait, what’s going on? I thought I was watching Kung Fu Hustle…not a musical about Chinese gangsters.” The movie progresses and the fight scene between the gangsters and country people begins, where there are three men that start to do “kung fu” styled combat. Things are starting to make more sense now and your mind is a little more at ease; until you realize the kung fu fighting does not look as gallant and elegant as you are used to in movies like Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon or Hero. You continue to watch and catch yourself laughing almost throughout the entire movie. This is not what you had expected at all.

Kung Fu Hustle is not your typical Wuxai-type movie that most people, or Westerners, are used to. It completely refutes the concept of Chinese culture that most non-Chinese people readily believed through the box-office selling, Hollywood blockbusters they had just seen. There is more to Chinese people and culture than just kung fu, people flying through the air, and long flowing traditional gowns; rather, they also dance, play sports, and make comedies. According to the director, Stephen Chow, he believes that films in Hollywood do a poor job portraying Chinese culture and he wanted to expand “the preconceived notion.”

To do so, Chow incorporated many references and parodies from American films that he grew up watching—Top Hat, The Shining, The Matrix, Spiderman—alongside several references from Chinese culture—Infernal Affairs, aspects of Wuxai novels, Lu-Hao Tung. This was not an attempt to negate that Chinese culture is made up of the generic characteristics that immediately come to mind, but that it does not stop at that. The idea of “Orientalism” presented Chinese culture as exotic and foreign, “in a vacuum devoid of space and time,” to quote Professor Johnson. With his conscious juxtaposition, or blending, of the two cultures (American and Chinese), Chow wanted to show that Chinese people have been existing concurrently with the rest of the world and that they do not live in some alien country sealed off from the rest of the world. In an interview, Chow explained, “And I think that my willingness to incorporate so many western elements in my films will, in a way, humanize these films for American audiences. To say, in a subtle way, that this isn't that foreign a film or foreign a filmmaker after all because we all grew up loving the same movies.”

Similar to many other Chinese movies, this film presents a theme of new (modern) versus old (traditional). During this transitional period of China entering the global market and towards a more capitalist-friendly stance, Chinese movies seemed to reflect the transition. In Kung Fu Hustle there is an apparent clash between the modern, city gangsters and the traditional, country kung fu masters. The city is portrayed as corrupt with beggars lining the streets, gambling, gangsters, and random shootings; whereas the country is portrayed as honest with good people who just want to live a simple, peaceful life. Chow, himself, claimed that he made the underdogs of society (the country people) heroes of the movie because “they’re the ones who are the real foundations of our culture.”

The film itself embodies the essence of new versus old, modern versus traditional. By combining modern film gimmicks with traditional elements of Chinese culture, Chow created a film that held true to his vision and nature but that was relatable to audiences everywhere.

Kung Fu Hastle review from Stanley

Kung Fu hastle is a movie describing Hong Kong in the 70s where the city was dominated by the Gangs' power. There is a big contrast between the city and the country side.

Corruption is a serious problem in the city of materialism, because of money, even police officers would listen to the gangs. There were no social orders, it's all about money and women in the city, there are night clubs, people dressed nicely, loved to show off, stronger one would bully the weaker, the society was controlled by the gangs. People would try to stay far from troubles and choose not to give hands even they witness crimes or unfairness.

Like Steven Chow in the movie, even though he wasn't a bad guy, with low education level, he has no choices but to follow what the gangs did, to become a robber or thief in order to survive, as that was the norms of the society in that period.

The countryside was less affected by materialism. People could stay away from the city and live a simple and peaceful life. There are no nightlife, and people dressed simply; they relied and help each other in a small village.

The Kung fu fighters lived humbly at the countryside. Even they know kung fu, they would never show off or intimidate the weaker ones. They just wanted to live peacefully to be ordinary citizens.

Kung fu is not useful anymore, whoever used to be the most powerful and famous had faded out in the modern society and replaced by the gangs groups. These fighters chose to stay away from the society, their stories and Kung fu became legends that were unrealistic. Different kinds of kung fu menus were printed and only child would believe in them.

The ending of the theme showed that the bad guys were defeated by the good ones. That implicate that as far as the good ones are willing to stand out for the unfairness or crimes, the good guys will always win, which is always true in movies and what people believe.

Different from the previous "mo lei tau" series movies, instead of having nonsensical humors and rapid comic banter, "Kung Fu hastle" embedded with more meaning and messages reflecting the social problems. We can tell that Steven Chow is trying to breakthrough from his movie styles.

Kung Fu Hustle Review

With movies trying to reach a more global audience, Kung Fu Hustle may provide an example of how to make a successful movie. The film drew elements from America, Hong Kong, and Mainland China to make it have a broader appeal. This fared better in the box office than previous films like Hero and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon because it had a little bit for everybody. Also, it probably helped that the film fell into the action comedy genre.

The film is loaded with many references from western pop culture as well as Chinese. In the scene where the landlady chases after Sing, the visual style is taken from the chases from the Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote cartoon. I feel like the scene also incorporates Chow’s comedic style when his character, Sing, uses the knives stuck in his shoulder as rear-view mirrors. Those knives are stuck in his shoulders because of some unsuccessful attempts at throwing knives minutes before. At the conclusion of the chase, the landlady crashes into a billboard. Incidentally, the product advertised on the billboard was White Flower Oil (白花油), a product used externally to alleviate minor aches and pains as well as nasal congestion, probably something the landlady needs at the moment. For people who have knowledge about the product, it may have bought up a chuckle or two. Additionally, it brought in a famous quote from the comic book superhero Spider-man dying Uncle Ben. In the film,a fighter suffered grave injuries and his last words were "With great power comes great responsibility." This quote already fresh in the minds of the American audience as the first Spider-man film was released 2 years prior.

For the fighting scenes, there was a Matrix and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon feel to it because they had brought in the same choreographer from those movies Yuen Woo-ping. In the final fighting scene, we can see something similar to a Matrix scene when Sing takes on an army of gangsters just like Neo took on a horde of Agent Smiths. The wire work for the fighting scenes show that the fighters are flying or floating above ground is from wuxia, similar to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The film also pays homage to Bruce Lee by having Sing use his fighting style and wear a costume from one of Lee’s movies. The theatrics of the fighting could not have been done with the support of American studios.

The collaborative efforts with the US studios also included more local elements of Chinese and Hong Kong culture. The set of Pig Sty village was inspired from the movie The House of 72 Tenants. The various forms of Chinese martial arts were on display with each fighter having their unique style and the Buddhist palm move that Sing delivers to defeat the Beast. The collaborative efforts allowed for the inclusion of these elements that would not be possible or visually pleasing without the financing and technology provided by Hollywood. This method was regarded as "glocalization", which means to include local elements by the non-US directors or producers while using resources from the US.

The movie editing techniques from American producers, producers from China that had their own input to appeal to the Mainland Chinese audience, and the vision of Stephen Chow to incorporate Kung Fu and his own comedic style created a new category of film. Overall, the efforts from different parties made this movie more a of transnational film and, as a result, a very successful movie.

Kung Fu Hustle Review

Kung Fu Hustle is a hilarious martial arts movie. It accomplishes this unusually comedic feat in a number of ways – through the continual slapstick humor throughout the film as well the humorous exaggeration of the martial arts aspect. This film goes in quite an interesting direction in regards to Chinese pop culture, being unusual in a number of ways.

One of the more obvious ways is its clear-cut moral lesson. The film overturns the “nice guys finish last” attitude. Sing, the main character, starts out as a boy trying to be the good guy but gets beat up for doing so. Seeing as this didn’t work out for him, he tries the bad guy role, but he fails miserably at this and maintains an obvious amount of moral integrity throughout the film.

This can be seen anywhere – either through his inability to physically hurt others or his childlike behavior. In the end, he decides to abandon the bad guy role, which consequently ends with his face being beat into a pancake. Luckily, since he’s such a good guy, the beating he gets allows his godly chi to flow and allows him to become the hero of the film.

The film also seeks to entertain a large audience – a goal similar to a Hollywood blockbuster hit. The humor, colorful settings, western-clothed gang members, spectacular martial arts, romance, and simple plot all tie in together to establish a film that can be loved and appreciated by a large number of viewers.

Perhaps the most important of these is the martial arts, which maintains an awesome balance of impressiveness and humor. It tries to defeat the martial arts of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon or The Matrix, yet it also has a Jackie Chan martial arts aspect that grounds the extraordinary fighting and makes it more acceptable or even believable.

I really enjoyed this movie and I would agree that it takes quite a step in the Chinese film world.

Kung Fu Hustle!

In Kung Fu Hustle, Stephen Chow expertly blends slapstick comedy, over-the-top kung fu martial arts and dramatic elements into one enormously hilarious and hugely entertaining film. It is a film that does not take itself too seriously -- its characters aren't very complex or at all realistic, but we love them all the same. Much of this love comes from the intentionally liberal use of computer-generated imagery (CGI) and spoofs of common storytelling clichés and popular films and idols. Using these techniques to comedic effect, Chow has made this movie distinctly appealing to an international audience.

Kung Fu Hustle delivers Chow-style comedy and martial arts at the outset. The audience is shown the Axe Gang's terrible crimes portrayed through flashing newspaper front pages, the Axe Gang in perfectly ironed black suits (a respectable Hong Kong gangster must), and its leader Brother Sum leading a dance routine. The film then flips to Pig Sty Alley, a rural tenement akin to an Old Western-style outpost, where the movie's protagonist Sing (Chow) is trying to pass off as an Axe for a free haircut for his friend. The Alley's tenants refuse to back down, and the real Axe Gang coincidentally arrives. A massive Matrix-, or Kill Bill, if you will, style fight ensues, in which three Pig Sty tenants are revealed to be kung fu masters in disguise.

Unfortunately, these kung fu masters are killed by assassins hired by Brother Sum, suddenly pulling the film into a melodramatic gear and revealing Pig Sty's true kung fu masters -- the lecherous landlord and chain-smoking landlady. Breaking a vow not to fight, they go to the Axe Gang's lair. There, however, they encounter The Beast, an old, shaggy man who is faster than bullets. A brawl, of course, follows, culminating in a stalemate. Sing is then tasked with hitting the landlord and landlady, at which point he realizes an epiphany and hits The Beast, who beats him down. After reviving, we learn that Sing was really a kung fu god with blocked up qi (energy flow), and he faces off with The Beast in the film’s final boss fight.

Throughout the film, CGI effects are used to a point of parody but with stunning effect in combination with Chow's brand of choreographed martial arts. Much of this can be attributed to top-level choreographer Yuen Woo-ping, who choreographed Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and the Wachowshi Brothers' The Matrix, and Centro Digital Pictures Limited, which provided CG effects for Chow's first internationally acclaim film, Shaolin Soccer, and Tarantino's Kill Bill. Cues taken from these movies can clearly be seen in the film's final fight sequence, evidencing as hordes of black-suited men wielding axes toppled like dominoes, bouncing off walls like Spiderman, and a sudden mid-air epiphany (incidentally coming at the call of an eagle). Not even Bruce Lee is safe, as Sing poses victoriously.

Why all this borrowing and poaching? Chow makes it clear that this film was meant for an international audience -- and that he "hopes that his poaches from Hollywood will culturally deodorize his films." After all, Hollywood has been poaching ideas from Asian films for a long time (The Departed comes to mind), so why shouldn't he?

At the same time, Chow makes Kung Fu Hustle also a distinctly Hong Kong film, paying homage to a variety of past Hong Kong and Chinese traditions. Regarded by Columbia Pictures East Asia, the film's financer, as a strategy of "global localization," Kung Fu Hustle distinctly references older Hong Kong films, including The House of 72 Tenants, from which Pig Sty Alley was 'lifted', and the Buddhist Palm school of martial arts, which many older Hong Kong martial arts films use, buddha-in-the-clouds and four-story-handprints notwithstanding.

Ultimately, Kung Fu Hustle is really a brilliant play by Chow to capture a global audience with a well-executed, hilarious film with both local and global storytelling and cinematographic elements. It's a win-win situation -- Chow gets his money and fame, we get great entertainment.

The Review of "Kung Fu Hustle"

The heroic characters are flying and running all over the place, fighting incredibly with mastered martial arts skill, and depicted with fantastical computer graphic and wire effects in the scenes of Kung Fu Hustle. These elements of Chinese ‘Wuxia’ films are carried out in other ‘Chinese blockbusters’—such as Hero/ Yingxiong, House of Flying Daggers/Shimian maifu, and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon/Wohucanglong. Kung Fu Hustle, however, portrays the characteristics of Chinese films with approaches and attitudes of different perspective toward the subject, using parody, sarcasm, and comical exaggeration. In this way, Kung Fu Hustle provides entertainment to moviegoers between “Chineseness” and “Hollywoodness” instead of just telling the epic story of Chinese history with aesthetic and theoretical methodology.

The director of Kung Fu Hustle, Stephen Chow (Chow Sing Chi), is a well known actor and comedian in Hong Kong since the early 1980s, and he expands his career to not only an actor, but also to a director and a producer. Chow already has obtained fame as a director through his other films before Kung Fu Hustle such as Shaolin Soccer in local and regional levels in Asia, and yet he was not satisfied with the title of “local-oriented” star and tried to achieve international recognition and capital as a producer and a director at a global extent. In order to reach his ambitious goal regarding fame and money, he not only closely cooperated with a major Hollywood cinema company to get assistance in terms of finance, production, management, and distribution, but he also changed his own film-making style and method. I think that the most noticeable changes between Kung Fu Hustle and his other movies are in two aspects: one is the decrease of verbal scenes using Cantonese and corresponding increase of visual and physical polish. The other is the effort of combining diversity of different references into the movie in order to appeal to a global audience. In doing so, he is finally able to capture the eyes of multiple, distinct audiences in the world by overcoming limitations of translation into different languages from Cantonese, a unique dialect with abundant slangs and expressions, and by parodying Hollywood and Chinese cinemas such as The Matrix and Bruce Lee movies to attract audiences in the West and the East. Eastern and Western arts are melted together in Kung Fu Hustle with Chow’s comic performance and the massive influence of the Hollywood film industry, and the movie contains ambiguity between pure “Chineseness” and “Hollywoodness”. Since Kung Fu Hustle is part of a trend in the film industry of the world, predominately lead by Hollywood, the audience is able to acknowledge the commercialism, capitalism, and transnationalism through Chow’s movie.

In the movie industry, the border between local and global is becoming ambiguous. Even though Hollywood is still the center of the world’s film industries, capital and human resources are emerging in Asia, particularly China and India, since not only the population of Asia and Asian diasporas all around the world are vast, but also Asian countries are developing rapidly in economy, science, and politics. Because of exchange of material and human resources between nations and peoples through immigrants and diasporas from country to country, it is hard to sustain the homogeneity of each people and country. The pure “Chineseness” or “Hollywoodness” is no longer attractive to the audience, and the uniqueness of genuine nationalism in the world, especially within the entertainment industry, is now replaced by a new creation that stems from conjugation and adhesion between old and new, different peoples, and different cultures, as if Asian American in the States has its own unique culture different from Asian or American. The whole world follows where the money goes and where the new originates. As people, residents in a global village, pursue the “new” in food, fashion, and entertainment dominated by this transnational trend, it is difficult to define and identify authenticity of a nation, a people, and a culture. It seems that the syncretism and fusionism is necessary for people who are living in an era of a global village as chasing the “new”.

Kung Fu Hustle

Stephen Chow was born in Hong Kong on June 22, 1962 and grew up an avid fan of Bruce Lee and his work, thus filling him with a thirst for movies and martial arts prowess. As a director, Chow achieved international recognition with his decision to combine martial arts with sporting events to create a wholly physical form of comedy like Shaolin Soccer, which is a film with multiple action sequences. After the success of Shaolin Soccer, Stephen Chow led to an even more popular film in a similar style called, Kung-Fu Hustle in 2004.

The film is set in 1940s, Shanghai, at the opening scene, Chow depicts the survival circumstance of that period---various gangs vie for power and low-class people can live peacefully only in poor areas such as Pig Sty Alley.Sing (Starring Stephen Chow) is unemployed and often portends a gangster to ask for money from private businessmen with his friend, Bone. However, they are always kicked out. In order to make money, he joints in the Axe Gang.

The film contains many scenes of fighting, such as Harpists with Donut, the couple with Beast, and Sing fighting with Beast. However, I believe the director wants to express his pursuit of justice. Sing is a positive character, even though he robs money from a mute girl. Finally, Sing saves the landlord and landlady because he has sense of justice in heart. Moreover, one fighting scene depicts that three hidden Kung Fu masters fight against the Axe Gang in order to protect a couple of mother and daughter who are poured gasoline by the gangsters. Interesting, all the positive Kung Fu masters, including the landlords, Donut and tailor, are enforced to fight back. They never show a hint of knowing Kung Fu before. “Ordinary’s a blessing (平安是福).” It’s not hard to understand they are living with contradictions. They can’t lose senses of justice; on the other hand, they are also afraid of getting involved in the Axe Gang dispute in that specific period, when entire society was injustice.

At the opening of the film, a gang leader yells in a plicestation that "commissioner is only your boss because he paid his dues to the Crocodile Gang." Stephen Chow highlights the theme of a lawless society which reminds me of the CCP government. Currently, a commissioner of a plicestation in SiChuan was arrested due to he gets bribe from gangsters. He cooperates with gangs and protects their businesses such as smuggle, drug trafficking and illegal real estate from getting troubles by other law-executors. In China, we called those police “protection umbrella.” With the help of police, the gangsters fear of nothing. This is not the only one case happened in China under the control of CCP while money becomes the only thing that most communists care about.

Kung Fu Hustle

To this day, Kung Fu Hustle is by far one of the most well known Chinese comedies in America, and no matter how many times one watches it, the slapstick humor of this movie never seems to get old. It is obvious to many that this movie is a parody based on numerous Chinese and American movies, and repeatedly makes fun of both cultures. Though many of the jokes and references may be lost in translation as well as to the movie's non-Chinese or non-Chinese influenced audience. Unlike Ang Lee and Zhang Yimou, Stephen Chow was not well known in America before the release of this movie, even though he had been making movies for well over a decade before Kung Fu Hustle's release. However, even with this his movie still made near the same amount as Hero, close to $100 million, which is rare for a foreign non-English feature.

Just like many of his previous movies, Stephen Chow both directs and acts in this movie. He plays the character of Sing, a poor young man who, after learning in childhood that good guys always finish last, wants to join the Axe Gang in order to become a "bad guy." He eventually gains the attention of the Axe Gang when he picks a fight in Pig Sty Alley claiming that he and his friend are members of the gang. However, unaffected by the gang's ruling, the members of the impoverished tenement fight back and through their dispute find a way to piss off the Axe Gang. A battle ensues between them, and eventually a mentally disturbed Kung Fu master is enlisted by the leader of the Axe Gang to finish off the Landlady and Landlord, who are also well versed in the art of Kung Fu. Although they are not the only people who are blessed with these gifts. Three other tenants of Pig Sty Alley also studied at various Kung Fu schools, as well as Sing, who learned from an overly priced paperback book that he purchased from a beggar when he was a child. Of course, taking from traditional Kung Fu and martial arts movies, Sing does not realize that he has these powers until the most crucial part of the movie where all hope seems lost. In the end, Beast, the bad guy, ends up taking Sing as his master and everyone lives happily ever after.

As I stated before, this movie parodies many aspects of American and Chinese films. Take for example Kill Bill and the The Matrix, as well as various Chinese martial arts movies (I would name of a few of the Chinese movies that were parodied in this movie as well, however, unfortunately I cannot remember the Chinese titles to them). Kung Fu Hustle even briefly plays homage to its predecessor Shaolin Soccer. In a very exaggerated and humorous way, Stephen Chow brings together elements of Hong Kong cinema with the over the top and artistic western portrayal of martial arts together, resulting in an immediate success in both countries. To me, this film seems to have more in common with other Hong Kong movies and humor than certain big budget movies from mainland China. However, I am aware that many people in America may believe both types of movies to be one in the same. Therefore, with this film even those who are not aware of the difference between the two will still find humor in the parody of martial arts action sequences, although may lose some of the idioms and references that only those who are knowledgeable about Hong Kong culture and cinema immediately catch.

Although not my favorite of the Stephen Chow collection, I still really enjoyed this movie. The action, humor, and characters by all means keep the viewer's attention. I am glad that this movie made such a huge splash over here in America. It certainly opened up the doors for more Hong Kong cinema to make its way over here. Or at least one can hope that this much is true.

Kung Fu Hustle

Kung Fu Hustle is an action comedy film directed by, produced by and starring Stephen Chow. It was released in 2004 and was met with many positive reviews from critics. It was one of the highest grossing foreign language films in 2005 and it won many awards as well. The film did so well that Kung Fu Hustle 2 is due to release in 2012.

Compared to the other films that we have watched so far, Kung Fu hustle was the funniest film that we have watched in my opinion. This film displayed a different kind of martial arts style that we have not seen yet. The fighting scenes in Kung Fu Hustle are different in style from what we have seen in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Hero. Rather than being artistic and rather elegant, Kung Fu Hustle is more comedic and cartoon-like. The movements and fight scenes are all highly exaggerated such as the scene where the landlady is chasing after Sing. The exaggerated fight scenes give the film a heightened comedic feel which was an appealing aspect for me. Even the villains in the film, the Axe Gang, are not intimidating but quite amusing. I especially enjoyed the scene where all the gangsters are dancing in the beginning of the film holding their axes because it such a ridiculous sight.

The film takes place in Shanghai during 1930’s when gangs are fighting each other for power and the Axe Gang is the most feared gang at the time. Judging from the beginning scene where the gang member yells for the cops to “clean up the mess” after the fight, it is apparent that law enforcement is pretty powerless. That is probably why the only area where people are able to live peacefully are in the poor areas like Pig Alley, a tenement home that houses various interesting characters and is run by a mean landlady and landlord. What we don’t know is that many of the tenants including the landlady and landlord are very skilled fighters until Sing decides to impersonate an Axe Gang member and things get chaotic at Pig Alley.

I enjoyed the way that Stephen Chow parodies both Chinese films and American films. It was a nice blend of Chinese and American culture that plays homage to Chinese classics while referencing modern day films as well. Also, it introduces parts of the Chinese culture to the American audiences in a humorous way that is easy to understand. All in all, Kung Fu Hustle was very enjoyable film to watch and after watching it, I now understand why it did so well with audiences everywhere.

Kung Fu Hustle

Having watched Stephen Chow’s Kung Fu Hustle a number of times already, this viewing allowed me to not have to pay close attention to the main storyline and instead watch with a discerning eye, picking up nuances that might have otherwise been missed the first time through. One of the main elements immediately noticeable is the incorporation of an astonishingly high number of cultural references and parodies, both Chinese and western. Chow is very deliberate in paying homage to past Chinese classics, such as naming characters after The Return of the Condor Heroes and incorporating elements of traditional Chinese wuxiao fighting styles and stories. He does not, however, shy away from modern day western classics, either. In fact, the number of references to western films and culture outweigh Chinese ones by a good amount.
Starting off with the introduction of the landlady, the tone of the film is immediately set, as she is portrayed as running down the stairs of her home like a cartoon character, complete with sound effects. Later, in the chase scene with the landlady chasing Sing, the legs are shown as a blur, like in old Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote cartoons. Chow knows his target audience and understands that he is appealing to a younger generation with this film, a generation that will appreciate the Chinese tributes as well as understand the western parodies. Much of the costume design and many of the lines also seem to stem from decidedly western sources. The penultimate fight scene involving Sing and the Axe Gang is reminiscent of two major American movies, Kill Bill’s scene between Uma Thurman and the Crazy 88s, and The Matrix Reloaded, between Neo and the army of Agent Smiths. In fact, Sing is referred to by the landlady and landlord as “the one”, just as Neo was “the one”, and like Quentin Tarantino had Uma Thurman dressed like Bruce Lee, Chow also had Sing dressed in Bruce Lee’s outfit.
Chow recognized through the international success of Shaolin Soccer that his style of moviemaking struck a chord with a particular demographic. Chow has masterfully bridged the gap between traditional wuxia films, Hong Kong style cinema, and western comedies. In fact, Chow references his own film in the very beginning, crushing a soccer ball and exclaiming “no more soccer”. Perhaps this is his way of saying that he does not want to be known internationally as just the man who created Shaolin Soccer, but as an accomplished film maker.

Kung Fu Hustle review

Kung Fu Hustle, the critically acclaimed film directed by Stephen Chow, turned many heads as it debuted into the United States film scene. As it debuted into the American film scene, it received strenuous reviews upon film critic websites, such as Rotten Tomatoes, gaining a 90% approval rate.

The movie gives a life lesson of how good is really intrinsically in everyone, and at the same time, some people never change. For instance, even though Sing strenuously attempts to "fit in" by being the complete opposite of himself- being a fake gangster, he always resorts to being his old self. As a younger child, he helped the mute girl, and had always thought of world peace. Although he attempted to defer the past, he eventually succumbs to being "good" again, defeating the gangsters as a heroic act.

This move also has major relation to traditional Chinese culture. Gangsters are depicted in abundance in the film, as they are/were in China. Statistically speaking, there were 300,000 gangsters living among Hong Kong, and many of them were the notorious Triad gang. Other references were the old and new cultures that are prevalent among China. Karate was in abundance during the movie, demonstrating many different types of movie within the movie. Casinos and the night life are depicted as the new types of pop culture(and sort of western influences), that are now within China's culture.

This movie has a good fusion of comedy and karate, and at the same time, it shows the modernization of films because of the actions scenes that are not possibly by conventional films. For instance, the scene where he is up upon the cloud could only be made by computer, and Chow uses a good array of computer aided graphics to spice up the film, and bring more depth.

Kung Fu Hustle Review

Kung Fu Hustle is an action packed comedy film directed by and also starring Stephen Chow. The film is set in the 1940s in Shanghai in the midst of various gang wars trying to achieve power. Among them is the most powerful Axe Gang, those that do not abide by the law and move in large packs dominating neighborhoods to come. The story of the film is about Sing and Bone, troublemakers with no future, who attempts to take over Pig Sty Alley by disguising themselves as the Axe Gang. However, the events turn sour when the real Axe Gang appears and conflict occurs.
Kung Fu Hustle not only incorporates martial arts and comedy into its film, but Stephen Chow alludes to a wide range of films and media sources from American past-time cartoons to other Chinese Wuxia films. Although I have not watched the bulk of the films that Stephen Chow refers to, I was able to see where his humor was derived from. While watching the film I noticed that the film was a lot like the American film series Scary Movie and how they parodied films of its times. I feel that Stephen Chow took a similar approach to this film Kung Fu Hustle as well. I can also see how the film is said to be transnational because of its interest not only in Chinese films but also American media sources.
Stephen Chow slightly hints at the differences between the Axe Gang and the residents of Pig Sty Alley. The Axe Gang is portrayed to be this super power of the region trying to dominate over smaller and weaker areas of Shanghai – in this case the Pig Sty Alley. The Pig Sty Alley is shown to be old tradition, with old architecture and old façade. The residents in the Pig Sty Alley struggle to pay their rent and survive even though they live under a tyrant-like Landlady. The Landlady also represents the Axe Gang in a way because of her domineering power against her residents (she is the micro-representation of being a super power). The film continues to show the conflict between large-scaled authorities against weaker powers.
Personally, I found this film to be very humorous and admired the way Stephen Chow was able to tap into various different types of comedic techniques for the audience. It not only incorporated slapstick comedy, but also animated graphics to give the film viewers a mixture of both realistic and non-realistic eye-catching performance. Though I did not see much depth into the film itself, I can still see the extraordinary accomplishments Stephen Chow achieved. After all, it became one of the highest grossed films for the year 2005.

Kung Fu Hustle

Kung Fu Hustle Review


Personally, it was the most hilarious Asian movie I've ever watched. Stephen Chow was definitely regarded as one of major actors in Chinese film industry to my generation, and it was his second movie I've watched by choice. It is quite different from the previous genre of Chinese movie, which is more of an epic story than comedy.

The main theme of this movie can be described as one word: PARODY. Many of the famous scenes of the movie are spoofs other movies, from not only American TV program and modern Hollywood films, from but also famous Chinese films. For example, opening scene of Gangs of New York, running with invisible legs is from Looney Tunes of Warner Brothers, the battle scene between Xing and gang members are from that of Agent Smith and Neo of The Matrix, Nose bleeding from The Shining and Jackie Chan of Drunken Masters, so on, so forth. He even added his previous movie, Shaolin Soccer as well.

However, it doesn't stop right there the point where you laugh. Thanks to CG, it seems that he has tried to remove the clear boundary between a movie and an animation film. Various scenes with the power of computer graphic, the audience felt as if they're watching animated version of action movie, and clearly, Chow has overcome the stereotype of Chinese action movie; either endless revenge with hard-to-bear loyalty for lifetime, or sad deaths of all main characters. In the field of Chinese film industry, Chow has been precisely broading the horizon of Chinese action movies with various plots and parody scenes and dynamic performance, which is truly ground breaking for the fans of Chinese action movies.