12 Types of China-related Movies In the Eyes of Americans

by+Scott+Huntsman

In the 1930s， there were basically two kinds of Hollywood movies about Chinese people： Fu Manchu and Charlie Chan， both popular franchises. Fu Manchu was the stereotypical Chinese villain， and while Charlie Chan was specifically meant to be a positive Asian character to offset Fu Manchu， he also reinforced many stereotypes of Easterners. And the actor who most portrayed Charlie Chan， Warner Oland， was from Sweden and also portrayed Fu Manchu in several films. We had a World War and Star Wars since then， so times have changed. In the olden days， you had to choose between two impressions of China， but today， thanks to better connectivity to the East， a slightly better understanding of other nations， peaceful times， and decades of technological development in Hollywood， Americans have access to at least 12 different kinds of movies related to China：

Kung Fu Movies （Wushu）

Since San Francisco-born Bruce Lee wrote， directed and starred in Enter the Dragon in 1972， this genre of film has colored Western impressions of China and Chinese people more than anything else seen on movie screens. They have been around since the beginning of film. In 1938， the Shaw Brothers studio moved from Shanghai to Hong Kong because the Nanjing government banned kung fu films. In fact， the vast majority of Chinese people lack self-defense training and fare very poorly in fist fights.

Flying Kung Fu Movies （Wuxia）

You could argue that this should be just a subset of “Kung Fu Movies，” but due to its profound influence on Chinas expanding cinematic role， as soon as they start flying around and doing magical stuff， the bar has been raised. After Crouching Tiger， Hidden Dragon introduced such films to most of the Western world， its widespread popularity prompted an American release of Hero two years after it was released in China. Zhang Yimous House of Flying Daggers was soon to follow it.

Movies Involving the Guy with the Monkey Face

Yes， I understand its based on one of Chinas most beloved pieces of classical literature， but I just cannot get into films starring a guy in a monkey mask， Planet of the Apes included. China seems to remake this all the time on the big screen as well as small， and judging from the box office earnings of the latest big budget incarnation， Journey to the West： Conquering the Demons， this is a sound strategy.

Costume History Movies

If you cant understand Chinese， these films （and TV shows） seem like a lot of sitting around in spectacular costumes. Its not a huge surprise that Americans dont normally get into these.

War History Movies

China has endured quite a few wars， so this category can get extremely broad in terms of context， yet all of them， like Hollywood war movies， feature explosions and shooting and horrific deaths. Even today， Chinese people dont need much convincing as to the horrors of war. While America never saw conflict on its own shores during WWII， China was the longest-occupied country amidst the war. And after WWII， the country was plunged into a four-year civil war. All of this and the centuries preceding it have provided rich material for profound achievements in this genre of cinema. However， this genre has also been tapped by Western heavyweights as big as Steven Spielberg， who set Empire of the Sun in war-era Shanghai and cast a young Christian Bale.

Patriotic Movies

In years past， these movies were more easily recognizable， usually thanks to green caps with red stars on everyones head. And of course， war movies are usually patriotic. Today， the genre has evolved and can overlap with any number of other categories. Examples of recent films that could pass as “patriotic” include Confucius starring Chow Yun-fat and American Dreams in China， which features every young Chinese professionals ultimate dream： Chastising an American Wall Street executive for failing to properly understand Chinese culture.

John Woo Movies

John Woo directed a string of action crime thrillers in the 1980s， and became an A-list director in Hollywood. The style of movie popularized by Woo continued into the 21st Century， including Infernal Affairs starring Andy Lau and Tony Leung， whose English adaptation， The Departed directed by Martin Scorsese， won the Best Picture Oscar. Of all the cinematic versions of China， this one has the greatest outwardly influence on international film– specifically Woo and his colleagues cinematic choices for action sequences. Countless homages to 1970s Hong Kong action films can be found in Western cinema， but perhaps the most shining inspiration appears in Woos work.

Static Romance

Tony Leung plays a Hong Kong detective standing around a lot， staring at a feisty lunch counter cashier played by Fay Wong， who obsessively plays the Mammas and Poppas “California Dreaming” over and over. Spoiler alert： He never acts on any romantic feelings the two might share and she disappears for California. To understand the international feelings and intentions of this production， it should be noted that it was shot while Wong Kar-wei took a “break” from directing the wuxia film Ashes of Time in 1994. Chungking Express and perhaps all of Wongs non-wuxia work have a heavier following in the West thanks to its DVDs release in the U.S.

Quentin Tarantino

An outspoken fan of Hong Kong film， Quentin Tarantino personally released and distributed Chungking Express in the U.S. as well as Mighty Peking Man. Of his own films， Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2 have the most obviously Asian elements of any Tarantino films. Forget the Japanese actress， David Carradine， who played the title character， was best known for playing Shaolin monk Kwai Chang Caine in the 1970s TV series Kung Fu. Carradine hadnt been seen in a major role in years. An admitted Sinophile， Tarantino repeated many times in interviews that he is fan of the genre and that show specifically. The auteur effectively fuses Chinese and Japanese martial arts like a French chef might do to their cuisines. Asian elements can be seen in every single Tarantino film since his director debut. In Reservoir Dogs， the climactic final scene was a direct homage to John Woos The Killer. The “Mexican standoff” sequence with multiple gunmen all pointing pistols at each other has been seen in countless films sense， but usually attributed cinematically to Hong Kong. John Woo used it later in Hollywood himself in Face/Off with Nicolas Cage and John Travolta. Quentin Tarantinos affection for East Asia must have played a role in the overtly violent Django Unchained scoring a wide release in China， Tarantinos first theatrical run in the country.

Action Buddy

Odd-couple cop partners is a device as old as time （Lethal Weapon）， but Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan revived it to the tune of a 4-picture franchise. More recently， Hollywood began taking an even safe route to the Chinese market and introducing a Chinese sidekick to an already-established franchise as seen in Resident Evil.

Painful Attempts to Pander to the Chinese Market

I could list dozens of arbitrary， unnecessary shots and sequences being inserted in big-budget blockbusters， but the first two that come to mind that China Pictorial hasnt already covered at length are The Amazing Spider-Man， The Avengers and the Transformers franchise. But the entire movie based on Chinapandering that fell flat on its face was The Karate Kid. I adored the original franchise as a child， and when I heard that it was being rebooted with Chinese kung fu star Jackie Chan， I literally face-palmed. In case you arent the Ralph Macchio fan you should be， “karate” is the martial art from Japan and Pat Morita plays Mr. Miyagi. They even travel to Japan in the third one. As I mentioned， Im a fan.

Random Asian Stereotype Character

The absolute worst instances of this now-dated phenomenon appear in otherwise fine films： Breakfast at Tiffanys and Sixteen Candles. In the latter， Long Duk Dong speaks pigeon English， hits on girls incessantly， and his every entrance is accompanied by a gong. In the 1990s， Asians tended to be portrayed negatively as action bad guys （Jet Li in Die Hard）， but due to #11， these seem to be obsolete.