All he did Ryu was replace one stereotype with another. So after Bruce then we had the stereotype that all Asians were kung fu experts. The characters that Bruce portrayed were still caricatures of Asians. He opened the doors for Asians to get into Hollywood. And if he had gotten to do the Kung Fu TV series like he wanted, instead of David Carridine, then maybe he would have shown more depth, fleshed himself as a person to the general American. It was a step forward for Chinese Americans. But, its not like he tried to show himself (or Asians) as anything other than badass martial artists who kick ass and occassionally spout some esoteric wisdom. And even today Asians still get stuck with that role. They're supposed to know martial arts. Bruce did his small part for Asians, but I think if his real goal was to show America that their stereotypes of Asians were false, then he should have gone the route of attempting to be a serious actor, not a kung fu actor. Portraying himself as a real human being, not just a guy who runs around kicking people in the head. He had the screen prescence and charisma, and who knows, maybe he would have attempted to go in this direction. But I don't think he can be equated to some sort of liberator of Chinese people from stereotypes. Its just not true. Whoever manages to get the first Asian sitcom on TV in America will deserve those accolades.
|