I remember chuckling at what I believed to be a satirical portrayal of Bruce Lee in Tarantino’s ninth film, Once Upon A Time … In Hollywood ⭐️⭐️⭐️ The Lee family, particularly his daughter, Shannon didn’t appreciate the way her father was represented:
The iconic martial artist/actor features in one memorable scene during the movie (played by Mike Moh) – but the way Tarantino presents Bruce has caused some considerable uproar amongst the Lee family, including his daughter Shannon who labelled it “irresponsible”.
Tarantino won’t cut Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’s Bruce Lee scene
It turns out there really was more to this portrayal than meets the eye, as Tarantino wasn’t just joking, as I thought when I saw the movie, he actually thought Bruce Lee was “kind of arrogant.”
“If people are saying, ‘Well he never said he could beat up Muhammad Ali,’ well yeah, he did. Not only did he say that, but his wife, Linda Lee, said that in her first biography I ever read. She absolutely said that.”
Bruce Lee is revered all over the world, particularly in China due to his association with Raymond Chow and the success his films enjoyed in China. It’s easy to say, “it’s just a movie” but when it comes to poking fun at the martial arts master in a movie to be shown in China, it’s definitely no joke over there.
I’m curious if the vast majority of viewers shared my interpretation of the Bruce Lee scene as humor, not intentional disrespect? I mean, after all, you have a blatant alternate reality movie showing a terrible night in American history. The movie wasn’t even tangentially about Bruce Lee. However, after reading Tarantino’s response, there is at the very least a sense of strong creative irony. Seems like there might have been a little bit of cinematic axe grinding.
Let’s also remember you can’t believe everything you read online. I read in an article that none of Quentin Tarantino’s films have been shown in China. This is totally false. Django Unchained had to be recut. A lot of films in China, not just Tarantino’s films, have needed to be edited for distribution in China.
As always, I’m curious what others think about all this. Just smoke, no fire? Did you interpret this scene with Bruce Lee as just entertainment or as an intentional shot at Bruce Lee’s reputation? I think, bearing the circumstances, it’s an interesting question for discussion.
Movies, Movies, Movies 