WHITENESS AND MARTIAL ARTS IN WESTERN FILMS

Do you think martial arts are an attractive topic for a movie? Do you know some of these martial arts and their origins? What about a character who gets all these skills in a really short lapse of time?

There is a tradition in western films where protagonists are able to fight as if them be training for a long time, even when they have just discovered it a week ago. At the end of the day, are there serious consequences on social life and ideologies of superiority around whiteness and the films that prevail in the film’s world? Let’s analyze these issues through some Tierney’s arguments, the movies The Last Samurai, Kill Bill and also a small focus from Mexican perception.

If you ask in Mexico what people know about Asian culture, for sure that they’ll associate them with Martial arts such as Karate or Kung Fu. But, why do they have this first impression of Asia? There are different reasons, but definitely Cinema industry has had a great influence, not just in Mexico but also all over the world where American movies have been projected. This image is part of Asian stereotypes which makes people have thoughts as: ... and, after all, the barriers between East and West really were too high to tackle. Orientals were so different from us. Everyone said so… (Global Issues in Context, 2013). Starting from this point, we realized that East culture is not well known for most of Western people, making an easy way for create outlandish images of them (…).

But what happen when a character of a movie is able to adopt abilities that are from (in this case) Japan, so easily that even they become better than Asian masters whose most of time have practiced it their whole life? Here is when we find the first argument of Tierney: there is a cultural superiority. As an example, in the film The Last Samurai (2003), Tom Cruise plays Nathan Algren, a White American in Japan captures by rebel samurai. In 6 months, he masters the art of the samurai sword such that bystanders acknowledge him as equal to his instructor Ujio, a man who has studies the skills his entire life (Tierney, 2006). In fact, I think it’s impossible to get such abilities in just six months (at least to the deep and significant Samurai style). But, is it a clear sign of cultural superiority? On the one hand, as a fictional story I think it’s great and enjoyable; you are able to feel the power of decision and devotion. But by the other hand, the way the movie is showed is an adventure/historical fiction, and many people don’t know that much of Japan that it is possible that they create their images of Japan and what they do, how they behave in front of foreign people from this films[1]. That white or western people showing impeccable intelligent and skills, makes me think they have a bit of superiority, but it’s funny and exciting to see how much they can strive. Then I’m in disagreeing with the idea of cultural superiority of western characters in martial arts mainstream films, but also there is a delicate point around the movies as creator of other cultures perceptions.

In the film Kill Bill, we find a woman (the Bride) who seeks revenge because a big injustice. She was part of a group of assassins, which acted against her when their boss dictated it. She revenges killing them one by one with an amazing skill with the Japanese sword. The movie reveals really violent scenes of these murders. Now we have the other premise of Tierney the idea of racial and cultural superiority and inferiority. For example we have an act of Kill Bill in which the protagonist (the Bride) talks to an important Japanese swordsmith (Hattori Hanzo, who had already retired). He tells the Bride that the swords he has on display are not for sale. The Bride replies that she doesn’t expect to be sold a sword but to be given one (Tierney, 2006). I think that there is not reason to talk on this way to this important character of Japan (even if he was the master of the protagonist), it makes an image of docile Japan. And again, it is okay when we know this is not a serious film but, for people that doesn’t know that much of the other (the Japanese), this is transformed into a cultural image.

As in every media, there is a big responsibility and influence that can be disperse towards millions of people. With this in mind, Films are a powerful tool for create perceptions of realities, dispersing ideals and acceptance standards. In a world where Internet provides as much information as we couldn’t imagine, there are a lot of people who find what but not how things are. Then, there are some films that could show a protagonist from our culture, learning about others and even getting better than the original resource, but we have to realize that most of time this is in a context of fictional stories, thinking always that in the real world it is different and that we have to respect and contemplate the other. Let’s ask ourselves how, not what.

[1] For example there is a scene (in The Last Samurai), where the Meiji’s Emperor kneels in front of the protagonist. It is historically impossible!

BIBLIOGRAPHY

• "Talk the talk to break down Asian stereotypes." Age [Melbourne, Australia], 16 Dec. 2013, p. 21. Global Issues in Context, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A352940922/GIC?u=udeg1&xid=d6d6ecfd. Accessed 12 Dec. 2016.

• Tierney, Sean M. Themes of Whiteness in Bulletproof Monk, Kill Bill, and the Last Samurai. Journal of Communication, 2006, http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.wdg.biblio.udg.mx:2048/doi/10.1111/j.1460-2466.2006.00303.x/full Accessed 13 Dec. 2016.

• Photography from: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/quentin-tarantino-on-kill-bill-3-i-wouldnt-be-surprised-if-uma-thurmans-the-bride-made-one-more-a6794661.html