Analyzing Cultural Reimaginations and Global Chinese Power in CCTV's "The Legend of Bruce Lee"
- Degree Grantor:
- University of California, Santa Barbara. Asian Studies
- Degree Supervisor:
- Michael S. Berry
- Place of Publication:
- [Santa Barbara, Calif.]
- Publisher:
- University of California, Santa Barbara
- Creation Date:
- 2013
- Issued Date:
- 2013
- Topics:
- Asian Studies, Asian American Studies, and Cinema
- Keywords:
- Soft power,
Bruce Lee, and
CCTV - Genres:
- Online resources and Dissertations, Academic
- Dissertation:
- M.A.--University of California, Santa Barbara, 2013
- Description:
Bruce Lee is a martial arts action star whose enduring screen image has lasted many decades beyond his death, and this is partially due to the numerous clones that came out after the star's premature death in 1973. These clones and various spin-offs of Lee's life's works resulted in the phenomenon dubbed "Bruceploitation." As time passed, the Bruceploitation phenomenon slowed down, but more recently there has been an interest in Bruce Lee's life with various films and television series that attempt to tell the life story of the actor, especially with his family's involvement. While earlier forms of Bruceploitation films strove to exploit Lee's image for financial profits, these more recent works do not seem to exploit Lee in the same way. In particular, Bruceploitation in more recent works aims to exploit the martial arts star's narrative to associate his persona with specific ideologies. I argue, however, that the more recent television series by China Central Television, The Legend of Bruce Lee, is in fact following in the legacy of Bruceploitation in that this category of texts is not only about making money without the consent of the star, but it is rooted in the act of exploitation, which redefined the image of Bruce Lee in a national Chinese context. Although the CCTV series may not look for financial profits as its main goal through the perpetuation of Lee's narrative, it is exploiting his image for ideological purposes. In particular, the series exploits Lee's image to assert national Chinese power in a global context, which can be seen through the production practices, circulation of the series, and the construction of specific scenes throughout the series.
- Physical Description:
- 1 online resource (92 pages)
- Format:
- Text
- Collection(s):
- UCSB electronic theses and dissertations
- Other Versions:
- http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&res_dat=xri:pqm&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:1545797
- ARK:
- ark:/48907/f34b2z9v
- ISBN:
- 9781303425011
- Catalog System Number:
- 990040770120203776
- Copyright:
- Melissa Chan, 2013
- Rights:
In Copyright
- Copyright Holder:
- Melissa Chan
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