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How Did Bruce Lee Influence Immigration

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Charts of the highest grossing movies and most popular films across the world rank Terminator, The Matrix Reloaded, and Rush Hour 2 in the top-25 grossing action movies of all time. These movies combine for a box office total of more than 700 million dollars! Unbeknownst to many people, these “American” movies are in fact heavily impacted by the immigration of actors from various countries. Immigration into the United States post-1965 affected many realms. In the field of graphic arts, immigration has caused a potent change in the cultural atmosphere of the United States. The assimilation of immigrants into American society has changed the scope of entertainment in that it has formed a melting pot of actors from different cultures and unique …show more content…

Vijay Prashad writes, “There was something extraordinary about Bruce Lee” (Prashad 4). Lee was born in 1940 in San Francisco, but grew up in Hong Kong, where he took part in more than 20 cinematic features. He showed movie-star qualities at the earliest age of three months when he took part in the film “Golden Gate Girl”. This was made possible due to his parents being opera stars. During his preteen years in Hong Kong, Bruce Lee was unfortunately involved in street gang fights. In order to escape this harsh environment Bruce Lee’s parents decided to immigrate to the United States when he was in his teens. Even though Lee was technically born in the United States, he was still deemed by all as Asian-American. Similar to his identity in Chinatown (San Francisco), even though Lee was, by paper, American, his heart and culture remained Asian. Chinatown served a perfect fit for the Lee family because of the town’s high concentration of Asian-Americans, traditional festivals, and ethnic …show more content…

Bruce Lee characterized himself as a rather unbiased person in general, and is quoted in saying, “I… am a man who never follows those fearful formulas… So, no matter if your color is black or white or red or blue, I can still make friends with you without any barrier” (Prashad 55). This was one of the fundamental characteristics of Lee that allowed him to make such an impact in the American culture. This intrinsically unbiased nature Lee exuded is the reason he was able to acquire many connections, not only in martial arts but professional actors and the like. He connected well with those he communicated with, and therefore could impact a wider

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