Wise Old Man or Kung Fu Master
When we see a wise old man in some kind of action
film or show they tend to know a lot of Kung Fu or martial art of some kind. Some
examples are Mr. Miyagi from the Karate Kid or Jackie Chan in the new version
of the Karate kid. Another example is Bruce lee master in enter the dragon and so many more. I
would consider these characteristics stereotypical and a wrong image for wise old men. Because not all wise old man know martial art or
Kung Fu and the ones that do know martial art in a film or show normally tend to be Asian and only Asian. Just take a look at Caucasian wise old man, when they are introduce in film or shows they have nothing to do
with martial art, instead they are seen as a leader and mentors. Some examples
can include Obi-Wan Keno-bi from Star Wars he is introduces as Jedi and not martial artists also Gandalf
and Merlin they have noting to do with martial artists, rather they are show as magician, heroes and wise men that people
ask for advice.
For some reason this is what people like an enjoy watching. I
mean if they didn't directors and writer wouldn't keep including the wise old
man stereotype in their creations. The film Norbit
includes a wise old man, but the wise old is played by Eddie Murphy. Director Brian Robbins didn't even get an actor with some Asian
background to play an Asian character, but rather let Eddie Murphy place the
role of the wise old man and show the stereotypes associated with the wise old
man and Asians. This goes back to Asian wise old men know martial arts, Eddie Murphy never show any sings of martial because he is not Asian but if they have some random Asian guy play Norbits father rather then Eddie Murphy i am pretty sure he would know martial arts or Kung Fu of some kind. Some final word that i would like leave about this work, is that older actor that are Asian just get stuck with only one role in the media which is as a wise old man that knows martial arts. It also depends on the way you look, for example old wise old man that look Indian also get seen not as martial artist but rather as Gurus.
What got me very interested was your example of Obi-Wan and Gandalf how they are treated as leaders and mentors, and the fact that there's a kid learning Kung-Fu there has to be an Old Wise Mentor, which are seen as Asians/Asian Americans who are old. I have notice in many movies that in Martial arts film they show lots of Asian/Asian American old wise mentors, but when it comes to a Star Wars or Lord of the Rings, they are both set as leaders. Overall, proofread your entree there are some words that are mispelled. Very interesting opinion.
ReplyDelete