Browsing the international section of Netflix trying to find an East Asian film to review for use in my class, I was dismayed to find that the majority of East Asian films selected by Netflix were fight films. A simple catalogue of titles gives example to the category of film they represent:
Rumble in the Bronx
Kung Fury
Kung Fu Killer
Flowers of War
Fist Legend
The Golden Cane Warrior
War of the Arrows
Iron Monkey
14 Blades
The Enforcer
Little Big Soldier
Body Guards & Assassins
Warlords
Lady Ninja
Gun Woman
Sword & Assassin
Blood Ties
Confession of Murder
Executions from Shaolin
The Warrior
Drug War
Zu Warriors
(this is a VERY small list of titles I included - some had martial arts characters reflected in their cover photo even if the title wasn't suggestive of violence)_
The best known actors imported from East Asia are Bruce Lee, Jet Li, and Jackie Chan.
Is this a reflection of what the US expects from Asia or what is going on culturally that this represents the majority of films being produced there? If this is indeed typical of Eastern Asian films, what is going on culturally & psychologically that this is their form of entertainment? It was difficult to find a romantic comedy typical of India, or a cultural critique common of south American movies. Or even a biopic of a celebrated Asian hero. With a history so rich in philosophy, food, the arts, I'd expect a broader range of genres.
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