Week 9: Adding a drop of Asianization sweetener to
Hollywood movies
After looking at the title, you may want to
ask, “What exactly is Asianization”? Asianization is
actually a “the marriage of East and West, as Asian cultural forces increasingly
influence, inform and inspire American cultural icons” (Barker, 2001).
The wave of Asianization is irresistible in America. It is common to see Sanrio (the
company that has created the popular cartoon character Hello Kitty) licensed
products and spin-offs in American markets, Samsung or LG cell phones, and Japanese
all-you-can-eat with sushi and sashimi at Japanese restaurants in many parts of
western countries. Inside the wave, there is one significant impact,
which is the Asianization of Hollywood. In the following, we will have an
overview on Asianization of Hollywood, its development, and examine a text
Infernal Affair that exemplifies how Hollywood imports localized cinema styles
and narrations.
Hollywood is always deemed as one of the most
important film production base around the world, if not the most important
one. Klein (2003) suggests that "in the eyes of the
world, Hollywood is America. It represents not only the glamour of American
movie stars, but also the "soft power". From the lens of Hollywood,
we get to know what America is, and what American ways of lives are.
Yet, when we now enter a cinema to watch a
movie, we may notice that the Hollywood movie we are watching is more Asian-like, even if they are labeled as
a Hollywood production? No worries, they are not fakes
or parodies. It’s just that we are now
experiencing "changing
media landscapes in America and around the world" (Klein, 2003). There is “a partial erosion of the
boundaries that once separated Hollywood from local Asian film industries, and
a consequent intertwining of industries on both sides of the pacific” (Klein
2004, p. 361), and “Hollywood is becoming Asianized in diverse ways” (p. 361).
The current phenomenon of Asianization of Hollywood films is a kind of “cultural
hybridization” (Ritzer 2010, p. 154). It is “the mixing of cultures and the
integration of the global and the local leading to unique combinations” (p.
154). Local cultures from Asian communities such as Hong Kong, Japan are
referenced by the Hollywood expertise. The pleasant, interesting essences are extracted,
mixed. This gives birth to Asianized Hollywood films, and creates unique cinema
styles.
As Ching (2004) points out, “Asian influences
seem to be everywhere in Hollywood these days, but that doesn't mean Americans
suddenly have acquired a taste for foreign movies”. Of course, the process of
Asianizing Hollywood films is not done overnight. I would
say the Hollywood has evolved since the 1980s together with the wave of Asianization. Into the 2000s, the wave is
particularly keen and prevalent until now.
Asianization of Hollywood can best be described with the cinema
development of Hong Kong from the 1970s to the 2000s, and the film Infernal Affairs.
Back in the 1970s in Hong Kong, there were two very distinctive cinema styles. The two styles are Hollywood movies and
authentic Hong Kong movies. Hollywood movies were then carrying very
distinctive identities. . Hollywood blockbusters were predominantly adapting
western classics and contemporary novels, with obvious western settings and
characters.
To illustrate with, the 1972 Academy-award-winning film The Godfather is
based the same name novel written by Italian American author Mario Puzo in
1969. The story was set to be about a Mafia society in New York, featuring American
actors such as Marlon Brando and Alfredo
James Pacino. Another
award-winning film Rocky (1976) featured American actors Sylvester Stallone and Talia Shire with the plot set in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Authentic Hong Kong movies were mainly produced
and distributed by two main film production companies: Shaw Brothers Studio and Golden Harvest. Golden harvest came into the
market from early 1970s, and has introduced two very influential martial actors;
Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan. Jackie came to a rise in the late 1970s. He played
his first major role in New Fist of Fury (1978), followed by Drunken Master
(1979).
In the 1980s, Hollywood has
been introducing similar action movie like Lethal
Weapon (starring Mel Gibson and Danny Glover). However, there is a
significant change that Hollywood started to realize the large potential of
Asian market, and some action films were introduced with Asian settings and
featured with Asian actors. Bloodsport
(1988) starring Jean-Claude Van Damme is one example. It is a martial-art film
set in Kowloon Walled City, Hong Kong, where it was associated with common Hong
Kong settings of triads and crimes. The film featured supporting Hong Kong
actors such as Lily Leung and Roy Chiao.
Moreover, from the mid-1980s,
Hong Kong has grown as a major production base or producing action, crime and
detective films. Many expertise have gained their ticket to Hollywood because
of their excellent performance in making and acting in
these films. Some of the well-known examples are director
John Woo and his A better tomorrow
(1986) and actress Michelle Yeoh and her The
Heroic Trio (1993). The most prominent figure in the wave of
Asianization of Hollywood is Jackie Chan. Hardly could anyone deny his significance
in Hong Kong and Hollywood cinemas. He has created “Jackie Chan films”, films
starring him with iconic cinematic styles and narration modes. He is an
excellent example of how Hollywood embrace “star personae, visual styles and
narrative conventions that are strongly identified with a particular Asian film
industry” (Klein 2004, p. 368).
Because of the nature
and prevalence of action and detective films, stunts, actions and visual
effects have since been extensively and professionally used in Hong Kong. Narrative conventions of these films have in turn been swifter, more “securing” to ensure box office
balance, if not a tremendous profit.
Besides, narrative conventions in Hong Kong are believed to be more
adaptable to the largely uncovered Chinese market. So, Hollywood
is constantly
adapting itself to attract more audience and the revenue they bring about, These
explain why Hollywood directors and producers would like to import
indigenized versions of its own, previously exported styles and modes of
narration later, like they have
obtained the right to remake the Hong Kong
crime-thriller blockbuster Infernal Affairs in the 2002.
Infernal Affairs is a Hong Kong crime-thriller crime
starring major actors such as Tony Leung and Andy Lau. It tells the story of
two police officers: one infiltrating a triad and one working for the same
triad. It had a major box office success in Hong Kong and had two sequels in
2003. Its story plot was described as intense and exciting, and gained high
reputation among Asian audience. In 2003, Hollywood expertise obtained the
rights to remake the film from Media East Entertainment Group. In 2006, Infernal Affair was remade as a
Hollywood film The Departed by the
director Martin Scorsese. This symbolises “Asianization of Hollywood” (Klein
2004, p. 368). In this case, The Departed
is a movie that embraces “narrative conventions that are strong identified with
a particular Asian film industry” (p. 368), in this case, the Hong Kong movie
industry.
As we can
identify, Hollywood has been exporting films with similar plots in earlier
times. Take the aforementioned blockbuster The
Godfather as an example; it shares some similarities with Infernal Affairs, which are outstanding examples of “how Hollywood imports
indigenized versions of its own, previously exported styles and modes or
narration” (Klein 2004, p. 368).
In The Godfather, there is a large
description on gangsters, and the gangsters have distinctive images. Marlon
Brando, who stars Vito Corleone, “the godfather” is always dressed up in suits
with calm looking faces. The image he presented as a triad member is similar to
ordinary people. They are calm, serious, self-controlled and dignified. This image
has subsequently been exported to Asian countries, and has radically changed
the image triad members once had in Asian cinemas. To illustrate with, Hong
Kong cinemas often present gangsters as arrogant, rude, flippant and impulsive
in the 1970s and 1980s. The portrayal of gangsters as underdogs or belonging to
the bottom of the society is dominant. Thanks to the influence of Hollywood, gangsters
in Hong Kong movies have appeared to be calmer and more “intellectual” from
late 1990s, like those in Infernal
Affairs do.
Moreover,
Hollywood introduces widespread use of gun shots to arouse excitement such as
those in the Godfather, and again has
been exported to and adopted by Asian cinemas, including Hong Kong, which often
included fighting scenes and vigorous verbal argument only to arouse excitement
in the past. The exported cinematic techniques and narration modes were localized
and refined due to the development of local cinemas, as suggested above. This
has gradually developed variations of Hollywood’s exported styles. Therefore, In
the 2000s, to catch up with the Asian market, these variations, which actually
are indigenized versions of its own, previously exported styles and modes or
narration” (Klein 2004, p. 368), are being approached and imported back to
Hollywood.
In reality, there
are different probable reasons explaining the Asianization of Hollywood. Regarding
the situation of Asia, Rampal (2005) states that “the
rising literacy levels in Asian countries and access to Western (mostly
American) entertainment offerings are turning media consumers to be more
demanding from their traditional cultural and entertainment industries” and “expansion of democracy
and economic liberalization since the 1990s have unleashed unparalleled Western
cultural influences around the world also”. Regarding Jackie or other Asian stars, Klein
(2004) stresses that studio executives realise that “many of whom had loyal
fans across Asia – as a mean to penetrate Asian markets more effectively” (p.
365) . Therefore, Asian stars such as Jackie Chan from Hong Kong and Lee
Byang-hun from Korea are recruited to work in Hollywood.
It is undeniable that Asian audiences
are growing in importance. Take Chinese audiences as an example, they are more
affluent now and they can afford frequent cinema patronage for audiovisual
enjoyment. They surely welcome most add-ons which heightens the enjoyment like
stunt, 3D-effects. On the other side, under Globalisation, Hollywood filmmakers
are now better informed about Asian audience’s taste under globalisation. Studio
executives are seeking Asian stars, labour, and stories to be involved in
different stages of film production, which leads to “the transnationalization
of labor and style” (Klein 2004, p. 368). Therefore, we can expect continuous Asianization of
Hollywood. It is inevitable and we should be expecting more
Asianized Hollywood Films “coming soon”.
References
Barker, O 2001, ‘The Asianization of America’, USA Today, 22 March 2013, Retrieved 8 October 2013, < http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2001/03/2001-03-22-acovthu.htm>.
Ching, L 2004., ‘'Asianization' of Hollywood Films a Two-Way Street, Duke Expert Says’. Retrieved 6 October 2013, < http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/content/asia-factor-global-hollywood>.
Klein, C 2003., ‘The Asia Factor in Global Hollywood: breaking down the notion of a
distinctly American cinema’. Retrieved 6 October 2013, < http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/content/asia-factor-global-hollywood>.
Klein, C 2004, ‘Martial arts and globalisation of US and Asian
film industries’, Comparative America Studies, vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 360-384.
Rampal, K R 2005., ‘Cultural Imperialism or Economic Necessity?:
The Hollywood Factor in the Reshaping of the Asian Film Industry’. Retrieved 6 October 2013, < http://lass.purduecal.edu/cca/gmj/sp05/gmj-sp05-rampal.htm>.
The Hollywood Factor in the Reshaping of the Asian Film Industry’. Retrieved 6 October 2013, < http://lass.purduecal.edu/cca/gmj/sp05/gmj-sp05-rampal.htm>.
