FINAL BLOG POST: Adding a drop of Asianization sweetener to Hollywood movies

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. 

Bloodsport (fighting scene) Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0YDuSLXcX8

 

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 (trailer) Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4R3nHkqyfM

 

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. 

 

 The Departed (trailer) Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGWvwjZ0eDc

 

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>.