A Year in the Chinese Martial Arts: The Top Events and Stories that Shaped 2013.
40th Anniversary of the Death of Bruce Lee
In 2013 Bruce Lee once again proved that dragons never die. This year marked the 40th anniversary of both his death and the release of his masterpiece, Enter the Dragon. For a solid month the media seemed to be swept up in a revival of the “Kung Fu fever” of the 1970s. Literally hundreds of stories were run in newspapers and magazines. Both television and radio shows were produced to discuss his legacy and ongoing contributions to the martial arts. Students of Chinese martial studies even got in on the act, with Paul Bowman releasing his volume Beyond Bruce Lee: Chasing the Dragon Through Film, Philosophy, and Popular Culture (2013).
It was interesting to see the sheer variety of stories that unfolded around these twin anniversaries. Some, such as the opening of the new museum exhibit in Hong Kong, were not entirely unexpected. Others, including the increasingly frequent attempts by various individuals to claim Lee as the spiritual godfather of MMA, pointed to interesting cultural trends. A few of the stories, such as the controversy surrounding Johnnie Walker’s use of Lee’s digitally recreated image for their new advertising campaign, even seemed calculated to stir up some discussion (not all of which was positive).
40 years after his death Bruce Lee still has the power to awe and inspire us. For a month his memory was enough to get everyone talking about Kung Fu. I cannot think of any better proof of his ongoing cultural relevance than that.
-BENJUDKINS
photo: Enter The Dragon 龍爭虎鬥
1973
