Ideal or Idealized Behaviors of the Chinese Hero or Heroine - Essay Example

Ideal or idealized behaviors of the Chinese hero/heroine s Ideal or idealized behaviors of the Chinese hero/heroine The terms hero and heroine has their base from ancient time, and they have been celebrated according to the extraordinary things they have done. The heroic character develops and is appreciated by the viewer or by a person who directly enjoy the noble outcome of the character. Heroes have always had distinguishing qualities depicting cultural and idealistic values of the concerned society. However, they have not always portrayed their perfect societal characteristics but the community appreciates this presentation of their culture. Idealistically, heroes are not individuals who put on costumes and protect the society with fighting crimes as the current generation views it. From ancient Greece, warriors were seen to possess extraordinary traits with significant physical abilities. However, the current generation sees stars from Romantic escapades in the post-modern movies, and they portray high intellectual ability. The Chinese society has not been left behind while it comes to the contemporary creation of heroic figures in the industry tothe film industry. The development and evolution ofChinese film industry are iconized by heroic characters such as Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan. During the 1970’s, were among the first Chinese icons to feature in Hollywood society, and they received a lot of the worldwide appraisals. The Chinese culture is put in the limelight, and many western viewers were made to appreciate the rich Asian cultural practices. Developing their character was first observed in their local and national films that are heavily recognized by the society. The most valued culture is due to their rich martial art practices. The concept of martial arts has been highly acknowledged in the western society as well as worldwide. The field have received a lot of recommendation and also criticism of many viewers being skeptical about the process of learning and experiencing the great masculinity. In a Chinese favorite film as it is almost the case, the hero or heroine character is displayed by the hero having certain physical abilities. Most of these films depict the heroic character as a specialist for martial arts that uses their knowledge and practice of this art to fight crime and restore peace in the society. According to Kung Fu Hustle, Stephen Chow is depicted as an infamous character at the beginning.The film gradually develops a character who defies the rules of the society but later comes to be of heroic character and liberates people from oppression by the bandits. This development of the character is not very deviated from other films such as Super Girl by Li Yuchun. The Chinese culture is exposed to the whole world with their beliefs and norms displayed as well as the individual roles played by each gender. Many Chinese modern films depict their heroic character with such a heart full personality who is always able to listen to the society’s outcry on the pressing issues. The behavior of such character is such that to prioritize the requirements of the community first in safeguarding the well-being of the poor in terms of capabilities. The most common behavior is that of a selfless individual who is initially helpless but in turn gains an extraordinary ability to advocate equality. The character is made to display a discretion and refrain from any wrong decision making. The character bears an enormous responsibility to protect the society as well as maintain law and order and a peaceful co-existence. In the Chinese famous films, most of the heroic characters display different and intellectually founded ideologies from other personalities in the movie. The depiction of the nature of interest to have high intellectual capability as well as the physical ability introduces an aura of high expectations. In creating a heroic character, gender roles must not be violated; the female heroine is portrayed to follow the societal gender roles and cultural practices. The personality at the same time isbreaking some of these rules producing an extraordinary character that is admired by the audience. The idea is such that to indicate how much potential the heroic character portrays regardless of gender disparity. The behavior development and characterization geteven better when the character can succeed in having violated the social norms and produced a positive outcome. If the heroic figure displays unique qualities such as self-sacrificing ability draws the attention of the society as a whole. The hero or heroine is celebrated and valorized with honor and dignity with regards to their judgmental ability. Cultural values have to be maintained in any film so as not to lose originality and cultural identity in the movie. Though several evolutionary changes are depicted, the audience should be able to point out that a particular film belong to a particular cultural background. Values on gender roles in the society are an important aspect of developing a heroic character. The definitive cultural values are displayed by the behavior of the noble character. The behavior must not defy the social fabric of norms in the society, and also must not have anadverse influence on the society as a whole. Every society has its set standards, and every heroic character is confined and protected by these rules. Notably, the character not to engage in negative behavior and at the same time depict the behavior in an acceptable manner that might bring harm to the social values of the society. Many individuals try to idolize the heroic characters thus high discretion in terms of good and acceptable behavior is recommended. Values that are against the moral fabrication of the society concerned are heavily condemned and should be resisted. At the same time reproducing the heroic character as a transformed person is a positive way of capturing an audience. Kung Fu Hustle is a typical local Chinese film with a setting rich in deep Chinese culture. However, the film is also worldwide apprentice that received most of its praises from bot local audience as well as the international audience. Stephen Chow, the director, producer and writer of the film imports different ideas from his previous film productions. He introduces them with comic humor in one film showing exemplary results of the Chinese rich cultural martial art. Being a local producer in Hong Kong, Chow has enjoyed most of the local rewards but he also described them as low returns. His ambition to go international led to the idea of producing a transnational film that would serve as a breakthrough to the worldwide market. Like many other Chinese productions of the 21st century, the concept of globalization and localization has significantly elevated the levels of films with rich Chinese cultural heritage. The film Kung Fu Hustle is a Chinese language comedy that introduce humor in a delicate concept of martial arts(Klein, Chistina, 2007). The film narrates the story of poor hustler who provokes a war between a disreputable gang of criminals and a group of highly capable martial artist masters. The gang is on a mission to take control of cities, to achieve this; the group uses excessive force and eliminates all other smaller groups. Unfortunately, the gang lands on a rather unexposed city with its inhabitants as martial artists’ masters. A serious war ensues between these inhabitants and the bunch of criminalswith a series of humor scenes and Chow being the center of attraction. The ideology of heroic behavior in this film as shown by Stephen Chow where he starts with a character that defies the moral teachings of the society. He is introduced as a street thug and hustler who tries to implore that he is a member of the terrorizing gang but later transforms to aid the city. He plays an integral part in restoring the disrupted peace of the city even he perpetuates the battle in the beginning. Throughout the film, his heroic character is developed with his capacity to survive snake poison. The discovery of Chow’s capability of fighting for justice, rescuing the city, and his leadership traits are developed. Stephen Chow’s behavior drastically changes and regains another version that takes the interest of the town safety as a priority. Together with the martial artist masters, he launches a substantial undertaking that sees the city free of oppression fromthe gang at the end. Here his physical ability as well as intellectual competence is developed and maintained. This film is a conceptual piece of work that can introduce a humble character who earns self-respect through fighting. In the end, he emerges as a winner and a hero to the society and is idolized and celebrated by the audience from a global perspective. References Klein, Chistina. (2007). Kung Fu Hustle: Transnational Production and the Global Chinese Language Film. Journal Of Chinese Cinemas, 1(3), 189-209. Read More