An Ode to Kung Fu Heroines - Part 1 | Video Essay
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Accented Cinema - Episode 32
International Women's Day just passed, Mulan is coming out soon. It's time we celebrate the brave heroines of Chinese cinema, who's punches and kicks are not only impressive on screen, but make differences in real life!
This is a two part series, in which we explore some of the notable Kung Fu actresses in Chinese cinema.
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Hi Patrons! Remember to head to Patreon.com/AccentedCinema and vote for your prefer topic for next month! The choice is between Ip Man 4, Godzilla, or John Woo.
Also, during the Jinan incident, in which the Japanese occupation forces killed over 6000 Chinese civilians and soldiers, Xu Qin-fang managed to sneak into the scene, all while hiding a camera inside her baggy pants. She later made a documentary with her smuggled footage.
Never doubt her abilities to be a complete badass.
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Going for John Woo - we were going to get a screening of The Killer in Portland, OR with a Q&A with Woo, but that got canceled due to The Plague.
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"The live action Mulan is coming out soon"
Well that aged like milk
"She can still kick higher than I can punch"
That's the best compliment you can give to a martial artist, goddamn
When I was younger, HK martial arts shows and movies was basically the vast majority of what I liked watching. I remember seeing a whole bunch of women kick serious ass, even if they're not the main characters. Women kicking ass just wasn't anything out-of-place or strange to me. One of my favorites was a comedy about Fong Sai Yuk, where the main male lead was a martial arts badass, but his mom was always able to kick his ass any day. I also read the Condor Heroes series, where the main character Yang Guo had a female master Xiao Long Nu.
So imagine my surprise when I came to America and female-led action movies were some sort of "new" and "controversial" thing. Though I never knew that Sammo Hung (one of the martial arts stars of my time) had heritage from the first Da Nu.
Yeah as an Asian I also find it very weird that in the US they make such a big deal about movies like Wonder Woman. I think part of the reason why female action protagonists were accepted so naturally in China is that the very idea of martial art implies an underdog narrative: you don't have to born strong, you don't have to have giant muscle, strength can be cultivated through delicate mastery of you body. That's why you can see all sort of people kicking asses in kung fu movies: old people, thin people, fat people, etc. Kung fu is branded as an equaliser. And I guess this idea gets particularly popular after the imperialist invasion from the West. Under the oppression of superior forces, Chinese men might have found it easier to identify themselves with an oppressed, underdog heroine who finds a way to overcome her disadvantage. (Incidentally the colonial propaganda often portrayed Asian as effeminate.) While in the West, the entire colonialist idea of the "white men's burden" is that other races are just like women and children: they can't take care of themselves, so they need a master. White men imagines themselves as protector, provider, and saviour, rather than a person of the oppressed who stand up. I guess that is why white men finds it hard to identify themselves with women protagonists, because if a protector, a saviour is not needed when everyone can stand up on their own, then what are they to the rest of the world? The powerful villain in other people's story? The West needs this protector-protectee narrative to see themselves in a good light, and that is exactly the narrative that legitimises patriarchy.
(Incidentally, a strong female figure is all over the place in 50s and 60s Chinese communist cinema. Women were leaders, workers, and fighters in those films. It really surprises me to see how many American media think they are the global pioneer on gender issue!)
Well, nowadays you have hardly any female led chinese action movies anymore. The few existing ones are mostly trashy and sexualized, like Naked Soldier or Special Female Force. Compare that to the late 80s and early 90s when dozens of action movies with Stars like Michelle Yeoh, Cynthia Khan (Yeung), Moon Lee, Yukari Oshima or Sibelle Hu were released every year.
@@cheungch1990 Look at the number one complaint about *modern* "fighting females" in cinema. It's not even "Waif-fu" anymore, the term used is "Extremely Accommodating Stuntmen"... Cheng Pei Pei gets her moves, and sells her moves, by being a professional dancer *first.* Modern Hollywood actresses? Most barely move like they could hold down a job as your local Zumba instructor.
The other side of this coin is, media needs you to think that *everything* is new, just so you'll buy it. Anyone attempting to push the disastrous 2016 Ghostbusters, or Birds of Prey, or Charlies Angels 2019 needs you not only to forget, but to never have known about the cast of Xena: Warrior Princess, Cynthia Rothrock career in HK, and so on.
Over in the #PulpRev we joke about never reading anything written after 1980, but it's insane how the myth of patriarchal sexism that even perpetuates Accented Cinema's video gets exploded by reading and watching older stuff.
Michelle Yeoh put women on the map for me in terms of heroines. She was just so badass and she sells it.
@@cheungch1990 Grettings, I just wanted to say that your comment has been equally enlightening and inspiring for me, and that it has made me think quite a lot about the common tropes and issues with my own culture. Thanks a lot!!
Beautiful video as always brother!
Oh hey look, a Shaolin ;)
Rantoni Pepperoni
aka Megalodoni
RANTON!
RANTONI!
This is brilliant! I'm a femle martial arist myself- though I'm nowhere near as skilled as any of these awsome women- and I still hear all my life that I will never be as strong or skilled because of my gender, and that I have to compensate for being a woman. It just annoys me when it's from someone with no clue what their talking about, but it can really hurt when I hear it from fellow martial artists. Thankyou for spreading awareness of these women, and their movies! Thankyou for treating their history with the care and attention it deserves and putting into context the immense presure they were under to keep working and to prove successfull.
That's the thing, where you can be limited by strength skill is all that matters and you can improve it everyday regardless of who or what you are. Skill is something you can always build upon. So, don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
I know some women i've sparred with who can completely kick my arse, so never doubt your abilities because of your gender :P
@@MoldyOog
Dude, do you seriously think women are "weaker" than men even if they put effort into becoming stronger and that they should just focus on "skill"?
I mean, sure, skill is important but do you seriously think women can BIOLOGICALLY NOT be stronger than men even if they try to?
You do realize that's a misogynistic assumption right?
That is BS. Perhaps not statistically likely to be as strong is a valid argument. But skill??? Haha. As a bonus, skill can theoretically outweigh inherent differences in strength so there's that. Keep doing what you are doing :)
@@safs4929 but....men are biologically stronger than women, they have bigger muscles and stronger bone density. If a man and a woman worked out everyday, the man would be stronger because he has more muscle. thats just fact
I appreciate your existence Accented Cinema
"i appreciate ur existence" i like that xD
Don't we all.
The CZcams algorithm needs to recommend this video to more people!
AnonymousCoward3000 seriously! I’m so glad I found this channel, more people need to see it!
this will be a great day. this channel gets better everytime!
@Prince of Wrath Awwww...
@Prince of Wrath yes, it gets better even thou it's perfect
Like fine wine..
Whenever Accented Cinema uploads
You know its gonna be a great video
One of the most Underrated Channels on CZcams
I agree with you concerning the 1930's view of women in Hollywood movies as usually damsels in distress but we have to remember that this is due to the impact of the conservative Hays code. Before that you had movies such as The Perils of Pauline, The Exploits of Elaine and The Black Book.
great point!
Thank you for introducing me to the amazing history of Cheng Pei-pei, wow, what a woman. I saw her in Crouching Tiger, but I had no idea of the legend she truly is.
0:48 Menacing eye stares, the pose, and that glove readjustment, oh man, those are perfect!
"The live action remake of Mulan is coming out soon"
Coronavirus: "Imma ruin this company's whole career..."
You're joking, right? Walt Disney owns a near monopolistic majority share of Hollywood and has, literally, more money than god. They'll most likely delay Mulan's release to later in the year.
Nero Wolfe are you dense? Or are you genuinely unsure if someone is joking or not when they use a format of a meme.
there is a live action one from 2009 that isn't disney
What's hilarious is that there are many critical people today who claim that action cinema is being ruined by female characters beating men b/c it's "unrealistic". As if such a concept is anything new and was never beloved back in the latter half of 20th century when even children could be given such a portrayal.
The problem is not that women beating men is unrealistic, but movies and TV shows sometimes portray it unrealistically, as in a tiny woman would beat a man twice her weight, by fighting like a man in hand-to-hand combat. An example I can remember is from Batwoman, a woman with no muscle can one punch KO a man. Unless the woman have super strength or actual muscles, like Wonder Woman, that's unrealistic. Compare that to Black Widow in the MCU movies where she relies on quick moves, leverage and also wit to outmatch the men. This is also true if it were a small man against a bigger man.
@@clementj You only read my 1st sentence, read the 2nd sentence before replying. For even Short Round in Temple of Doom was portrayed to be able to knockout grown men w/ one hit.
@@jp3813 you're comparing comedic action to serious action. Comedies can get away with anything, but there's a certain realism expected from pure action movies. You can't expect the kids in 3 Ninjas to survive in, say, Diehard.
@@clementj You can say it was lighthearted, but not comedic. No woman in the Indiana Jones franchise was portrayed to be capable of such a feat against multiple foes. With the likes of Cynthia Rothrock, Michelle Yeoh, Yukari Oshima, Moon Lee, Linda Hamilton, etc... kicking men's asses back in the 80s & 90s, Die Hard could've easily starred a woman especially due to the fact that it was mostly a shoot 'em up movie.
@@clementj If Die Hard was a serious martial arts movie, I would not even be surprised if 10-year-old Mo Tse saved the day.
I love your stuff, man. You've given me a deeper appreciation for Asian cinema.
As someone who trains in martial arts, I want to thank you for posting this video! I'll be sending this to my female teammates!
I will answer a question you didn't ask,
My favorite Da Nu is the landlady from Kung Fu Hussle xD i thought she was pretty fun to watch
Aquielleoz Jon Godinez The same actress is in the Bond movie “The Man With The Golden Gun”
Yeah, she was a badass!
HK Cinema: *Showing bad-ass woman since the beginning of it's history and still Epic!*
US Cinema: *Shows one woman who can punch decently, and suddenly it's a HUGE controversy!*
I'm american, ya'll! Don't kill me ...! XD
I still think the fight between the two ladies in crouching tiger hidden dragon was epic. One of the best weapons fight I’ve seen in movies.
Wow, this went so much deeper then I was expecting from the title. Amazing job.
Turns out I was a fan of Cheng Pei-Pei and didn't even know it. She's in so many movies I like! I need to track down Golden Swallow now; Come Drink With Me is very good.
Love your content! Saw one little mistake from when you introduced Jet Li in the beginning where the movie was supposed to be "Once Upon a TIme in China". I just want to make sure people who saw him can find that specific movie and watch the movie I saw as a kid , which made me a huge fan of Kung Fu movies from that point on!
This video should have at least 100 mil views. I love your video essays SO MUCH! and this series really empowers me to be PROUD of my ambition and not hide it. Thank you so much!
Great content. Growing up with HK action cinema in the 80's as kicking female action stars were always the norm for me.
I remember having the biggest crushes on Moon Lee, and Cara Hui.
why not Cynthia rothrock
The best thing to come across after being imprisoned at home. Really enjoyed this video essay on Kung Fu Heroines. And I learned the proper pronunciation of names.
You, my dear sir, have managed to make a hell of video, I almost cried, you video really touched me; thank you so much for this and the rest of your work. I can wait for the next.
10:20 "What's up with this guy?" LOL
Dude! I have GOT to see Floating Scholar! That looks amazing! As well, that's so awesome she's in Mulan. This was an amazing video! Your content is so awesome. Thank you!
It's really funny.
@mr. majestic Thank you for the help!
The badassery of fighting women :) I grew up watching Asian movies with my dad. I loved their presence and impact there. And thank you for mentioning their real life contributions in arms.
So the first Chinese action star was a swords-woman. That’s amazing!
Honestly Accented Cinema, I had goosebumps watching this video, quality yt channels like yours are quite rare and I’m looking foreword to watch the rest. Never been this interested in Chinese culture! So thank you so much for the effort you’ve put into producing such a gem❤️
We are happy you're back! Hope you've enjoyed your vacations. Thanks for this awesome video
These women must have such great courage-
A courage not inflamed by the impulse to kill,
But at das most dangerous moment
A courage to withstand a prolong wound and agony.
Fantastic video essay! Can't wait for the next part! Thanks for highlighting such inspirational figures of history!
I love watching your videos because they introduce me to so many wonderful movies I'd never heard of before. I always make a list of all the films I see on screen and make a point to watch as many as possible
Your videos are always layered with perspectives. Thank you.
Im really glad he included Master Z i feel like its a really underrated movie and swordfight scene between the traid leader and Chueng Tin Chi was one of my fav scenes
Great video! Some incredible biographies you're showing here. I love how you've connected these women through to the modern cinema.
Thank you for making these!
Oh wow, thank you for teaching me about these women! Imagine watching the new Mulan and not knowing Cheng's history.
come drink with me 1966
Outstanding job! Kung Fu Heroines are so under-appreciated in action cinema! I always liked the balance they struck in these films by acknowledging their character's femininity yet keeping true to their ass kickin' nature.
Thanks again. I think your videos are among the best on youtube.
Swordsman II is so good. I'm surprised they haven't remade it as a movie. I know it's based on a Louis Cha novel and it's been TV shows but the HK movie only used the novel as inspiration.
The novel adaptation is being made into TV shows so often, I think Chinese audience is really tired of it. Maybe in a few more years someone will try it again.
@@AccentedCinema Or Chinese gov will censor the movie given the subject matter of the movie. The love story between Linghu Chong and Bubai isn't in the novel (I don't think) or the TV shows.
That was brilliant, thanks for the info.
Thank you for this fantastic history lesson! I hope all of today's martial arts actors and actresses know about your channel.
Love this. Haven’t heard of most of these - now I have a good list of movies to watch :-)
I'm only a few minutes in and your intro made my heart so warm🤧💞
I really like how well this videos are !! U are good !!
This is incredible. Brings back so many memories from my childhood. Watching my young auntie with my father
Bless you Accented Cinema. You are shining a light on a hugely important facet of Asian cinema. I grew up in the Nineties amidst the Tarantino influenced pop cultural obsession with Hong Kong and Japanese cinema that spawned a lot of reference books and film sites. Yet weirdly all the information they put out there seems to have receded from the public consciousness. Anyway, your videos do a stellar job schooling newbs about these amazing films. I can't wait for part 2!
Really good content, can't wait for the next part!
These videos are so good, thanks for all the effort.
I love this! Instant subscription!
Amazing! I get a bit of Chinese political and film history and I'm enthralled. I love your channel!
Your extended discussion of 徐琴芳 is excellent. So much to learn that I never knew.
Thank you so much for making these!!
Dude I love your videos! Thanks for making them!
Your video essays are awesome! I am a fan now.
really love your videos! Nice and elaborated material
love this video!!! keep up the good job!
Yes! Amazing video!
I cryed... Great video
This is really quality content. Can't believe I haven't seen you in my recommendations before. You got a sub out of me 2 minutes in. Looking forward to the next part and to checking out the rest of your videos!
hey this was a really nice video, keep the great work
Love it! Come drink with me is one of my all time favorites
It is such a great movie.
Great video, and much needed, thanks.
I love your channel and content, keep it up bro!!!
10:13 "what's up with this guy?" 😂
That extra wanted to grab as much screentime as possible lol
I need to watch all these movies!!! Wow! Thank you for sharing :)
I want to give you a million likes. This is a perfect ode to kungfu in general and kungfu heroines in particular. What an enlightening experience to watch this video😍😍😍 x infinity. Thanks!!!
Easily my favorite channel
Already over ... Just getting into the movie ... hope part 2 comes soon ... thx for your effort
I love your video essay... Keep the good work....
Very excited for the next video!!!!
I love, love this channel.
Cheng Pei-Pei is an absolute LEGEND. I can't wait to see her old Taiwanese films. She was so beautiful back then.
Johannes P I don’t think she ever entered Taiwan filmdom although she did film on location there for romantic drama Lovers Rock.back in the 60s
Get you a girl who can kick your ass... but chooses not to because she has better uses for you when you're not bruised.
Fantastic video as always. I was surprised it didn't connect to Mulan at all. I hope we get to hear your thoughts on that when it finally releases too.
DongHua Reviews I think my preference lies on the girl who can handle her own. She better be able to keep up my pace and force me to do something that I couldn’t do on my own. On the other hand, I suppose it is awkward.
Originally it went way back into the past and talk about old folk heroines. But the script got really out of hand and I had to chop it.
Still a bit frustrated I had to cut the joke about Mulan having a four digit kill count, though.
@@NoirLouisStream might be the fact that they are so rare. I dont find it awkward at all or offputting if a woman can beat me in a fight xD. That's just damn impressive to me and sexy as all hell. Having said that I'm not a fighter so I'm sure it's more awkward for men who can actually fight.
@@AccentedCinema that would have been a great edition! But yes I understand the video is already quite long. Another whole chapter could have been painful =/. Can already imagine a nice moment of pointing out that Mulan is more deadly than any other Disney character xD
Cuck comment, go simp elsewhere.
Your videos never fail to impress!
Im.so glad ur back! I missed you & was getting worried about you.
Quality stuff you got here man.
Love this cant wait for part 2
Thanks, great as ever!
The first wuxia films I saw were a double feature of Trilogy of Swordsmanship and Lady of Steel, at the Shaw Theatre in Vancouver’s Chinatown in the early 70s. Thanks so much for this look back at the early swordswomen, who woke me up to Chinese heroines and martial arts, both of which I still love.
Ah man, thanks for the shoutout to Wu Yen!! For the longest time I was convinced I had a fever dream and this movie didn't actually exist. I'm so glad to see other people know it too.
thank u for making this video~
Your history lessons are awesome. Now I have a list of movies to watch.
Fantastic video, I love it.
No words enough to thank u for this amazing lesson!
This video was so cool, I enjoyed it very much
Amazing chapter! 谢谢你！
If Mulan live action inspired you to make this video, it's already the best thing that movie had to offer
As a huge kung-fu fan, I am grateful you made this video!
Most men give women roses for women’s day,ignoring the true meaning of the day, being a day created so society would be forced reflect about sexism,where men should try to put themselves in a women’s shoes, try to change their mindset and help the women in their lives. Accented Cinema made this video for International Day For Women’s Rights, this is the only women’s day gift I’ll ever be thankful for, thank you.
This is amazing!! Rock on. New subscriber
Excellent video.
每期我都看，太棒了！
I was reminded of a HK film recently. It was called So Close and showed Shu Qi, Karen Mok and Zhao Wei kicking ass.
Kung fu is action, dance and philsophy! It has help to create heroes for women across the world.
Thankyou for this video... finally someone appreciates the fighting women
Incredibly inspiring women. Revolutionaries. I can’t begin to picture how many obstacles, discrimination, and road blocks these incredible women faced along their road to changing the world.
Lady Hermit is my favourite film of Chang Pei Pei's. Violent and fun, but also grounded and not as bonkers as some others.
I like this kind of series!
Are you going to mention Pearl Chang Ling in a future episode? (she's somewhat obscure, but did a whole bunch of cult classic movies in the 70s and 80s. Wolf Devil Woman and Dark Lady of Kung Fu are probably her most famous films.)
come drink with me 1966