Masculinity In The Chinese Connection

The Chinese Connection:
Reconstructing Masculinity in the Face of Adversity

Through portrayed resistance of foreign domination, The Chinese Connection builds a heroic masculine Chinese identity that revisions China's past. As the film opens, the narrator informs viewers of what the story will be about: the death of a martial arts master in rural China. However, by calling attention to the many rumors regarding master Ho's death, the narrator is essentially emphasizing the unreliability of the story, thus raising the audience's awareness of the tale as a self-conscious reconstruction of the past. As Chen Lung (Bruce Lee) is the character who kills the two cooks, the Japanese martial arts master, and the Russian boxer; Chen represents the only oppositional force against Japan. This seems to largely represent the anti-Japanese sentiment many felt during the Japanese invasion in World War II. He can thus be viewed as the hero and savior of the Chinese from the country's past political
Woo, an effeminate interpreter working for the Japanese, is the character who leads the Japanese into the students' territory, and who taunts Chen by slapping him three times in the face. Chen obeys the eldest student's advice to not react through violence, as master Ho does not approve of fighting for its own sake. As Ho clearly represents a traditional notion of humility and patience, Chen's repression of his anger and violence would seem to be a repression of his own masculinity. Mr. Woo's effeminate behavior, then, would also seem to represent his political deviance - that of rejecting his country (where the parallel is his rejection of masculinity). Later, when Mr. Woo is at a party with the Japanese martial arts master - who must surely realize a Chinese term for traitors, "running dog" - instructs Woo to crawl out of the room as a dog. As Woo crawls and barks his way out, he meets the feet of Chen, who kills Woo for betraying his country - a certain sign of