Surprise - The World Has Discovered that Kungfu is Good for Film
/The misconception that Kungfu at some point in the past was purely and exclusively a fighting art is so wide spread that the Wall Street Journal is reporting AS NEWS that Kungfu is actually good for actors, and film making. The article suggests that the technology of Chinese Martial Arts is being adopted or adapted to fulfill an urgent need world wide! That need? Better action in the movies! More action too!
Maybe I'll write a letter to the WSJ explaining that before 1900 the dominant form of entertainment in China was a form of performance theater that used Kungfu to train its actors. Perhaps I could also explain that in the old days it was through theater that most people got their knowledge of history. Or even that this form of theater was commonly called "Entertaining the Gods" because statues of the gods were carried out of the temples on palanquins and set up in front of the stage. And that it was all a huge money making event, often times with seasonal markets popping up around the main event. And if I really wanted to go out on a limb with this letter I could point out that this "experience" was probably the dominant form of public communal religious expression. Or maybe I'll just go out and get hot chocolate instead.
Do read the article, it's fun. Since it mentions the new Shaolin movie, I do have a comment. I wrote out a wild rant about that terrible movie a month or two ago which I decided not to post, for now anyway. But I will say this. Enough about foreigners stealing antiquities already! White guys with big noses did not destroy Shaolin! Not now, not then, not in any way shape or form. And I'm thinking Jackie Chan owes me an apology. Why does the Official Chinese Government Movie Script Contortion Department think it can get away with this?
Oh never mind. Here, clear your mind with this stimulating big of fun!
Maybe I'll write a letter to the WSJ explaining that before 1900 the dominant form of entertainment in China was a form of performance theater that used Kungfu to train its actors. Perhaps I could also explain that in the old days it was through theater that most people got their knowledge of history. Or even that this form of theater was commonly called "Entertaining the Gods" because statues of the gods were carried out of the temples on palanquins and set up in front of the stage. And that it was all a huge money making event, often times with seasonal markets popping up around the main event. And if I really wanted to go out on a limb with this letter I could point out that this "experience" was probably the dominant form of public communal religious expression. Or maybe I'll just go out and get hot chocolate instead.
Do read the article, it's fun. Since it mentions the new Shaolin movie, I do have a comment. I wrote out a wild rant about that terrible movie a month or two ago which I decided not to post, for now anyway. But I will say this. Enough about foreigners stealing antiquities already! White guys with big noses did not destroy Shaolin! Not now, not then, not in any way shape or form. And I'm thinking Jackie Chan owes me an apology. Why does the Official Chinese Government Movie Script Contortion Department think it can get away with this?
Oh never mind. Here, clear your mind with this stimulating big of fun!
