Cultural Nationalism and Narcissism of Bruce Lee

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Cultural Nationalism and Narcissism of Bruce Lee

One of the characteristic features of Bruce Lee is cultural nationalism. According to Teo (1997), it can be defined as the awareness of people who were born or live outside their land, about belonging to the nation and culture of that country. Moreover, persons may not even speak the language of the country with which they identify themselves. An example is the emotional desire of Lee, who does not live in China, to identify himself with Chinese values and culture. Moreover, the author describes this concept as an extremely positive and apolitical phenomenon.

What is more, Bruce Lee has narcissistic traits, which are manifested in many of his actions. Teo (1997) asserts that he is a narcissistic hero to the West. Apart from the characteristics of nationalism, this actor has features of egotism. For instance, in the West, Lee actively spreads Asian culture and makes it more accessible; but in the East, he is a nationalist hero who internationalized some traits of Asian culture. The actor actively demonstrates his image to the public to show his courage and mastery of kung fu, which he believes is typical for Chinese culture. According to critics, which Teo (1997) mentions in his article, Lees most narcissistic film is The Way of the Dragon. The scene where Lee practices kung fu in front of the mirror is presented by animadverters as a classic illustration of the actors cinematic narcissism. Therefore, Lee prides himself on being a representative of Chinese culture and values, and he actively demonstrates this.

However, Lees narcissism is not exactly selfishness, but pride in belonging to Chinese culture. According to Teo (1997), the propensity of heroes to take a kung fu pose to show masculine sexuality is a trait of narcissism. However, perceiving Bruce Lee as a Narcissus indicates seeing him as a mere kung fu martial artist regardless of his nationalist feelings. Gazing in the mirror, the hero not only admires his skills but sees a dragon in himself, which he regards as a collective image of all Chinese.

Reference

Teo, S. (2019). Bruce Lee: Narcissus and the little Dragon. In Hong Kong cinema: The extra dimension (pp. 110-121). Bloomsbury Publishing.

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