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Martial Arts Fantasies in a Globalized Age: Kung Fu Hustle and Kung Fu Panda

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The Palgrave Handbook of Asian Cinema

Abstract

The surge of martial arts films at the dawn of the twenty-first century has witnessed various generic transformations. Stephen Chow’s hilarious Kung Fu Hustle (2004) and Dreamwork’s animation Kung Fu Panda (2008) embody contemporary trends to rejuvenate the classic martial arts genre for worldwide audiences. The artistic hybridity and the alignment of computer-generated special effects and the kung fu body in both films utilize the classic genre to construct a sense of fluidity for global consumers. The chapter examines the dynamic tensions in rewriting martial arts cinema to explore the multifarious efforts to engage audiences in a globalized context.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China

    Jing Yang

Authors
  1. Jing Yang
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong

    Aaron Han Joon Magnan-Park

  2. School of Humanities, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong

    Gina Marchetti

  3. University of Macau, Macau, Singapore

    See Kam Tan

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© 2018 The Author(s)

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Yang, J. (2018). Martial Arts Fantasies in a Globalized Age: Kung Fu Hustle and Kung Fu Panda. In: Magnan-Park, A., Marchetti, G., Tan, S. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Asian Cinema. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95822-1_18

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