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Thread: We Are Bruce Lee at CHSA

  1. #16
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    Watching this made me remember some of the Wuxia costume fitting photos that Bruce Lee did.

  2. #17
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    The Bruce Lee Code: How the Dragon Mastered Business, Confidence & Success

    ‘The Bruce Lee Code’: Martial artist a winner in business, too
    Brandon Yu March 28, 2023 Updated: March 28, 2023, 8:56 am
    Author Thomas Lee considers Bruce Lee’s life through his entrepreneurial streak in “The Bruce Lee Code: How the Dragon Mastered Business, Confidence & Success.”


    Photo: Felix Uribe/Special to The Chronicle
    As a young Chinese boy growing up in Boston, Thomas Lee had a conflicted relationship with Bruce Lee. While the Asian celebrity became a global icon that embodied cool indomitability, for Thomas he was simply the source for playground taunts.

    “I didn’t particularly care for him,” said the former Chronicle columnist, who had the added target of sharing the same last name of the star, as he spoke recently from his home in Oakland. “It was kind of a source of shame.”

    It wasn’t until decades later, during the pandemic, when he was asked to help put together “We Are Bruce Lee: Under the Sky, One Family,” a Bruce Lee exhibition for the Chinese Historical Society of America, that Thomas began to consider him differently. The exhibit is a belated first ever in the history of San Francisco, the city where Bruce Lee was born (the Chinese Hospital his mother gave birth at is just a three-minute walk from the museum).

    Thomas Lee admires a mural at the “We Are Bruce Lee” exhibition in San Francisco’s Chinatown. The display inspired him to look at the actor differently.

    Photo: Felix Uribe/Special to The Chronicle
    As an adult, Thomas began appreciating the movie star’s remarkable life, and particularly in a time of rising anti-Asian hate, the strength and unity he often symbolized. The late action hero was one of only a small handful of icons whose fandom reached across all demographics, and whose name has become a brand that has lasted for decades, despite his early death in July 1973 (its cause is still debated) at 32.

    Visitors explore the “We Are Bruce Lee” exhibition in Chinatown on Clay Street.


    Photo: Felix Uribe/Special to The Chronicle
    It was a level of fame that Thomas realized the actor had actively built as a visionary and architect of his own star power. In “The Bruce Lee Code: How the Dragon Mastered Business, Confidence & Success,” the longtime business journalist considers his subject’s life specifically through his entrepreneurial streak, a framework that, for all Bruce Lee’s enduring popularity, is often overlooked.

    “You ask anyone you know: ‘Do you like Bruce Lee?’ They’re like, ‘Oh yeah, he’s really cool,’ ” Thomas said. “Well, why do you like him? ‘Because he kicks ass.’ And that’s all they could really say.”

    “The Bruce Lee Code” by Thomas Lee

    Photo: Career Press
    Bruce Lee, though, as Thomas’ book traces, was determined and conscious of how to cultivate his stardom, starting with “My Definite Chief Aim,” the mission statement he wrote in 1969 declaring his intention to become the highest paid Asian star in America and achieve “world fame” as an actor. Soon after, he would go on to form his own production company, Concord Productions, at a time when it was largely unthinkable for stars to do so.

    “He did this in 1972 in Hong Kong — not only one of the first actors to do it, but also a person of color,” Thomas said. “That allowed him to gain financial, artistic control over his work. Without it, he probably wouldn’t have been able to negotiate the deal he did with Warner Bros. to finance and release his greatest movie, ‘Enter the Dragon.’ ”

    The title of the iconic film, the author noted, was a mark of his understanding of branding: The Dragon is not a reference to any part of the film, but rather one of the actor’s famous monikers.

    “Nowadays, you can get famous just by uploading some content. But everything about him was from the ground up,” Thomas said. “He built his brand, and he was always brand cautious.”

    Before Hollywood, Bruce Lee opened martial arts schools, starting in Oakland, to promote and proliferate his brand of kung fu, jeet kune do. By the time of his death, he was exploring merchandising deals and was careful how his roles would be perceived by Eastern and Western audiences alike.

    “I think the brand of Bruce Lee was in his DNA,” said Jane Chin, the project lead who worked with Thomas on the Chinese Historical Society’s Bruce Lee exhibit. “His father was an opera star … his parents put him in films as an infant, so he was in various movies during his childhood. Then he became a cha-cha star, a champion (in Hong Kong). He already knew that the image of a person and the physical movement as part of image was important.”

    Shannon Lee (left), daughter of the late Bruce Lee, is introduced to guests who awaited her arrival at the Chinese Historical Society of America in February 2022 as she stands beside Jane Chin, CHSA board member and “We Are Bruce Lee” exhibition project lead, Anthony Tsai, the exhibition consultant, and Justin Charles Hoover, executive director of CHSA.


    Photo: Yalonda M. James/The Chronicle
    For the book, Thomas interviewed Bruce Lee’s daughter, Shannon Lee, and various business executives about the actor’s influence on their careers. While the odds were stacked against him as an Asian actor in a predominantly white entertainment industry, Thomas’ book notes, he used his cross-cultural identity to innovate within his films.

    When Bruce Lee moved back to Hong Kong to jump-start his film career, “martial arts movies were chop suey-type stuff,” Thomas said. “There was just mindless action — entertaining, but there wasn’t any depth to it. The acting was bad, there was no story line. … He married the sort of storytelling, character-driven approach of Hollywood to this kinetic, exciting action format in Hong Kong, and the result was something that elevated the martial arts genre.”

    For all of Bruce Lee’s obsession with finding success in Hollywood, though, his pursuit also served a larger mission: to integrate East and West and to “spread this message about the richness of Chinese culture, but also specifically how martial arts is more than just fighting, (it’s) a way of living,” Thomas said.

    Former San Francisco Chronicle columnist and author of the upcoming book “The Bruce Lee Code: How the Dragon Mastered Business, Confidence & Success” visits the “We Are Bruce Lee” exhibition in San Francisco’s Chinatown.


    Photo: Felix Uribe/Special to The Chronicle
    In some ways, Bruce Lee succeeded. His teachings and philosophies around martial arts continue to inspire countless people, achieving remarkable durability with a film career that spanned just five films. How much larger, or smaller, would his influence have been had he lived longer?

    “Maybe the stardom would’ve faded,” said Chin. “Maybe the fad for kung fu would’ve faded and he would’ve become a different type of entrepreneur, different type of brand. But I think that he was smart enough, had the vision and the focus to know if it’s time to turn left.”

    Indeed, “it would have been interesting to see if he could somehow transcend that martial arts genre and actually become a respected actor that didn’t do flying kicks and jumps,” Thomas said. What if, in short, he didn’t just kick ass? Considering Bruce Lee’s entrepreneurial foresight in his 20s, the author imagines he might have moved into a greater role of power behind the camera.

    “It’s fun to imagine what he could have done, but sad because it reminds you of perhaps what was lost,” Thomas said, “the potential that was lost dying at such a young age.”

    More Information
    The Bruce Lee Code: How the Dragon Mastered Business, Confidence & Success
    By Thomas Lee
    (Career Press; 224 pages; $16.95)

    Thomas Lee in conversation with David R. Baker: In person and live stream. 7 p.m. Monday, April 3. Free. Green Apple Books on the Park, 1231 Ninth Ave., S.F. www.greenapplebooks.com

    “The Bruce Lee Code” Book Launch Party with Thomas Lee: 5-7 p.m. Friday, April 7. Free. Chinese Historical Society, 965 Clay St., S.F. chsa.org
    Good place for a Launch Party
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  3. #18
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    AAPI month

    ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH
    ‘We Are Bruce Lee’ exhibit in SF Chinatown honors iconic martial arts star
    by: Stephanie Lin
    Posted: May 4, 2023 / 06:07 AM PDT
    Updated: May 4, 2023 / 06:07 AM PDT

    SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — The late Bruce Lee was many things; action star, philosopher, and trailblazer. In 1970’s Hollywood, not a lot of people looked like him, and even fewer could do what he could do.

    Eighties rock anthem dropped as SF Pride’s theme after singer’s controversial tweet
    It’s easy to forget that Lee was born here in San Francisco’s Chinatown. Although his life journey took him from Seattle, to Hollywood and to the Hong Kong film industry, Lee left an indellible mark on the Bay Area. Currently in Chinatown, not too far from the hospital where he was born, there’s an exhibit all about the legend.

    KRON 4’s Stephanie Lin takes us there.

    Watch the video above for the story.
    Follow the link for the vid
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  4. #19
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    Honoring Bruce Lee

    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  5. #20
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    Shoe Palace x Bruce Lee Apparel Launch



    Wednesday, September 20
    Shoe Palace x Bruce Lee Apparel Launch

    Join us at the CHSA Museum for our Shoe Palace x Bruce Lee Apparel Launch event on September 20th from 5pm -9pm!

    By Shoe Palace

    Date and time
    Wednesday, September 20 · 5 - 9pm PDT
    Location
    Chinese Historical Society of America Museum

    965 Clay Street San Francisco, CA 94108

    About this event
    4 hours

    Shoe Palace x Bruce Lee Apparel Launch
    We are thrilled to announce the launch of the highly anticipated Shoe Palace x Bruce Lee Apparel collection. This event will be taking place on Wednesday Sept.20th 2023 at 965 Clay Street, San Francisco, CA 94108.
    Come join us for an exclusive in-person experience where you can witness the fusion of iconic apparel pieces and the legendary martial artist's legacy. We will be having free food, drinks and gift bags. There will be a special performance by Leung's White Crane Dragon and Lion Dance Association at 7pm for everyone to enjoy!
    Be among the first to witness the Shoe Palace x Bruce Lee Apparel. Mark your calendars, bring your friends, and get ready to experience the fusion of fashion and martial arts like never before.
    We-Are-Bruce-Lee-at-CHSA
    Bruce-Lee-shoes
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

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