Jeff Yang 🫶 Profile picture
Sep 16, 2020 5 tweets 2 min read Read on X
Okay I need to go in on this. I know Richard James Havis is a “name” critic and I’ve read his stuff in the past, but the idea that wuxia movies prior to Crouching Tiger all “subordinated women” and failed to showcase empowered female leads is preposterous.
sc.mp/uls3d
CROUCHING TIGER CAME OUT IN 2000!! This is a wild erasure of the body of Hong Kong cinema from the 80s through the 90s, which included an amazing array of wuxia films starring the likes of Brigitte Lin, Maggie Cheung, Angela Mao (briefly mentioned) and yes, Michelle Yeoh herself.
It’s an even more bizarre erasure of the pioneering 60s/70s films of the legendary King Hu, which were DIRECT INSPIRATION for CROUCHING TIGER!

Without Cheng Pei-Pei in COME DRINK WITH ME (and later, Chang Cheh’s GOLDEN SWALLOW) and Hsu Feng in A TOUCH OF ZEN, you don’t get CTHD.
And of course that’s why Chang Pei-Pei is Jade Fox in CROUCHING TIGER. It’s an homage to her iconic past swordswoman roles...all of which could stand equal with Zhang’s performance when it came to empowerment.
I also think that as much as I love the movie, Chinese people would go into hysterical laugh spasms at the idea that CROUCHING TIGER is “unique”
scmp.com/lifestyle/ente…

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Jeff Yang 🫶

Jeff Yang 🫶 Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @originalspin

Dec 8, 2022
And after massive protests, Xi suddenly rolls back Zero Covid policy with the standard “oh the virus has evolved/our policies have worked” stuff that govs everywhere have done. What are the “Xi can’t possibly pivot or lose face!” maximalists thinking now?
nytimes.com/2022/12/08/wor…
I would’ve thought it would come with a massive vax push but Xi clearly thinks he has power firmly enough in hand that he can shake off whimsically ending a despised public health mandate—and the millions of deaths that will likely follow
Read 7 tweets
Nov 13, 2022
A gift of @ewarren’s Op-Ed in the @nytimes, in which she gives smart, sound, detailed advice on what Dems should do now that we’ve held the Senate. Sharp analysis on how progressive ideas won voters over, and going further will win more, per her brand.
nytimes.com/2022/11/12/opi…
Curious what part of

—reverse Trump tax giveaways to wealthy
—cut housing and child care costs
—end gerrymandering
—protect abortion rights as kitchen table issue not ideologically
—focus on economic well-being of families
—embrace populist economic policies

you disagree with.
Based on your timeline most of these seem to be things you’d support? Or am I wrong
Read 5 tweets
Nov 13, 2022
When the driver of the car decides to play chicken with a police cruiser
It’s a good thing @SenMarkey has no ability to impact my newly acquired social media busi— whoops!

Well at least my satellite broadband startup is oka— dammit

Oh well, I’ve still got my thriving electric transportation company— D’OH ImageImage
No, people in positions of power never abuse them by harassing those who are at the mercy of their authority
Read 4 tweets
Nov 11, 2022
If anyone, ANYONE doubted that Trump's 2024 campaign (which is surely coming, now more than ever) was going to lean hard into China-bashing and inflaming anti-Asian xenophobia, stop doubting.

Also, Trump is a racist, that much is plain.
Kind of makes me wonder how newly re-elected Republican congressmember @YoungKimCA feels about her soon-to-rise-again racist overlord ImageImage
Also has anyone told Donald Trump that “young” and “kin” are both actually words in English Image
Read 4 tweets
Oct 20, 2022
Lara Logan was CBS News chief foreign affairs correspondent from 2006–2018
I continue to feel sorry for her assault but questions about her journalistic ethics began well before that and then erupted with her Benghazi coverage.

But now who knows how deep Qanon has its claws into her.
It’s quite possible, but it is absolute garbage that Newsmax is trotting her out there while trying to guide her to a coherent on message right wing talking point. Then again I’m sure they’d throw Kanye out there to spout unmedicated antisemitism if he were available.
Read 4 tweets
Jun 18, 2022
Pence is no hero for not criming Trump into office, just like Romney and six other GOP senators are no heroes for voting to impeach him and Liz Cheney is no hero for helping investigate a deadly insurrection

But the bar is just so low for Republicans now—we celebrate Team Normal
The truth is of course that the Republican Party will never be normal again. When no more than a token handful of its members are even willing to *investigate* a massive existential crime against democracy, it’s clear it is beyond hope. And this just the most egregious evidence.
The GOP is a party that refuses to acknowledge the clear and present threat of climate change to the humans species

That won’t act to reign in guns even as kids are murdered week after week

That lets its members flout rules and overtly embrace white nationalism without censure
Read 10 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us!

:(