LIKE WATER

How a martial arts master rose to fame and bridged cultural divides.

Maeda, a professor of ethnic studies, adds to the already large body of popular and academic work on Bruce Lee (1940-1973), focusing on his subject’s emergence from, and efforts to harmonize, a multitude of Western and Eastern influences. This accessible study offers astute analyses of Lee’s early training in both martial arts and Cantonese opera, his development of a hybrid fighting style called Jeet Kune Do, his verbal and physical expressions of a distinct philosophy, and his keen navigation of both Chinese and American mass media. Maeda positions Lee’s career as a product of—and significant contributor to—long-evolving transnational exchanges across the Pacific, and he argues forcefully that his subject’s achievements in blending cultural traditions are worthy of celebration: “His peripatetic life and career contributed to the continuing entanglement of China and the United States across great distances, interweaving and unraveling structures involving nationalism, colonialism, race, and gender.” The author provides a clear sense of how Lee’s efforts to establish himself as an entertainer included a profound moral component. Initially cast by American directors in TV and film roles that reinforced Orientalist prejudices, Lee worked tirelessly to expand the identities available to Asian characters onscreen, creating myriad opportunities for other performers. Particularly compelling are Maeda’s discussions of how Lee’s physical dynamism and erotic appeal challenged stereotypes about Asian masculinity and how his political activism on behalf of Asian Americans aligned with the Black Power movement. The author’s use of academic frameworks is sometimes strained and unhelpful in framing Lee’s significance, but for the most part, the book provides lucid analysis of Lee’s lasting significance as the “first global icon to emerge from outside the West.”

A thoughtful, well-informed consideration of the life and legacy of a trailblazing entertainer.