Image Reaction

The image I chose was of Jackie Chan in Rush Hour 2. It is a comedy, and the image is funny because Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker are standing in a fighting pose, but wearing bathrobes. This image, taken in context, is amusing because it makes fun of the whole idea of tough, serious fighting. It is very typical for Asian men on film to be seen as masters of hand to hand combat, and this film is no exception: Jackie Chan, the Asian police detective, is of course shown as a master of the fighting arts, while Chris Tucker is his goofy American companion who tags along, stumbling upon every find in his investigation. Often Jackie Chan manages to fight off all of the “bad guys” single-handedly while his counterpart is off somewhere else. But I don’t think that this film portrays either side negatively, instead it helps to create comedy as the pair has a crazy adventure together in Hong Kong. It may even show Asian Americans in a positive light because when paired with Chris Tucker, who is shown as one who is ignorantly jumping into conflict, Jackie Chan can be seen as someone who sizes up the situation accurately. Or it may offend Asian Americans because in the image Jackie Chan looks afraid while Chris Tucker appears battle ready. But I think Jackie’s got the right idea, since in the film a bunch of intruders have just made their way into the room and it’s time to leave.

The picture for this reaction can be found at http://movies.ign.com/articles/301/301986p1.html