Kung Fu Hustle: What Hong Kong does better than Hollywood

Kung Fu Hustle is the epitome of blending culture with story-telling in order to create a picture that emphasizes a clear message to the viewer. The common movie-goer will not be all that intrigued with a 3 hour story that requires complete attention. What most movie-goers seek is escapism. They want to be able to escape their lives and live in these fantasy bubbles that are created by studios every year. However, Stephen Chow pushes the boundaries by creating a fairytale that is both eye-catching and funny. 

The problem with Hollywood is that they always manage to alienate their crowds by purposely shooting in commercial ways and 'playing it safe'. While the Chinese film market also pursues high profits, there is a sense of artistic integrity that comes with these stories. Regardless of their goofy aesthetic, they are stories that are pivotal to the culture of China. 

The studios that produced Singin' In the Rain made sure that there was a separation between the audience and the film. In this case, Stephen almost wants the viewers of his films to strive to be like the characters, underrated heroes, people who can help when they're needed the most. Kids, even parents, will watch a film like Kung Fu Hustle and feel inspired by the actions of the hero because the story doesn't show a perfect hero, it shows an imperfect one, a hero that almost wasn't. 

That said, it is this, which helps the viewers feel all the more connected with this industry. These movies admit to human error, and their attention to it pays off in the grand scheme of things. Yes, movie-goers seek escapism, but they do not seek alienation. If a viewer does not feel incentivized to understand the moral of the story, then they will get off your movie and watch something that does incentivize them. 

Directors like Stephen Chow show the whimsical side of this, but directors like Scorsese or Kubrick show this phenomenon in different ways, regardless of the current status quo on morality. Sure, movies and art have the absolute right to just be entertaining, but when these movies are taking over the global market with Iron Man toys and new adaptations, there should be some attention paid to the way, in which these movies will impact the viewers. 

There must be a level of Social Responsibility that directors need to acknowledge and understand before telling their stories. In the collaborative effort to make a film, there should be someone assigned to look at what the effects of this movie might be, almost like distributors but for emotion and long-term social effects. Films like the Avengers seem to have very little to add to society, but it would be ignorant of me to deny its effect on the globe. In my opinion, these films seem more pro-cop than any piece of media, but because it's portrayed as the greater good no one seems to bat an eye. 

Stephen Chow critiques all of the aspects of superhero cinema, purposefully making the characters of Kung Fu Hustle weird and quirky in their own respects. He does this to accentuate that we need to look deeper than the surface level fights and funny dialogues, and that maybe we shouldn't feel attached to these characters, a study rather than a glamorization of action films.