Kung Fu Cinema
Hong Kong cinema made a central contribution to hip hop’s early ethics and aesthetics.
Objectives
After completing this assignment, students should be able to
- Summarize the need in hip hop for the “stern discipline” advocated by Jay Z
- Summarize the specific reasons that Jay Z gives for admiring Michael Jordan
- Identify Jim Kelly and summarize his importance in genre crossover films
- Summarize the points made by RZA about Hong Kong cinema’s influence on his life and music
- Identify the films mentioned in the the RZA interview
- Summarize the reasons that Lauren Hill, Tupac Shakur, and Kendrick Lamar are discussed in the lecture slides
- Summarize the implications of Lamar’s comment about his Pops (found at the end of the video lecture)
- Identify the films mentioned in the lecture slides and video
Reading
- Lecture Slides: Kung Fu Films
- Jason Gross, RZA’s Edge – The RZA’s Guide to Kung-Fu Films (FilmComment.org)
- Jay Z, “A Stern Discipline” (Decoded 138-49)
Screening
- Video Lecture: Kung Fu Films
[available in Georgia View “Content”] - Jim Kelly – A Tribute (youtube.com)
- Excerpt from Three the Hard Way (Gordon Parks, Jr., 1974) (youtube.com)
[Watch 31:39 through 37:44]
Quiz
- Kung Fu Films
