LEGACIES OF THE DRUNKEN MASTER Allison Alexy Series Editor Animated Encounters: Transnational Movements of Chinese Animation, 1940s–1970s Daisy Yan Du Pop Empires: Transnational and Diasporic Flows of India and Korea Edited by S. Heijin Lee, Monika Mehta, and Robert Ji-Song Ku Puppets, Gods, and Brands: Theorizing the Age of Animation from Taiwan Teri Silvio Legacies of the Drunken Master: Politics of the Body in Hong Kong Kung Fu Comedy Films Luke White LEGACIES OF THE DRUNKEN MASTER Politics of the Body in Hong Kong Kung Fu Comedy Films Luke White University of Hawai‘i Press Honolulu © 2020 University of Hawai‘i Press All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America 25 24 23 22 21 20 6 5 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: White, Luke, author. Title: Legacies of the drunken master : politics of the body in Hong Kong kung fu comedy films / Luke White. Other titles: Asia pop! Description: Honolulu : University of Hawai‘i Press, 2020. | Series: Asia pop! | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2019052064 | ISBN 9780824881573 (cloth) | ISBN 9780824882983 (pdf) | ISBN 9780824882990 (epub) | ISBN 9780824883003 (kindle edition) Subjects: LCSH: Martial arts films—China—Hong Kong—History and criticism. | Comedy films—China—Hong Kong—History and criticism. | Human body in motion pictures. | Violence in motion pictures. | Masculinity in motion pictures. Classification: LCC PN1995.9.H3 W48 2020 | DDC 791.43/65579—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019052064 Cover illustration by Mike O’B University of Hawai‘i Press books are printed on acid-free paper and meet the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Council on Library Resources. Contents Series editor’s preface vii Acknowledgments ix Introduction 1 Chapter 1 Carnival 30 Chapter 2 Utopia 59 Chapter 3 Violence 82 Chapter 4 Hysteria 106 Chapter 5 Masculinity 126 Chapter 6 Legacies 151 Conclusion Inheritors 181 Notes 193 Bibliography 215 Selected Filmography 227 Index 231 v Series editor’s preface It is my pleasure to introduce this dynamic new book in the Asia Pop! series. In Legacies of the Drunken Master, Luke White applies serious thought and rich theoretical analysis to an incredibly popular film genre: kung fu comedies. With few exceptions, these movies have received less scholarly attention than more “serious” films, and that gap is much more than just the difference between Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan—to name perhaps two of the most widely recognized names in kung fu cinema. Legacies of the Drunken Master goes far to rectify that imbal- ance by demonstrating the utility of such analysis as well as its value and poten- tial. It shows how much we miss when we fail to take comedy seriously. White’s close examination of this comedic form connects careful attention to the cultural, political, and historical specifics of Hong Kong with deep theor- etical engagement. Those less familiar with kung fu comedy cinema will find film theory used as an enticing introduction, pulling readers in with critical readings based in cultural studies and visual studies, but also postcolonial and feminist theory, among other disciplines. Focusing on the kung fu comedic body, White convincingly argues that this genre acts as a field of contestation saturated with politics, ripe for analysis, and full of potent messages. His evocative analysis repositions these films, and the comedy they contain, as required viewing. vii Acknowledgments I would like to thank the Faculty of Arts and Creative Industries at Middlesex University for their ongoing support of my research. I would also like to thank my many colleagues—and students—at the university for the collegiate and comradely discussions that stimulated the development of this work. In particu- lar, the meetings of the Diasporic and Transcultural Practices research cluster (including Anne Burke, Sonia Boyce, Ergin Cavasoglu, Emma Dick, Bharain Mac an Bhreithiún, Keith Piper, and Neelam Raina) were of enormous value to me in thinking about this material. As a result of my involvement with this group, I also embarked on a collaborative project with another colleague, susan pui san lok, around questions of gender in martial arts cinema, which was instrumental for me in developing my thinking about this issue. Some of the insights I gained from this shared work certainly found their way into this book—though I suspect not with the subtlety of understanding that susan brings to the topic. I would also like to thank my other colleagues in the Fine Art department, in particular Alex- andra Kokoli, Katy Deepwell, John Timberlake, and Alberto Duman, who have all offered at various points both practical advice and intellectual input. Also important in the development of this book was the appearance of the Martial Arts Studies Research Network (MASRN, funded by the UK’s Arts and Humanities Research Council) and the growth of an international community of academics interested in the serious and interdisciplinary investigation of the martial arts. It was at MASRN events that I first presented and tested out some of this material, and I am grateful for the illuminating feedback I received. The level of enthusiasm in “martial arts studies” for discussion across very different disci- plinary boundaries and methodological investments is an inspiring thing to behold. Paul Bowman and Ben Judkins have been the dynamo that has made this happen, but aside from them I am also grateful in particular to ongoing exchanges about the filmic and visual cultures of the martial arts with Meaghan Morris, Kyle Barrowman, Wayne Wong, and Eric Pellerin—and others too numerous to mention. Some of the material in Chapter 1 is included in The Martial Arts Stud- ies Reader, edited by Paul Bowman and published by Rowman and Littlefield. ix