These Fists Break Bricks: How Kung Fu Movies Swept America and Changed the World

Novelist and New York Asian Film Festival founder Hendrix (Witchcraft for Wayward Girls) and film historian Poggiali shed light on martial arts films in the new edition of this engaging and informative book, which originally came out in 2021. At the beginning of the 20th century, martial arts encompassed a variety of styles, including kung fu. Practitioners in the United States used it as a form of self-defense, and it was taught to police officers and soldiers. It was rarely seen in film and even less often used by Asian actors. This began to change during the 1960s and 1970s, when TV shows such as The Green Hornet and Batman featured kung fu action sequences. However, it was a tidal wave of cheaply made films from Hong Kong that popularized martial arts worldwide, Hendrix and Poggiali write. Asian, Black, and Latino audiences, mostly men, flocked to niche theaters in major cities. Box office numbers soared, and these films, filled with mayhem, bloody violence, and little to no plot, made stars of Bruce Lee, Sammo Hung, and Jackie Chan. Hollywood executives cashed in by buying these films for wider distribution; an easy investment with the potential for high reward. Hendrix and Poggiali’s book explore the rise of kung fu films and the backlash against them. This edition includes new information about Chan, Michelle Yeoh, and Donnie Yen, plus more unsung performers and filmmakers.