Cut to a seedy alley behind a Chinese restaurant in Rome: a dozen gangsters threaten a thin young man who suddenly pulls out a pair of nunchucks. He wields traditional stick and chain weapons and quickly eliminates his enemies, who fall one by one, moaning in pain.
The legendary and comical action scene is from the 1972 film “The Way of the Dragon,” written, directed by and starring Bruce Lee. The martial arts star was a pioneer and allowed Asian Americans to see themselves represented in a strong, positive light on screen.
And now he has secured a place in California history, becoming the first Chinese-American in the state's history to have a day designated in his honor.
Lee was born in 1940 in San Francisco. His mother was of European descent and his father was a Cantonese opera star who was touring the city, granting his son birthright citizenship.
Lee grew up in Hong Kong, where he followed his father's path as a performer, acting in more than a dozen films as a child and closely studying the southern Chinese martial art of Wing Chun.
On May 17, 1959, the 18-year-old Lee returned to San Francisco and eventually headed to Hollywood. He went on to influence an industry that at the time lacked Asian-American talent and helped popularize the martial arts film genre and spark Western interest in Hong Kong action cinema.
In recognition of their contributions, State Assemblyman Matt Haney (D-San Francisco) introduced a bill designating May 17 as “Bruce Lee Day” in California. The bill, signed into law Tuesday by Gov. Gavin Newsom, encourages schools and communities to honor Lee's life and cultural impact.
Haney has described Lee as a “symbol of pride, resilience and possibility for generations who rarely saw themselves reflected with strength and dignity.”
Lee, who saw himself not only as an actor but also as a poet and philosopher, repeatedly encountered barriers. For example, for the lead role in the 1970s television series “Kung Fu,” he was rejected in favor of white actor David Carradine.
In 2020, filmmaker Bao Nguyen attempted to show how Lee dispelled anti-Asian sentiment and long-held stereotypes about emasculated Asian men in his ESPN documentary “Be Water.”
“The Asian man was the face of the enemy for many Americans,” Nguyen told The Times in 2020. “It was this vicious cycle of society reflecting media and culture, and media and culture reflecting society. There had to be some kind of intervention there and Bruce, in a way, was that intervention. He was the hero we hadn't seen before.”
Lee learned a lot about the systemic oppression African Americans faced from his first student, Jesse Glover, who had been a victim of police brutality.
And scholars have noted that, although his films were far from perfect, they touched on themes of anti-oppression. The 1971 film “The Big Boss” showed Lee fighting alongside workers. In “Fist of Fury” he opposed Japanese colonialism and discrimination.
Lee died young in 1973, at age 32, before witnessing the full extent of his stardom. He died just a month before the release of “Enter the Dragon,” which was a box office sensation and is considered a masterpiece of martial arts cinema.
