t’s hard, though, to discuss “Kung Fu” without acknowledging the growing anti-Asian racism that has popped up in the headlines over the last several months. Kim explained that she’s “heartbroken and outraged.” “We need to come together as a society to condemn these terrible acts of violence,” she said. “I don’t think my TV show is the solution but I really do hope shows like ‘Kung Fu’ [are] going to bring about greater cultural awareness and acceptance of Asians.”
It’s a bittersweet time to release this series, but Liang similarly hopes there’s an opportunity to do good. She said the series doesn’t seek to depict all Asian-American experiences, but one specific set of characters that can be relatable to others. “It seems silly to boil down anti-Asian racism and hate crimes to a lack of representation but it really is a huge part of it,” she said. “If we’re not in people’s homes, on their screens…we just continue to be other, to be seen as unrelatable and not fully human.”
I think that's precisely what I've been saying.
Afa Bruce Lee portraying Cain, ok, maybe Carradine was a better actor. Lee auditiond for the role, but the story is that they didn't think people would understand his accent. But, there were other Asian actors who could have taken the role. C'mon, have you watched the show? There were Asian martial arts actors available. However, by now, I couldn't imagine anyone other than Carradine playing Cain.
It's interesting that Brandon Lee played in the Kung Fu movie. As I said, the reason Carradine was given the role was because there'd never been an Asian playing a lead character, and it was "pc" and traditional to use a White actor. That is, unless you can argue that Asians can't play Asians as well as European actors.
Imo, that's exactly why using Asian actors is important. Though, it never bothered me that Carradine wasn't Asian. Yes, he was respected in the ma community, but not really because he was a good martial artist. It was more that the show and his character were so inspirational. It was Kwai Chang's philosophy that was influential, and that he made kung fu look cool.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7YDcLP2DeY