Paige Dahlke

11/9/15

Professor Ka Wong

Contemporary Chinese Film

The Lion’s Roar

Analysis of the Landlady’s Femininity in Kung Fu Hustle

In Stephen Chow’s action comedy, Kung Fu Hustle, Chinese femininity takes on an interesting representation in the form of the Landlady. As opposed to earlier Chinese films, the

Landlady is not a delicate, feminine flower, but rather a strong willed, kung fu master. Although she is an independent woman who doesn’t let men control her, she fails to meet one requirement: societal beauty standards. Her power is belittled by her appearance, which is criticized constantly throughout the film. The focus on her appearance by the other characters in the film is a reflection of the critiques forced on women in every day life. Men don’t receive nearly the same amount of attention on their looks as women do, both in the film and in reality. In film industries worldwide, in order for the woman to be worthy of attention, she must either be pretty or funny; the Landlady is the latter. She supports the comedic storyline, but at the cost of her respect.

This is not to say that her power is to be dismissed. She is the only female kung fu master, a fact that deceives many, and she is also the only one to possess the lion’s roar. She is given power that is normally reserved for male characters; she’s the comical female embodiment of Chinese masculinity. Like Bruce Lee’s characters in his films, the Landlady also refrains from fighting until absolutely necessary. It isn’t until the harpist kung fu fighters attack that she demonstrates her true power. When she releases her lion’s roar against the two of them, she makes their defeat look like child’s play. This shot of her is a close up, which intensifies the already tense fighting scenario. Just before she releases her roar, she sound quiets down, and all that can be heard is her large intake of breath. After she tears apart the skeletal swordsman without even touching them, she and her husband are seen standing over their cowering enemies.

Her placement in the forefront of the frame, in a position of power, makes her out to be a legitimate threat to her enemies.

Unfortunately, like most female characters, hers is also judged on her physical traits.

While her male counterparts are respected, her enemies are quick to judge her by her appearance.

People comment on her age and her weight left and right throughout Kung Fu Hustle. To compensate for her appearance, the Landlady is made into a comical, aggressive, opinionated, and hot-tempered character. After she demonstrates her powerful vocal chords (later coined the lion’s roar) in front of her tenants, Sing looks to Bone and says, “The fat lady can really sing.”

Reference to a famous phrase aside, Sing belittles her talent by focusing on the Landlady’s weight instead. While she is displaying her skill, she is shot from below, which gives her a powerful aura, but when Sing makes his comment, she is but a small figure in the background, which humanizes her.

However, when a woman is without power in Kung Fu Hustle, she is beautiful. This can be seen in the character of Fong. She is the opposite of the Landlady; she is beautiful by society’s standards, young, timid, and mute. While the Landlady has the lions roar, Fong can’t even whisper a single word. Sing and Bone tried to rob both the Landlady and Fong. Fong cowered and didn’t defend herself, while the Landlady stood up for herself and made fools of the robbers. Fong is also made weaker by being shot from high angles, which contrasts to the low angles that the Landlady is shot in. A woman cannot be both beautiful and powerful in this film.

To be a central, dominant female character, the Landlady must have characteristics of Chinese masculinity, therefor making her more traditionally masculine than feminine. While it seems as though Kung Fu Hustle is provides a progressive feminist perspective by giving the Landlady a vast amount of kung fu knowledge, the perception of the female is ultimately very effected by her appearance and attitude. A beautiful woman is submissive and feminine, while an older, larger woman is dominant and takes on more masculine traits. Since females aren’t usually superior in films, the Landlady is made less feminine and more masculine by having a bad attitude and physical imperfections. A woman with the appearance and personality of the Landlady isn’t the issue; it is the character’s opinions of her that affect her overall persona. Comments made by various characters throughout the film leave people focusing on the physical appearance of the Landlady rather than her exceptional talents. This is a very unfortunate fact, for it were a male, he would not be ridiculed in such a fashion an instead be worshipped for his skill. Women are judged on appearance, while men are judged on their character. This criterion was present in society long before the advent of cinema, and it continues to be today, no matter the country.