Ahead of Bruce Lee’s (would-be) 80th birthday, Be Reel marvels at the spinning kicks, inimitable shrieks, and star wattage of the global icon.
This week, we dive into the Dragon’s fascinating life and numerous afterlives with the help of Lee biographer Jeff Chang (“Can’t Stop Won’t Stop”) and sociology professor / Tae Kwon Do black belt Lory Dance.
LISTEN: Remembering Sean Connery, ‘GoldenEye’ At 25 & Every Bond’s First Bond [Be Reel Podcast]
Our official titles this week are “Fist of Fury” (1972), “Way of the Dragon” (1972), and “Enter The Dragon” (1973,” but we make ample pitstops. Chang and Dance help us understand Lee’s formative years in Seattle, his complex identity as an immigrant and celebrity, and his evolving generational impact in the nearly 50 years since his tragic death.
LISTEN: ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ Goes Streaming & Sean Durkin Talks ‘The Nest’ [The Playlist Podcast]
With Chang’s book still forthcoming, we’d strongly recommend his Criterion Collection essay on Lee from this summer. And if you’re lucky, you might one day catch Dance lecturing on “intersectional-LEE-ty.” Listen below, and happy birthday to a legend.
As always, Be Reel is part of The Playlist Podcast Network—which includes The Playlist Podcast, The Discourse, The Fourth Wall, and more—and can be heard on iTunes, AnchorFM, Soundcloud, Stitcher, and now on Spotify. To listen on this page, you can stream the podcast via the AnchorFM embed below or up top. Follow us on iTunes, and you’ll get this podcast as well as our other shows regularly. Be sure to subscribe, and drop us a comment or a rating as we do appreciate it. Thank you for listening.