Eastern Martial Arts in cinematography and popularising a healthy lifestyle - interpretation sketch

Abstract

The meaning of the notion of martial arts is very extensive. It concerns many phenomena at the plane of culture, psychology, science of physical culture and other fields. The object of this work is to present the widely-understood martial arts regarded as the leading motif in many film genres - some representations were supposed to scare a viewer, some others to entertain. In this interpretation sketch we draw attention to an important role of a film as a medium that inspires people to undertake some activities, popularizes a healthy life-style, and remains the source of entertainment and knowledge about the culture of the Far East. The following films have undergone analysis: Enter the Dragon (1973, directed by B. Lee, R. Clouse), Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 2000, directed by A Lee), Shaolin Soccer (2001, directed by S. Chow) and Beverly Hills Ninja (1997, directed by D. Dugan).

Keywords

• martial arts
• agonology
• exercise
• movies
• entertainment
• psychology
• culture