Reviving Bruce: negotiating Asian masculinity through Bruce Lee paratexts in<i>Giant Robot</i>and<i>Angry Asian Man</i>

Abstract

These two case studies of the work of independent Asian American media producers show how Asian American audiences might construct paratexts for Bruce Lee’s work that address and undermine dominant stereotypes while also enabling a distinct “zone of transaction” between Asian American audiences and Lee’s films. By tracing the circulation and ideological investments of a Bruce Lee t-shirt manufactured by the Asian American ‘zine Giant Robot and the kung fu action figure that appears as the homepage image for the influential blog Angry Asian Man, we can understand the construction of Asian American masculinity at the nexus of hegemonic white masculinity, denigrated African American masculinity, and highly gendered “outsider” and nerd cultures.