Media Violence

Rushing Through the Media

The mainstream media has become a part of the everyday life of the majority of all Americans. Many people derive their perceptions of ethnic and social groups from the media they are exposed to. Along with this, perceptions and understandings of violence are taught subconsciously, or consciously, to those people exposed to the media outlets. Although many movies and television shows may seem wholesome on the surface, when examining closer, there are a large portion of the programming that contains cultural stereotypes and violent portrayals. One such movie is Rush Hour 3, an action packed, comedic thriller. Although this movie is meant to be viewed as funny, it is no exception stereotypical and violent tones. The roles people play, stereotypes, and violent images portrayed in this movie are often overlooked due to its comedic nature.

To fully grasp the types of things portrayed in this film, a background of the film’s plot must be given. This film is about a group of underground, militant Chinese leaders, the Triads, who have plans to take down an organization called the World Court. The World Court, mainly a Chinese ambassador, Ambassador Han, has uncovered the secret to a document that names and lists the new heads of this underground group. If exposed, this will bring this group to its end. At the beginning of the movie, one of the main characters, played by Jackie Chan, is seen as the bodyguard to Han. While delivering a speech to the World Court about this list, Han is assassinated and Chan begins his search to uncover the culprit of the shooting. To do this, he inadvertently seeks the help of a LAPD detective friend, played by Chris Tucker, who has previous ties to Jackie and the Ambassador. Their search takes them to Paris, France where much of the plot and story unfolds. They discover the list is actually tattooed to the head of a gorgeous performer, Genevieve, who was given the list against her will. Chan and Carter begin their battle against the Triads when Chan realizes he is fighting a friend, Kenji, whom he had grown up with and the leader of the World Court, Verda Reynard, who has turned to the side of the Triads. This portion of the plot leads Chan to many ethical dilemmas but in the end of the movie, Chan ends up surviving a fight scene while his friend does not. This ends the movie with Chan and Tucker saving Genevieve and eventually bringing the Triads reign to an end.

In this movie, we see specific gender roles attributed to both male and female characters. Starting with the males, there are nine prominent males in this movie. We begin our focus on Jackie Chan. Chan is a Chinese detective who is seen as a good guy in the movie. He is portrayed as strong and important in the Chinese police, a role not often seen in Asian males. Chris Tucker, an African American, is and LAPD cop with unorthodox mannerisms, but who had recently had his badge suspended and was placed on duty as a traffic cop. Although Tucker aids Chan in uncovering the Triads, this opening portrayal of him as a lowly traffic cop could be seen as a pun or attack against the African American male who can only serve as a traffic cop. The main villain in this movie, Kenji, is also Chinese but the evilness that the character exhibits could also be scene as a stereotype of the Asian community. Verda Reynard is a white male who holds extreme power as head of the World Court but is also shown as the powerful villain providing protection to the evil Triad organization. Another man in power, Ambassador Han, the Chinese ambassador, shows a positive view of the Asian community but his quick assassination attempt leaves him in a state of helplessness and inability to contribute to the plot development. The final prominent male character, George, is a French cab driver who is cowardly but eventually develops into a hero as he spares Chan and Tucker from eminent death at the hands of Reynard.

There are five female gender roles in Rush Hour 3, however only three are important in the plot of the movie. One, the most prominent, is Genevieve. Genevieve is a gorgeous stage performer who has her own stage show in France. She is seen as strong and mysterious at her introduction but as the plot reveals her as the target of the Triad organization, she develops into the typical damsel in distress who is in need of being saved and protected by Chan and Tucker. Another female figure in the movie is Soo Yung. Soo Yung is the teenage daughter of Ambassador Han and is seen immediately as a woman in need of help of a man to stay safe. Although she is portrayed as this, she also shows a strong side as she is trained in martial arts and, at one point, helps Chan and Tucker fend off villains attempting to kill Han once again. The final prominent female had no official name but is deemed as Dragon Lady. This name is fitting for her as she attempts to not only kill Chan and Tucker but, at one point, dangles Soo Yung off the Eiffel Tower by a rope, only to be saved by Tucker. These three main women characters offset each other on the spectrum of women portrayals in movies.

Because the plot Rush Hour 3 deals with American, French, and Chinese ethnicities, there are many different images seen. Of the nine male images, six are Asian, one African American, and two White. Of the five dominant female images, two are Asian, four are White, and one French. The plot of this movie helps in showing diversity among character images although it does not deter stereotypes from emerging. There are various age groups seen in this movie as well. There are children in this movie, a group, that consist of both male and female children. The one teen in the movie however is a female, Soo Yung. The majority of the characters are between the ages of 18 and 35 and we see six males and four females. Rounding out the age images, there are three male characters between 35 and 50 and one senior in each gender group.

Because of the mix of Asian and African characters, this movie is susceptible to rampant stereotypes. Focusing on Jackie Chan, his character displays at least three Asian stereotypes, the first being that all Asian characters are experienced and well taught in the martial arts. Jackie Chan is the giver and receiver of many acts of violence in this movie and not once does Chan utilize a firearm. All he is seen giving out are martial arts and the ability to use hand to hand combat rather than firearms. Secondly, Chan is seen as having trouble assimilating with the ways of the world outside China. Although not quite as noticeable as in prior movies, Chan is still seen not knowing the appropriate mannerisms and ways to act in American and French society. The third stereotype he personifies is that of the asexual Asian male. In the reading, a memo from MANAA to Hollywood,