Deconstruction component of the 1998 and 2001 film RUSH HOUR Essay

Deconstruction component of the 1998 and 2001 film RUSH HOUR - Essay Example However, the two films also portrayed negative aspects of films, including the fact that they both perpetuate stereotypes of the two characters – Tucker's character is the stereotypical black man, and Chan's character is the stereotypical clueless foreigner. Another negative aspect is that the two films minimize Chinese culture, despite the fact that one of the leads is Chinese, and much of the action in both films takes place in Hong Kong. This paper will attempt to show scenes in which the stereotyping, the cultural differences, and the overall disrespect for Chinese culture are more pronounced. Analysis of the films The two movies are very similar in tone, but different at the same time. The biggest difference is that, in the first film, the two men become acquainted with one another. In the second film, there is not a need to build the relationship between the two men, as the relationship is already established. This is how the two movies differ in how they build tension. For instance, in the first movie, the tension at the start of the movie comes from the fact that the two men do not know one another, and that there are cultural differences between them (Min, 2011). ... In Los Angeles, it is the opposite. This change in culture is apparent in two different scenes, one in the first movie, and one in the second movie. The two sequences that will be described are important, because they each show how culture, and not knowing the language and culture of the non-native country, can get people into trouble. The first sequence is in the first movie, and this is a sequence when Chan gets into trouble because he does not know colloquialisms or the customs of the African-American male in the United States. Specifically, Chan did not know the term â€Å"nigger,† and did not understand that this term is offensive, as Tucker used the term to identify people in the bar. Chan, just getting in to this country, knowing very little English and no slang, was just emulating Tucker when he casually goes to a bartender and refers to the bartender as â€Å"my nigger.† This, of course, leads to a fight. Why the term would not be offensive when Tucker uses it, but is offensive when Chan would use it, it is difference in culture, in and of itself. Naylor (1986) explains why. She states that the term is used amongst African-Americans as a term of approval, a term of endearment, or a term of disapproval. For instance, an African-American may state, approvingly, that a certain â€Å"nigger† worked so hard that he was able to put a down-payment on a house. Or another African-American may refer to her husband as â€Å"my nigger.† For the disapproval, an African-American may refer to somebody as a â€Å"trifling nigger.† Kennedy (1999/2000) agrees with this, stating that blacks in America use the term to simply identify other blacks, as a term of disapproval, or a term that refers to somebody who is the very