After finishing this 50 episodes monster in October (45 minutes per episode), I sat and think about Pak Hassan Muthalib’s email to me and a few others a month before, suggesting us all check this one out for semiotics.
I was not so sure then,
THE DESCENT FROM HEAVEN Until soon after I rewatched the first episode and the main protagonist’s (Bruce Lee played brilliantly by Danny Chan) first appearance is by coming down the stairs for his dance competition. When his father asked what is his nickname, he says ‘I am Little Dragon’.
That has opened up a big door for me. The director (Lee Moon-ki) and the writers (Qian Linsen and Zhang Jianguang) quite obviously has given the cue that this whole series is of a journey.
A textbook Joseph Campbell’s ‘Heroes Journey’ and more.
Intuitively after the scene of him walking down the stairs as an introduction of his character, I look for any cues of him going up any stairs.
THE ASCENT TO HEAVEN And there it is, waiting for me like a piece of a puzzle. It is the ending scene in his final film ‘Game of Death’. The character Bruce Lee has a mission of climbing the pagoda in order to reach the top.
His final fight was against the giant character of Kareem Abdul Jabbar (which the production team could not find a cast to play him). Yet they hinted at the encounter with the scene of Bruce Lee poking the paper wall with his fingers. Also with the previous fight with Dani Insanto.
But, after beating Kareem Abdul Jaabar (the last challenge) there is visibly another flight of staircase going up. But to where and what?
Here lies the power of the internet. Wikipedia says,
“Immediately after defeating the giant guardian, Hai turns around and descends the staircase, heading out of the pagoda. Despite all the talk of something awaiting up the top of the (now unguarded) flight of stairs, there is NO MENTION of anyone going up to retrieve it. No surviving material explains how this affects Hai or his captive siblings.”
The hair at the back of my neck stood up. I found this out on the 27th of November which is his birthday. I have been going through drafts in writing this review but this Wikipedia revelation has finally resolved my theory that Bruce Lee’s journey is not just of the ‘Hero’s Journey’, but also a spiritual one.
Stay tuned for part 2 of 3 coming next... https://peakd.com/hive-166847/@nazirullsafry/the-legend-of-bruce-lee-netflix-part-2-of-3
