MovieChat Forums > Kung Fu (1972) Discussion > Thinking person's show

Thinking person's show

posted 17 years ago by nk44ab
6 replies | jump to latest

I love this genre of television because the audience is always given something to think about and a lesson to learn. We need more TV that makes you go "Hmm".

[–] BoxOfficePoison 12 years ago

Yup.

[–] KobiyashiMauru 12 years ago

It was also a way to revive the Western TV Genre that was popular in the late 50's and early 60's. Very good show.

[–] BoxOfficePoison 12 years ago

Good point. Come to think of it, can you remember any popular Western series after this one (or around the same time)? The only ones that come to mind at the moment are "Grizzly Adams" and (arguably) "Little House on the Prairie". Which ones am I forgetting?

[–] cind5 10 years ago

There was a show on Monday nights on ABC, just before the football game. It was called THE BARBARY COAST, starring William Shatner. It came out in '74 and only lasted 13 episodes and you guessed it was not a hit by any means. But it was just released on DVD, I thought I was the only one who remembered it. It must have had a cult following.

Readiness is all.

[–] PurpleProseOfCairo 9 years ago

Thinking, lessons and lots of kicking and punching.

[–] Owlwise 8 years ago

I agree. Kung Fu was not only a thoughtful show, offering a very different worldview from most of TV at the time (and even today), but also one of the most insightful critiques of America as it was at the beginning of the 1970s. By using the traditional American model of heroism, the Western, it then called into question everything the Western represented & glorified.

In many ways, Kung Fu was very much about Vietnam -- an essentially peaceful, cultured, spiritual figure so often the target of prejudiced, ignorant, bigoted macho men. Here was an unarmed man constantly defeating larger, supposedly tougher men who were armed to the teeth & always eager to fight.

And it was also quite the countercultural show, contrasting a simple & pure lifestyle against one of greed, materialism, violence. The creators/writers provided enough action to satisfy viewers who simply wanted that sort of entertainment ... but they also depicted that action as often absurd, pointless, damaging -- eruptions of rage from men too blind to see how frightened & insecure they themselves were.

And of course it was a philosophical show, exploring human nature, ethical dilemmas -- and yes, even mysticism & spirituality.

Would a revival of the show today work? I'm not so sure, because contemporary entertainment doesn't want to dwell on any of those things. Oh, I've no doubt a modern TV or film version would look dazzling ... but I fear it would severely lacking in real substance. (I'd be happy to be proven wrong, however.)