MovieChat Forums > Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story (1993) Discussion > I saw this 22 years ago and I am STILL a...

I saw this 22 years ago and I am STILL angry....

posted 10 years ago by creatorof2002
12 replies | jump to latest

At that RESTAURANT. Discrimination in service businesses like restaurants was outlawed in the early 1960s and that scene took place in California (San Fran I think?) unlike the south. Legally he could not be discriminated against so they just kept letting other people go ahead of him until he got tired of waiting and left.

That made me SO ANGRY. He was not even black or hispanic he was ASIAN. So this restaurant only served Caucasians? What gives? I believe that if Karma can affect a person then it can also affect a business and I hope that restaurant suffered horrible economic fate. He might have died too soon but had I been Bruce after becoming a famous household name I would have said on national tv that that restaurant refused to serve him only because of his ethnicity. And I would hope as many people as possible would boycott that place in disgust, especially his fans.

I would have loved for him to raise a stink and get faced with big security guards telling him to leave then he beats the crap out of the security guards, god I would have loved that.

I mean really? That middle aged bald headed waiter treated him like dirt and PRETENDED that the other people really were ahead of him in line. Where does he get off? What makes a middle aged balding restaurant worker superior to one of the best martial artists of all time?

[–] megafauna005 10 years ago

Remember this movie is FICTION so you would have to find out if that actually happened in real life. Back in the 60s if you went to a very fancy restaurant they probably wouldn't like an Oriental especially if he was with a white woman.

Jesus NEVER existed! He is Judeo Christian MYTH!

[–] Cmb70017001 9 years ago

Bruce Lee was (among other things) incredibly enlightened. I like to think of myself as someone who tries to aspire to this. Always a work in progress of course ha. But I personally believe if this did in fact happen, Mr. Lee would likely rise above it and inherently know everything DOES come back around in its own time. And if anything he would pity a person like the matradee. I was often asked why I didn't 'fight back' or get more mad about people who used and abused me rather than just walk away. But guess what... Every single one is now either in jail, dead, no friends or family... Miserable people. I didn't have to 'do' anything as we all reap what we sew. And I never wasted my energy besides walking away. Anyway,...I'm speculating haha. But I just can't see him as anyone who would even have time to trifle w it...always be another a hole around the corner and life's too short to let them get to you hehe.

[–] megafauna005 9 years ago

Why go to such a ritzy stuck up place like that? Bruce and Linda would have been better going to the Chinese place they ended up going to!

Jesus NEVER existed! He is Judeo Christian MYTH!

[–] Intothenightalone 9 years ago

He probably would have had no problem with him if he was with an asian, it was the idea of interracial couples that probably made him mad.

[–] PopperTheKungFu-Dragon 9 years ago

Yup. He had no problem with Lee till he saw him with Linda.

Anyway, the waiter was an a*hole, but according to what I've read that incident never really happened. It could have happened though, I guess.

Poorly Lived and Poorly Died, Poorly Buried and No One Cried

[–] Intothenightalone 9 years ago

Just a story device to give the 'fish out of water' feel. If you notice the movie they see is actually old for its time and the marquee says something like 'revival' or something. They were trying do a 'against all adversity' thing with this movie. I'm sure prejudice existed but San Fran would have been the most liberal place in america.

[–] PopperTheKungFu-Dragon 9 years ago

The movie wasn't old for its time. It was the early 60s and the movie was Breakfast at Tiffany's which was released in 1961.

Poorly Lived and Poorly Died, Poorly Buried and No One Cried

[–] Harold_of_Whoa 8 years ago

He was not even black or hispanic he was ASIAN.

Lulz at the enlightened righteous indignation.

[–] 8 years ago

[deleted]

[–] rootieboy 8 years ago

Regardless of laws, there were still racist people in California back in the 1960's. There are still racist people in California today. Laws don't stop people from discriminating. People are stupid. That's a reality.

[–] RelpScooby 8 years ago

Rootie I completely agree.

I mean if the soon the be mother-in-law isn't a fan of the man, then whyyyyyyy would strangers accept an inter-racial couple ??

They would look at Linda as more suitable and fit for what they make believe a handsome well groomed wealthy white man. They're not going to fraternize with him and ask...."What's your name or I heard you're part English".

Random thing I'll share which is facts about "certain races (cough( and their treatment"

1. They fear or don't like you, because they don't know you/don't want to know you
2. Have to be fake at their job with you, just to keep their job
3. Like Linda, "seldom" but at times, they're actually enlightened or intrigued by you

These 3 rules is how the world has been and always will be and ignorantly is justified at times, too *sigh*

[–] MovieBuffMarine 8 years ago

Well, at least the OP is "angry" about something different other than the threads and posts I read here as if the poster knew Bruce well.

The restaurant scene may or may not have happened, but what it did represent was the racism that Bruce faced while in America.

Yeah, I wanted to clobber that maitre'd too! But would you rather the writers, producers and director did NOT depict this scene? Again it added to what an interracial couple had to face at the time and to the story.