AHC: Create 'Orientsploitation' films

[Caravels of Portugal]

The challenge is to create an ATL film genre based on this prompt below:

"Orientsploitation
A subgenre of exploitation film aimed at Asian-American audiences, popular during the seventies and the eighties. These films are generally considered low-quality, low-budget B-movies by independent studios, decried for the vulgar and offensive content - but some of the films became classics on their own merits and most of them are undergoing re-evaluation by film historians. This genre is strongly associated with actors such as Bruce Lee, Nancy Kwan, Weng Weng and many others. It also played a pivotal role in launching the careers of many Asian-American actors who later gained mainstream success."
- excerpt from the documentary film Yellow Fever! - The Story of Asian Grindhouse Films

As an addition, you must also create films fitting the film genre based on the prompt's definition.

 

[overoceans]

Sorry, I'm not sure I understand. You're saying that orientsploitation does NOT exist IOTL, so you want us to imagine that it does?

If so, wouldn't eg. Grade B martial arts flicks(eg. with Bruce Lee, whom you mention) qualify as real-life orientsploitation?

 

[RY1985]

The challenge is to create an ATL film genre based on this prompt below:

As an addition, you must also create films fitting the film genre based on the prompt's definition.

Hi there, I am from Singapore. During the 1960s and 1970s, in the OTL, Shaw Brothers, a film production and theater company, did produce a number of rather weird films in both Hong Kong and Singapore. Such films completely died out in Singapore after a short while but carried on for a while in Hong Kong.

I think the 'Kill Bill' duology did pay homage to some of this old movies.

I am not sure if this are what you are referring to though.

 

[Caravels of Portugal]

I am not sure if this are what you are referring to though.

Sorry, I'm not sure I understand.

For elaboration, 'Orientsploitation' is an ATL film genre that refers to genre B-movies catering to Asian-American audiences during the 1970s and the 1980s. These films were often made by local independent studios in United States and equivalents of 'Poverty Row' films from Asian countries. Many depicted a wide variety of genres, usually action, horror and 'pink' films that usually made up the bulk of the films.

 

[marathag]

In the 1970s and '80s, a lot of badly dubbed Hong Kong films, both modern and historical era, was on US syndication for 'Kung fu Theatre'

 

[phx1138]

This seems to describe a lot of chopsocky. Which, to be sure, didn't only appeal to Asians, but was mostly pretty bad.

 

[Jonah Carter]

For there to be more movies catering to an Asian-American audience, you probably need more Asian-Americans. Blaxploitation worked as a genre because black people were a massive demographic that wasn't being tapped. Asian-Americans weren't. In 1970, there were 22.5 million black people, but only 1.5 million Asians/Pacific Islanders.

 

[Strategos' Risk]

Bruce Lee gets to make The Warrior project and lives

Bruce Lee makes The Warrior, it becomes The Godfather for Chinese Americans

If you like martial arts media or period piece prestige dramas at all, you owe it to yourself and the spirit of Bruce Lee to watch Cinemax’s Warrior based on the writings of the dragon himself, about a highly fictionalized version of the Tong Wars that took place in San Francisco’s Chinatown...

www.alternatehistory.com

 

[Mort the Reaper]

Bruce Lee gets to make The Warrior project and lives

Bruce Lee makes The Warrior, it becomes The Godfather for Chinese Americans

If you like martial arts media or period piece prestige dramas at all, you owe it to yourself and the spirit of Bruce Lee to watch Cinemax’s Warrior based on the writings of the dragon himself, about a highly fictionalized version of the Tong Wars that took place in San Francisco’s Chinatown...

www.alternatehistory.com

That would certainly be interesting.

 

[Jellico]

For there to be more movies catering to an Asian-American audience, you probably need more Asian-Americans. Blaxploitation worked as a genre because black people were a massive demographic that wasn't being tapped. Asian-Americans weren't. In 1970, there were 22.5 million black people, but only 1.5 million Asians/Pacific Islanders.

Curiously blaxploitation picked up a lot of Kung Fu movie tropes. Probably in the shared fighting the Man DNA.