Fighting Stars

Kyle Barrowman is Adjunct Professor of Media and Cinema Studies at DePaul University, USA. He is author of Understanding Objectivism: At the Movies with Ayn Rand (2023). He has published widely on film studies and philosophy, on subjects ranging from authorship, camera movement, and martial arts to skepticism, perfectionism, and ordinary language philosophy.

• Introduction – Fighting (for) Star Studies - Kyle Barrowman1. Kwan Tak-hing: Pioneer of Kung Fu Cinema - Wayne Wong2. Bruce Lee: Effective and Affective Action Techniques - Paul Bowman3. Angela Mao: Lady Kung Fu in Search of International Markets - Man-Fung Yip4. Kara Hui: From Young Auntie to Mother Figure - Wing-Fai Leung5. Gordon Liu: Shaolin Hero - Eric Pellerin6. Sammo Hung: The Kung Fu Comic’s Sublime Body - Luke White7. Jackie Chan: A Stunting Star’s Industrial Legacy - Lauren Steimer8. Michelle Yeoh: Combating Gender - Kyle Barrowman9. Cynthia Rothrock: Fame, Style, and the Video Star - Meaghan Morris10. Jet Li: A Career in Three Acts - Andy Willis11. Zhang Ziyi: An Alternative Female Action Stardom and the Logic of Indeterminacy - Dorothy Wai Sim Lau12. Donnie Yen: Authenticity, Nationalism, and the Bruce Lee Legacy - Leon HuntIndex

The book broadens our vision of the cinematic universe beyond the traditional focus on Hollywood through its excellent series of essays on stardom in the martial arts cinema of Hong Kong. They provide answers to the central question: what makes an action actor into a star?