Why is martial arts movies less popular today?

[GojuTommy]

John Wick isn’t martial arts? Everything, Everywhere, All At Once isnt martial arts? Wakanda Forever isn’t martial arts?

Plenty of martial arts movies.

For the rest, all I can say is I appreciate when folks self identify as idiots. In the old days, people were taught not to advertise their ignorance.

There’s always been the sub genre of martial arts movies within the action movie genre.

Martial arts movies are largely about the martial arts themselves and the story and plot revolves around the martial arts, so no I wouldn’t call those movies martial arts movies

 

[Scotsman]

Which culture’s thoughts of manly or masculine exactly?
What does masculine even mean?

well did you think of your Father as a masculine man? did he teach you how to wire a plug, plant carrots?

 

[GojuTommy]

You're arguing to argue at this point.

For one, we're comparing old movies to new movies, so old movies are part of the discussion. The thread is on why they don't have martial arts movies like they used to.

For another, Enter the Dragon does have a story. That story may not be Casablanca, but neither is Crank or The Transporter. Or even the recent Godzilla movies. It doesn't need to be. The story in an action movie needs to be enough to drive the plot forward to the next action setpiece. It doesn't need to be written to the level of a spy thriller or murder mystery.

Additionally, I wasn't even talking about story when I said Jason Statham doesn't do martial arts movies, he does action movies. In Enter the Dragon, Bruce Lee's action scenes are all martial arts focused. He's fighting in a tournament. He's beating up bad guys. He's using martial arts weapons like a kali stick, nunchaku, or bo staff. He has a final fight with the bad guy, which involves a spear and hand claws, and Bruce just doing unarmed fighting. Same goes for Way of the Dragon and other movies I've seen, all of his action scenes involve him doing martial arts.

In Transporter, Jason Statham has martial arts scenes, driving scenes, and gunplay scenes. In The Expendables, he's using a knife a lot, but there's also a lot of gun play. He does more driving than martial arts in The Italian Job, and plays someone who isn't even a fighter in The Bank Job. He does more diving than martial arts in The Meg.

Compare Jason Statham to someone like Scott Adkins, Tony Jaa, Michael Jai White. In their movies, they're usually focused on being a martial artist. Look at Boyka, Blood and Bone, or Ong Bak: Thai Warrior. Those movies feature martial arts fights in the ring. They feature martial arts training in addition to martial arts. And 95% or more of the action in those movies is martial arts (not gunplay, not driving, not parkour). But none of them have the level of success Jason Statham does.

We don't have martial arts movies anymore, because action movies replaced them. Movies that diversify the action between martial arts, gunplay, and chase scenes involving parkour or stunt driving.

I don’t think action movies replaced them since both coincided together for decades, and personally I view MA movies as a sub genre of action. Same with most cowboy movies and military and spy movies are sub genres within the action genre.

I think there’s been plenty of MA movies and tv shows 2000 until now, they just weren’t as massive as back in the day.

I think it’s largely because martial arts are no longer considered exotic and people who want to see martial arts can mostly just watch KB, MMA, wrestling, judo etc so much easier now than they could in the 60s-90s so why worry about seeing a whole movie based on martial arts?

 

[Xue Sheng]

Why is martial arts movies less popular today?

In the 70s, 80s and 90s martial arts movies and martial arts cop movies where popular you had strong tough martial arts cop.

Yes like Chuck Norris, Jackie Chan, Steven Seagull, Bruce Lee, Tony Jaa, Jean Claude Van Damme, Bolo Yeung, Sammo Hung, Gordon Liu so on.

Well Clint Eastwood, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone are not really martial arts they took on more tough strong cop role.

Now it seems martial arts movies and martial arts cop movies and tough strong cop movies are less popular. Today seems detective cop shows and comic movies is where rage is today.

The car chases, shoot outs with mad guy and fighting the mad guy is less popular it more about detective cop shows and comic movies.

If you are looking for action and fighting it is comic movies now. Where martial arts movies and martial arts cop movies seem less popular.

There else no young actors in the US to take on role of aging Chuck Norris, Jackie Chan, Steven Seagull or dead Bruce Lee or even not really martial arts but just tough strong role like Clint Eastwood, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone.

The ninja movies are even less popular it seems like in past like The Domination, Enter the Ninja, 1983’s Revenge of the Ninja, American Ninja so on.

So what is going on in the US?

In an effort to redirect this and prevent it from getting locked

There was a duscussion a few years back about action stars, as they got older. It seemed that fewer actors in the US were interested in being an action star and most in America seemed to be being replaced by people from other countries. This was a discussion from around the time Danial Craig took over as James Bond (even though Bond is alway British), and Christian Bale became Batman, so it was a while ago.

And things go in cycles, Westerns use to be the main thing in the US, not so much these days. The popular type of movie comes and goes. Currently I'm hoping the whole Zombie thing is fading away. I have noticed many of the popular movies and TV shows in the US have way to much angst in them these days for my taste. I tried watching the newest Batman, got through about 15 minutes before the angst got way to heavy, and the movie, at least to me, got really boring.

Also Schwarzenegger and Stallone are still making movies as is Jason Statham and you also have the super hero stuff. But overall there are fewer MA movies due to what is currently popular. I tend to look to Chinese MA films for martial arts stuff, but I do my best to avoid the cablefu movies

Ironically, I am watching "Jackie Chan's Project A 2" as I type this

 

[GojuTommy]

well did you think of your Father as a masculine man? did he teach you how to wire a plug, plant carrots?

Apparently your father never taught you how to answer a question.
My mother taught me to garden not my father, but gardening is a traditionally feminine activity in the western world, so seems like you don’t even know what masculinity is.

So again, what is masculinity other than a standard that can be changed at will to denigrate people you don’t like?

Was Einstein masculine? Was dean martin masculine? Was robin Williams masculine? Is Harry styles masculine? Is Chris hemsworth masculine?

Why are you so worried about how other people act?

 

[GojuTommy]

The dictionary is your friend.

That doesn’t help at all when they use words like traditionally. Whose traditions, and from which cultures?

 

[GojuTommy]

In an effort to redirect this and prevent it from getting locked

There was a duscussion a few years back about action stars, as they got older. It seemed that fewer actors in the US were interested in being an action star and most in America seemed to be being replaced by people from other countries. This was a discussion from around the time Danial Craig took over as James Bond (even though Bond is alway British), and Christian Bale became Batman, so it was a while ago.

And things go in cycles, Westerns use to be the main thing in the US, not so much these days. The popular type of movie comes and goes. Currently I'm hoping the whole Zombie thing is fading away. I have noticed many of the popular movies and TV shows in the US have way to much angst in them these days for my taste. I tried watching the newest Batman, got through about 15 minutes before the angst got way to heavy, and the movie, at least to me, got really boring.

Also Schwarzenegger and Stallone are still making movies as is Jason Statham and you also have the super hero stuff. But overall there are fewer MA movies due to what is currently popular. I tend to look to Chinese MA films for martial arts stuff, but I do my best to avoid the cablefu movies

Ironically, I am watching "Jackie Chan's Project A 2" as I type this

Also I think movies is a bit limiting, and I’m also assuming we’re limiting it to live action as well.

There’s been a number of tv shows that were MA based over the last 20 years and one is still running.

If we broaden it to animation you’ve got anime which is jam packed full of martial arts shows and movies as well.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

Manly or masculine is not being promoted in schools & Universities.

The spirit of "Xia - help the good to fight against evil" is missing in today's society. Today people all talk about self-defense. Nobody talks about to protect your love one, family members, or even a stranger.

When I was a MA student, my teacher said, "It's wrong that you get into a fight without a good reason. I's also wrong that you have a good reason to fight but you didn't". The 2nd part of what he had said is totally missing in today's society.

 

[GojuTommy]

The spirit of "Xia - help the good to fight against evil" is missing in today's society. Today people all talk about self-defense. Nobody talks about to protect your love one, family members, or even a stranger.

When I was a MA student, my teacher said, "It's wrong that you get into a fight without a good reason. I's also wrong that you have a good reason to fight but you didn't". The 2nd part of what he had said is totally missing in today's society.

Most people understand self defense as encompassing the defense of others, it’s just easier to say self defense rather than constantly typing out “self defense, and also the defense of others when necessary”

 

[Holmejr]

Participation trophies, don’t run up the score, no dodgeball, feminizing the male for the sake of gender equality. Toxic masculinity is because of BAD men not masculine men.
Maybe watch
Stuckeys “make men masculine again”

 

[Holmejr]

That doesn’t help at all when they use words like traditionally. Whose traditions, and from which cultures?

Agreed

 

[GojuTommy]

Participation trophies, don’t run up the score, no dodgeball, feminizing the male for the sake of gender equality. Toxic masculinity is because of BAD men not masculine men.
Maybe watch
Stuckeys “make men masculine again”

What does feminizing men mean?
What is masculine and what is feminine is 100% subjective.

Science supports participation awards, and participation awards have been around for a very long time.
Toxic masculinity is a result of bad men, but when your definition of masculinity is inherently toxic that’s a problem.

If you’re not toxic why do you care about the term toxic masculinity?

So what makes a person masculine?

 

[Gyakuto]

I think audiences are, on average, a little more sophisticated in their choice of film storyline and those that aren’t, watch superhero films😉. Thus, those 70s/80s films are rather unremarkable compared to, say, ‘Everything, Everywhere, All At Once’. Also, the martial arts were exotic and mysterious in the 70s with few people having the opportunity to experience them first hand. Today, nearly every child has a blackbelt in ‘Koroddy’ and their taxi-parents have sit through class after class, scrolling through their device because it’s ‘old hat’ these days.

 

[JowGaWolf]

without getting myself into trouble here....haha
people , mostly young men in days gone by looked for manly heroes. Kung Fu Bruce Lee or the American Hero chuck Norris.
the "Woke" Generation now ...mostly wear their sisters underwear & make up

Yep you are in hot water now. I'm tired of the slang WOKE being misused because to me it shows a real lack of understanding.

Here's the meaning of WOKE. It simply means that a person was being taken advantage of but now the are aware and can no longer be taken advantage of.

Examples: Getting out skilled in basketball the person winning say " don't fall asleep on me" the person losing catches on to the offensive press an say "I'm woke"

Your wife is cheating on you and your friends have been telling you this for 3 years. Then you see with your own eyes the truth and you say "I'm woke"

Woke or being woke has nothing to do with any of that noise people are being fed. There is no WOKE GENERATION. It is simply a phrase that is use to admit that you were being taken advantage of, and now you are aware of that.

This is what it means and is why your statement about underwear makes no sense.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

All the movies that I have seen, this is the best part.

A: Will you fight?
B: No! We will run and we will live.
A: Fight, and you may die. Run, and you'll live. At least awhile. And dying in your bed many years from now, ...

We just don't see this kind of spirit in today's movie any more - the courage to stand on your ground and fight for what you believe is right.

 

[JowGaWolf]

All the movies that I have seen, this is the best part.

A: Will you fight?
B: No! We will run and we will live.
A: Fight, and you may die. Run, and you'll live. At least awhile. And dying in your bed many years from now, ...

We just don't see this kind of spirit in today's movie any more - the courage to stand on your ground and fight for what you believe is right.

There are still movies out there that are like that, but it's more of a cultural thing used to inspire, uplift, and give hope to a specific group. Find a country in chaos or a group of people in need of hope and you'll find these types of movies.

It may require you to venture out of your comfort zone, but they are still there. There is always a movie about the struggles of a group culture.

 

[Zombocalypse]

Why is martial arts movies less popular today?

In the 70s, 80s and 90s martial arts movies and martial arts cop movies where popular you had strong tough martial arts cop.

Yes like Chuck Norris, Jackie Chan, Steven Seagull, Bruce Lee, Tony Jaa, Jean Claude Van Damme, Bolo Yeung, Sammo Hung, Gordon Liu so on.

Well Clint Eastwood, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone are not really martial arts they took on more tough strong cop role.

Now it seems martial arts movies and martial arts cop movies and tough strong cop movies are less popular. Today seems detective cop shows and comic movies is where rage is today.

The car chases, shoot outs with mad guy and fighting the mad guy is less popular it more about detective cop shows and comic movies.

If you are looking for action and fighting it is comic movies now. Where martial arts movies and martial arts cop movies seem less popular.

There else no young actors in the US to take on role of aging Chuck Norris, Jackie Chan, Steven Seagull or dead Bruce Lee or even not really martial arts but just tough strong role like Clint Eastwood, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone.

The ninja movies are even less popular it seems like in past like The Domination, Enter the Ninja, 1983’s Revenge of the Ninja, American Ninja so on.

So what is going on in the US?

Traditional martial arts lost their mystique when people learned how real fighting works after seeing it in all its beauty and ugliness in Pride-FC and UFC. Times have changed. In my opinion, for the better.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

without getting myself into trouble here....haha
people , mostly young men in days gone by looked for manly heroes. Kung Fu Bruce Lee or the American Hero chuck Norris.
the "Woke" Generation now ...mostly wear their sisters underwear & make up

Nothing about that comment is at all appropriate. Grow up.

 

[drop bear]

A big leap from chuck Norris to now though.

Missing a lot of iconic martial arts actors.

Frank grillo and Tony Jaa are still churning them out.

Michael jail white has been going for years.

The English guy whose name I can't remember. (Scott Atkins)

 

[JowGaWolf]

My guess is that fight scenes, "pre Bruce Lee", hit a stale point and Bruce Lee was a breath of fresh air of excitement. This is what fighting looked like before Bruce Lee.

After Bruce Lee hit the screen, there were tons of martial arts movies and not all of them were quality or tasteful. It was a different time and many of those movies would easy be considered as offensive now which is why there's no clip of it now. But some of it was funny (and not offensive) and only drugs and paying the bills can explain why someone would make movies like that lol. But martial arts had a long run in the movies. Jackie Chan and Jet Li were big boosts to the martial arts of film. The difficulty with Martial Arts on film is finding someone who knows how to do it and how to act. Without that then you'll end up with some really crappy stuff.

It's easier to make an actor with a gun look tough then for that actor to do martial arts. MMA movies came out but they didn't have the longevity of the TMA martial arts movies. BJJ movies are even less even though it's effective. The problem with BJJ movies is that 1 BJJ fighter against 7 thugs is a hard sale. So until another Martial Arts super star comes along, well just have to be satisfied with actions movies that use martial arts in the action but isn't a Martial Arts movie. Keep in min that this only applies to Martial Arts in the U.S. I know other countries still embrace martial arts movies.