Race Hour 2

In the movie Rush Hour 2 a great deal of humor is made at the expense of one's race. The dynamic between Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan's characters is centered directly around their different races and the stereotypical roles that each of these characters present their race in. Jackie Chan represents a stereotypical asian male who is a kung-fu master who misunderstands many western customs yet loves western culture (specifically his love of the Beach Boys). Chris Tucker represents the stereotypical version of an African-American who is loud, sexually charged, and almost completely unaware of anything but his little corner of the world.

While these stereotypical models are used for each of the main characters a great deal of stereotypical images and portrayals are provided about asians, african-americans, and white americans in the film. Chris Tucker is constantly talking and while a majority of the time it was funny in the film it is at the expense of portraying a stereotype for laughs. Jackie Chan is really no different when he can't understand the meaning behind american slang or when he constantly repels wave after wave of thugs in on-screen fights. These stereotypes are even more apparent because of the plot of the movie which pits Chan and Tucker, two cops, against the criminal organization of the triads and an american financier. Originally the movie finds Chan and Tucker in Hong Kong, then they fly to L.A., and then they eventually wind up in Las Vegas. Tucker repeatedly makes jokes about Asians at the expense of Chan's character throughout the film, while Tucker always displays the inability to not be taken aback by a beautiful girl.

When discussing how to find the bad guys on their flight from Hong Kong to Los Angeles Tucker says you have to follow "the rich white man," because "behind every crime there is a rich white man." This is the primary way in which whiteness is represented in the movie. The white man is behind the crime and as Tucker jokingly explains nearly every crime. It is interesting to note that the true mastermind behind the crime was in fact the Triad mobster they had met in Hong Kong near the beginning of the movie. This portion of the movie is the most difficult to read because on one hand like most western made movies a foreigner or non-westerner such as a male of Asian, Middle Eastern, or Eastern European descent is the bad guy in the movie. While this is also the case in Rush Hour 2 a fellow countryman is trying to stop the crime and the Triad mobster outwits the rich American who was also in on the crime. So while a stereotypical role is fulfilled in this movie that stereotype is also broken at the same time. The entire movie reinforces and rehashes awful stereotypes for Asians and African-Americans, but is presented from the viewpoint of a black and asian man as the two main characters. This in itself is a very unique and rare thing to see in a Hollywood film. None of the main characters are in fact white and thus from this perspective the film Rush Hour 2 can be seen in a very positive light. No matter what your opinion on the film it can not be argued that there are merits to looking at it as both a positive and a negative text on race.

The film while seemingly positive in many regards falls under the umbrella of most comedy movies with its main method of acquiring laughs being directly related to the stereotypes it reinforces. While many people automatically condemn a movie like Rush Hour 2 in a discussion dealing with race I think it is important to note that as long as the correct audience is viewing a movie such as this then there is no harm. As long as the viewer understands that these are stereotypes and not the truth then a film such as Rush Hour 2 presents little problem.