Teenagers were forbidden to imitate the character of Bruce Lee from his historical film in 1960

While Bruce Lee’s 1960 film Mr Orphan was a huge hit, the achievement had unfortunate repercussions for teenagers. In 2018, the biography of Matthew Polly named Bruce Lee: A Life revealed the negative effect of Lee’s success on teenagers who tried to emulate Lee. The biography also chronicled the strict measures that teachers had to take to put an end to it.

Lee played a controversial role in the movie The Orphan. He portrayed the role of Ah Sum, an unruly orphan who wins the school principal’s friendship and enrolls in school. Lee’s character in the film is also a pickpocket who steals things for a living. Disrupting the normal school routine, Ah Sum also smokes in the film. So what were the students imitating that the teachers had to forbid them to act out?

Imitation of Bruce Lee led to chaos and created a threat to teachers

Matthew Polly’s biography told how the character of Ah Sum affected the minds of students so much that they tried to imitate the way Lee smoked cigarettes. This indicates the immense popularity of The Orphan which became the first Hong Kong film to receive international acclaim, breaking previous box office records. Additionally, the biography recounted how the students tried to copy Lee’s cha-cha dance routine in the film. In the film, whenever the principal tries to help Ah Sum, Lee’s character instead does a cha-cha dance and ignores the principal.

Later, the biography also mentioned the harsh action a principal recommended to prevent students from imitating Lee. According to the principal, a banner was to be placed outside the entrance to the school to prohibit students from imitating Lee’s Ah Sum character.

The Orphan wasn’t the only The Little Phoenix film to become popular. Another of Lee’s films that gained huge fame is the 1973 film Enter The Dragon. A scene that became well known across the world was the climax, fought between Chuck Norris and Lee in the film. Once, Norris shed some light on the real story behind that climactic scene.

Chuck Norris’ tale of the climactic scene that entertained millions

Norris recalled that the Enter the Dragon crew had no legal permission to shoot this scene. According to Norris, The Little Phoenix had to resort to bribery to get permission to shoot the scene. Additionally, the crew had a limited time of 60 minutes to complete filming the scene. Norris remarked that after an hour, the Enter the Dragon crew was ordered to pack up by the officials. He later said that for him the scene was, “The all-time classic martial arts fight scene.” According to a report by WAMU newsfeed, the film has grossed over $20 million in the United States.

The report of Lee’s imitation by young teenagers raises an important debate about whether films such as The Orphan should be shown to very young audiences. In your opinion, what should be done to avoid the negative effects of films on impressionable young children? Share your thoughts in the comments section.

Watch this story: Bruce Lee – The Legend’s Top 5 Moves You Need To Know