A Cultural Review of Rush Hour

Section 1: Description of the Cultural Text

Rush Hour is a 1998 comedy action film directed by Brett Ratner featuring Jackie Chan as Inspector Lee and Chris Tucker as Inspector James Carter respectively. The plot kicks off when the Chinese Consul, following the abduction of his daughter, requests his old friend Inspector Lee from Hong Kong to assist the FBI in finding her. The FBI, not wanting any foreign intervention, assigns Inspector James Carter from the LAPD to keep him distracted. For most of the movie, James and Lee see each other as incompatible partners who are forced to work together. As they realize the severity of the situation, the fact that the FBI is unwilling to listen to either of them catalyzes them to overcome their differences. They form an unlikely but successful partnership which develops into an even more unlikely friendship by the end of the film.

Though it presents itself as a lighthearted comedy, Rush Hour actually delves deep into race relations as Carter, a black man from Los Angeles, and Lee, a Chinese man from Hong Kong, struggle to work together due to their personal and cultural differences. There has been, and continues to be, an ongoing narrative that there’s been nothing but conflict between these two minority communities in America, and while that’s not entirely wrong, I think Rush Hour offered a different perspective of this relationship that hadn’t been reflected anywhere back then and hasn’t been reflected since then much elsewhere either. 

The movie enjoyed huge commercial success with box office earnings of nearly 245 million USD and was the 7th highest grossing film in 1998. It went on to have two more sequels - Rush Hour 2 and Rush Hour 3.  Even today, the movie is loved by many, not only for its nostalgic feel, but for how excellently it executes the buddy cop genre, the flawless casting of Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan, and their hilarious interactions, both in front of, and behind the screens. 

Section 2: What makes a cultural text good?

Every cultural text, whether it be a book, movie, show, or advertisement, has a story. And humans, as a species, love stories. The author Ben Okri once said, “To poison a nation, poison its stories” hinting at how much impact they have. We think in stories, get influenced by them, and make sense of the world through them as well. How we are represented in these cultural text’s stories influence our ideas of who we can be and what we can do. At the same time, how we interpret the meaning of any text depends on our individual cultural background and experiences (Hall). If stories have such a profound impact on minds, then the purpose of any good cultural text should be to “find and tell stories that inspire and motivate, or at the very least, trigger ideas and conversations (TEDx Talks).” 

Cultural texts act as a mirror to society which reflects our lives and our political and social reality. Thus, cultural texts serve as significant evidence to support assertions about social structures, relationships, and processes (Kovala). However, when we are constantly surrounded by some specific practices in culture, we begin to accept it at face value. By taking these practices out of the “everyday experience” and placing them into works of artistic expression, such as books or films, “they are put in a space that invites reflection and debate (Juillion).” 

Cultural texts are important in the political sense as well. As described by Gramsci’s concept of hegemony and backed up by Edward Said in his work on Orientalism, culture reinforces the dominant political and economic structures and “others” the subordinated groups (Burney). Religions, political parties, companies, and various social groups all propagate their ideas through cultural texts. In fact, many cultural texts in today’s capitalist society simply keep us distracted and reduce the will to alter our social and political reality (Adorno). A good cultural text then should not simply confirm the world as it is but rather show the world as it could be. 

Finally, as will become evident in the analysis of the chosen text, a good cultural text can also act as a barometer or indicator of social change (Kovala). Through careful examination of language, themes, and representations within cultural texts, we can identify subtle nuances and shifts in societal perspectives, and hopefully work towards a more inclusive and tolerant society.

Section 3: Analysis of the Cultural Text

Rush Hour evolves from the biracial buddies' films of the 70s and 80s such as Stir Crazy and 48 Hours which use the medium of a black and white partnership to satisfy the American audience’s subconscious wish for an easy and low-cost racial harmony. Rush Hour doesn’t completely deviate from the established formulas of such films. Carter is still characterized as “fast talking and dimwitted” which was a common portrayal for black men during that era, and Lee is characterized as the “Inscrutable Asian” according to which Asians are emotionless creatures who silently plot against Western interests, along with the “lost foreigner” trope. 

So, what makes Rush Hour different from other films in its genre and how does the film avoid negative representation even while playing right into the stereotypes?

Firstly, Rush Hour expands this type of film beyond the black and white stereotypical cliche in favor of a less represented partnership between two minority leads - one Asian and the other Black American. This becomes relevant especially when we take into account the context in which the film was released. During the 1990s, racial tensions between these two communities reached their peak due to growing animosity in black communities regarding the increase in Asian immigrants in their neighborhoods. As Asian Americans opened up stores in these neighborhoods and became synonymous with the model minority label, the black community worried that they were losing jobs and opportunities to Asian Americans (Quality Culture). In 1992, there was even a riot in Koreatown, LA, where hundreds of shops were looted and destroyed, more than half of which were Korean owned (Wang). 

The hostility between the two communities is reflected in the film right from the first meeting of Carter and Lee, where Carter is annoyed at being paired up with Lee; Lee dismisses Carter as an incompetent Detective; and they continue to bicker throughout the first half of the film. This lack of cooperation boils down to the unwillingness of both characters to learn about the other’s culture as they both develop negative assumptions about each other. Carter assuming that Lee does not understand English hints that along with personal biases, these negative assumptions are partly shaped by culture and media. As the FBI turns their back on them, Carter and Lee finally start to learn and cooperate with each other. 

The turning point in their relationship is beautifully portrayed in the stakeout scene halfway through the movie where Carter and Lee start bonding with each other over the song War by Edwin Starr. This scene is one of my favorite scenes from the film and extremely important because their bonding over this song is the visual representation of them making the effort to learn from one another. The lyrics of the song are especially relevant towards the impact of the scene. The main hook, “War. What is it good for? Absolutely nothing” illustrates the situation between the two characters perfectly - the war in this context being the clash between their cultures. The scene concludes with a heartwarming scene of the two characters dancing with each other showing that the only way for them to succeed is to coexist and collaborate with each other.

This is where this film and its context act as a barometer of social change. According to a Vox article, the narrative of conflict between Black and Asian communities is “rooted in immigration and economic policies that have historically pitted these communities against one another (Demsas et al).” However, if there has been a history of tensions between these communities, there also exists a history of Black-Asian solidarity, especially against oppression and structural racism. Even during the recent pandemic, members of both communities came together in support of each other, participating in demonstrations against anti-Asian violence and for Black Lives Matter (Demsas et al). The problem is that it's always the rare moments of conflict that are picked up by the mainstream media and blown out of proportion. 

What’s interesting to note is that although we are initially led to believe that the villain is Juntao, it is revealed at the end of the film that the villain is actually a rich white guy. This is a not-so-subtle way of showing how, at the end of the day, it is white supremacy that pits these minorities against each other. 

This brings us to finally addressing the elephant in the room - the “racism” in this film.

There has been a recent surge in criticisms labeling this movie as racist, but I believe these people overlook the distinction between racist jokes and jokes about race. The humor in this film, for the most part, is not meant to be malicious or cause harm. On the contrary, it is written in a way that, when viewed within the context of the movie, becomes humorous. For example, consider the moment when Lee uses the n-word. Lee, being a "fish out of water" character, uses it as a term of endearment simply because he observes Carter doing so just a few moments earlier. As the audience, we understand that Lee lacks cultural understanding of the word's significance, making the situation amusing to us (Hollywood Town).

Nancy Tom, who is the founder of the Center for Asian Arts and Media at Columbia College, said, “They each were a stereotype, no doubt, but it was in such a light comedy way that I did not find it offensive at all (Eng).” Most people from both communities consider this film a “hood classic” and aren’t bothered by the jokes in it. In a discussion about why it's mostly white people who actually have an issue with the jokes in the film, FD Signifier, a black content creator, says that “white liberals are so invested in proving their inherent goodness, even if they are white, that they will take things that we are really not concerned about and elevate it to the highest levels of conflict driven media discussions (Quality Culture).” 

The mixed reviews around this film bring up many questions about interracial dynamics. As Edward Said describes in his work Orientalism, the ruling class subtly influences the way people think and perceive the world by circulating their own world views through cultural institutions like education, media, and religion (Burney). At the same time, Gramsci also acknowledges the efforts of “social and political actors that challenge the cultural and institutional foundations of hegemony” which he calls Counter-hegemony (Adkin). Films like Rush Hour that bring something new to the genre and make us question our preconceived notions about other cultures are an example of what cultural texts belonging to this school of thought can look like. 

Section 4: Conclusion

While Rush Hour reflects the social reality of the Black-Asian hostility in the 1990s, it also shows us what cooperation between the two communities might look like. Despite the world pitting them against each other, at least in the film, we are able to see an Asian and Black character come together to form a very unique friendship through the sharing of each other’s cultures. This also translates to real life where both communities have exchanged many aspects of their cultural identities like “collecting sneakers, hip hop dance crews, the popularity of martial arts films and anime, and the incorporation of Asian aesthetics throughout the course of hip hop history (Quality Culture).” 

I would like to conclude that Rush Hour is a good cultural text because, as stated previously, it does not only ‘confirm the world as it is’ but shows ‘the world as it could be’ and invites reflection and debate about social changes that have occurred since the movie was first released in 1998.

Section 5: Works Cited

1. Adkin, Laurie. “Hegemony & Counter-Hegemony.” Showing Theory to Know Theory, Showing Theory Press, 28 Feb. 2022, ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/showingtheory/chapter/hegemony-and-counter-hegemony/. 

2. Adorno, Theodor W. “Culture Industry Reconsidered.” New German Critique, vol. 6, no. 6, 1975, pp. 12–19, https://doi.org/10.2307/487650.

3. Burney, Shehla. “CHAPTER ONE: Orientalism: The Making of the Other.” Counterpoints, vol. 417, 2012, pp. 23–39. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/42981698. Accessed 8 Nov. 2023.

4. Demsas, Jerusalem, and Rachel Ramirez. “The History of Tensions - and Solidarity - between Black and Asian American Communities, Explained.” Vox, 16 Mar. 2021, www.vox.com/22321234/black-asian-american-tensions-solidarity-history. 

5. Eng, Monica. “‘Rush Hour’ Angers Some Asian Americans - The Washington Post.” The Washington Post, 26 Sept. 1998, www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1998/09/26/rush-hour-angers-some-asian-americans/45271f09-80ea-47c8-9984-5440e22f4eea/. 

6. Hall, Stuart. “Representation & the Media.” Media Education Foundation. Representation & the Media, 10 Dec. 2023, London, University of Westminster. 

7. Hollywood Town. “Why Rush Hour (1998) Is a Comedy Classic.” YouTube, 22 May 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQxpOSmTilc. Accessed 10 Dec. 2023. 

8. Juillion, Perrine. “What Is the Importance of Cultural Text?” Studybuff.Com, 29 Nov. 2019, studybuff.com/what-is-the-importance-of-cultural-text/. 

9. Kim, Ronak Gandhi & Ayoung, et al. “Rush Hour: Buddy Cops Tackle Racial Bias.” Cold Tea Collective, 3 Nov. 2023, coldteacollective.com/rush-hour-buddy-cops-tackle-racial-bias/. 

10. Kovala, Urpo. (2002). Cultural Studies and Cultural Text Analysis. CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture. 4. 10.7771/1481-4374.1169. 

11. TEDx Talks.“The Art of Storytelling in the News World.” Performance by Palki  Sharma Upadhyay, YouTube, 24 June 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwHCOI8V4LQ&list=WL&index=5. Accessed 10 Dec. 2023. 

12. Treekutpan, Atigun. “Representation in Rush Hour.” Medium, Religion and Popular Culture, 25 Nov. 2014, medium.com/religion-and-popular-culture/representation-in-rush-hour-4a42a5fbc4de. 

13. Quality Culture. “Rush Hour: An Unexpected Image of Black and Asian Solidarity.” YouTube, 11 Aug. 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nT7yzz5DRG0&list=WL&index=27. Accessed 10 Dec. 2023. 

14. Wang, Claire. “30 Years after ‘Saigu’: Korean Americans Reckon with L.A.’s Past on Anniversary of Riots.” NBCNews.Com, NBCUniversal News Group, 28 Apr. 2022, www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/30-years-saigu-korean-americans-reckon-ls-anniversary-riots-rcna26118.