Cinema Coach is a series dedicated to combining my passions for film and coaching. So much of what we choose to watch impacts our view on the world. Let’s watch something good together!
Plot Summary
Hailed as “the best show you’ve never watched,” HBO MAX’s hit series Warrior, based on the writings of Bruce Lee, focuses on the Chinese immigrant experience in the United States post Civil War. Stepping out of a shipping crate onto San Francisco’s soil for the first time, the reality for Chinese immigrants in the 1800’s was a world of division, diversity, hate, and brutality. Lee portrays the obstacles immigrants faced including racism, language barrier, and inequality all while building their lives and character.
The series sheds light on the realities of immigration as well as the still persistent tough social climate in America.
Social Climate in the 1800’s
Delving further into the series itself, Warrior is set at a pivotal time in United States history, taking place in San Francisco, just after the end of the Civil War. The fictional series provides an intense look at the social climate of the time, with inequality and racism as prevalent themes. The viewer is given a first-hand account of both the experiences of the Chinese immigrants, the Irish working class, and the resulting clash of cultures and hostility between the two.
Theme: Cultural Identity
Addressing common themes like cultural identity and code switching, the show includes plot lines that demonstrate the cultural separation and struggle of the Chinese community. One particular scene shows Chinese immigrants speaking English when among themselves; however, switching back to Chinese when a non-Chinese person enters the scene.
This example highlights the cultural struggle many experience, even in 2021, when faced with our absolute identity in a particular setting or context. As I start working with clients, many of our initial conversations are focused on building an in-depth understanding of who you are right now.
Theme: Value of Human Life
Warrior wouldn’t be a socially impactful series if it didn’t touch on the clear inequalities and racism that ran rampant in the 1800’s and persists 250 years later. While overt displays of racism are part of the overall character and plot development, the series placed an emphasis on the value, or rather lack thereof, of a non-white human life through it’s portrayal of both the immigrant life and death.
Degraded and essentially treated as slaves, the series that is set post Civil War works to showcase the commonplace mentality of the time through the belittling of the Chinese culture. Warrior shows the viewer what it meant to non-white, the immaterial consideration of a non-white life, and and how the devaluation extends beyond both the series timeframe and into present-day reality.
Racial identity and having productive conversations about race are common themes in many of my coaching sessions. I often help both clients and followers understand how you can focus your intent when it comes to addressing issues in a friendship, a relationship, or even a workplace scenario.
Theme: Risk & Fear
Another common theme depicted throughout is that of risk and the power we give to fear. In the 1800’s and continued today, immigrants risk it all for a better life. Moving to a country without cultural comforts or even knowledge of a job or home will forever be a huge risk; and in this series, to potentially do so and say goodbye forever is the ultimate risk immigrants took in pursuit of something better.
As a coach, I am reminded that risks of this magnitude often have associated fear. If you’re paralyzed by fear from an important decision, ask yourself, “What is on the other side of fear?”
Within the series itself, a better life for future generations lived on the other side of that fear. Often, an equally magnanimous opportunity awaits anyone who is willing to explore their fears and take a chance.
Coaching Takeaways
Though the show was set in the 1800’s, the lessons learned are timeless, even mirroring issues within our current news cycle. Timely relevance with a historical lens is perhaps one of the most powerful things TV & Film can do for viewers these days, often inspiring activism and personal change.
Warrior bears witness to these important themes such as taking risks, addressing fears, creating an absolute identity, and more. If you’ve watched Warrior, please leave a comment and share your thoughts below. What did you learn from the series?
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