Opinion
Why the Bruce Lee Fight in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Has Become the Movie’s Most Controversial Scene by Gabrielle Bruney, Esquire
In this piece, Bruney responds to the controversial scene in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood with a clear voice of her own. While most of the piece summarizes the scenario, it ends with a few paragraphs from a definitive point of view, bringing closure to the story. Bruney writes, “(Bruce Lee’s) legacy is worthy of the respectful good taste with which Tarantino treats the other real-life figures that appear in the film.” This direct statement causes the article to be about something more than just the story it’s reporting on. Instead, this piece qualifies as a personal take, as the closing paragraph sums up the writer’s thoughts on the issue.
Opinion
Why Are You Laughing at Bruce Lee? by Walter Chaw, Vulture
When news is reported, the story’s title is typically a direct statement. Since this is an opinion piece, Chaw headlines his story with a question, calling out the audiences who saw Once Upon a Time in Hollywood who were not offended by a specific scene. Although this snarky opening line isn’t reflective of the article as a whole, Chaw comes with his own personal take on the matter. He writes, “Growing up as a Chinese kid in a predominantly white area, one of the most common ways people mocked me was by mimicking the noises Lee made.” The writer shares this personal information about his identity and upbringing which informs this opinion. He calls out this portrayal of Lee as racism toward Asians in general, and states that the film in question only joined along in the mockery.
News
Controversial ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’ Bruce Lee scene was changed after Brad Pitt expressed concerns by Will Lavin, NME
While this article provides some commentary on the controversial scene, it does not come from a place of personal perspective on part of the author. Instead, this article focuses on a specific topic from an unbiased standing. Lavin does not have a distinct voice in his writing as he reports on direct facts surrounding the story that had gone viral on social media. Rather than adding his own take and contributing to the story, he simply reports on everything that had happened. According to this report, the scene had already been altered before it was in the film, as actor Brad Pitt had his own concerns playing the character who fights Bruce Lee.
News
Quentin Tarantino Defends Portrayal of Bruce Lee in ‘Once Upon A Time In Hollywood’ by Dino-Ray Ramos, Deadline
As reported by Hollywood studio news site, Deadline, this article simply reports the facts regarding the Bruce Lee scene controversy. Featuring updated quotes from director Quentin Tarantino, he expresses that he did not have bad intent from a racial standpoint. His quotes provide a commentary apart from the article itself. Instead of a story with this expressed view, the article takes a distant, non-biased approach. In response to the controversy and opinion pieces written about his film, Tarantino said in an interview, “If you ask me the question, ‘Who would win in a fight: Bruce Lee or Dracula?’ It’s the same question. It’s a fictional character. If I say Cliff can beat Bruce Lee up, he’s a fictional character so he could beat Bruce Lee up.” If he had written this article instead of Ramos, it would qualify as opinion. Since Ramos hardly has his own voice in this piece, it is a news article.
