Well Mike never appeared in any martial arts film. And if you say the first thing that comes to mind when you say "music" isnt michael jackson then you are making two unfair comparisons. Music is a broad category whereas martial arts films is very narrow now the question would be whats the first thing that comes to mind when you say "movies" and that answer is definitely NOT bruce lee. And dude if anything martial arts films are not universal, they are very popular but if MJ's music isnt universal then thats like say Lee's movies arent even national in china. once again absolutely not true. Maybe if you are a teenager all you remember about Michael is the allegations of sexual abuse but if you were born in the early 80s or before all you know about Michael is his music Clearly all those millions of albums sold after his trial and the millions of people who came out to his tours during the 90s came because it was about some guy who stood trial in a sexual abuse case. Bruce Lee died in a different era which is true but that shouldnt be a barometer to judge world success/popularity. He was wildly popular then and when he passed away his death did effect countless people but not on the same scale as Michael's sudden passing. Also while there is no real way to measure this I am willing to bet this: You can take a poll of how many people know OF Bruce Lee, who he is why he was famous and you will get a really high number. Now ask those same people how many of them ACTUALLY have SEEN a bruce lee film, actually just make that 1 fight sequence from a film and that number will drop drastically. Now go ask people who knows of Michael and then the number of people who know a michael Jackson song and heard this song and that number wont be as much of a drop. The difference is that the majority of the people who know of Michael have also appreciated his art and have heard his music. Thats not the case with bruce lee, thats not to diminish his greatness in any sort of way Bruce Lee is his own right is a very iconic figure but Michael Jackson was just on a WHOLE different level, one occupied by only the Beatles and Elvis IMO. Jet Li could have come close to making the same impact on martial arts films as Bruce Lee did if he continue (though not reach the same sort of level as Bruce) I cant picture another artist coming close to transcending race, gender, religion, music genres like Michael did.
Mike is not a pioneer? Billie Jean pretty much opened the door for Black Artist on MTV. There is a whole generation of musicians that are here because of MJ's music. I love Bruce but MJ has a much more profound impact on the world. Bruce died to early. You can say what if all you want but that doesn't change anything. MJ was huge even before those allegations.
One of the reasons why Michael is so well known is because of how many lives his music touched. It was the backdrop for a lot of important events for a lot of people. He also influenced nearly an entire generation of musical artists. Even if Bruce Lee lived to today, I couldn't see people dancing around the Apollo celebrating his works, or seemingly every person giving him huge props at the Martial Arts awards or the Oscars. Michael Jackson is one of the very, very few celebrities that I can ask across 4 generations of people if they know who he is and feel very confident in getting an affirmative answer - same goes for asking that question across different races, cultures, and sexes. And if they someone didn't know about him beforehand, chances are they do now after his death. I don't even know why Bruce Lee is in the arguments right now. Maybe before MJ's death, but not now.
Mike is well known amongst both genders. I know quite a few chicks that have no idea who Bruce Lee is.
The answer is in this video: <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/hMnk7lh9M3o&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/hMnk7lh9M3o&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
this is a terrible comparison. bruce lee is famous but not in the same league as MJ famous. a better comparison is Mohammed Ali.
Seriously how is this a poll. People cry and pass out in the presence of MJ. He personally has shaped more lives and careers than anyone out there. He is literally the foundation of what pop music is today. Don't get me wrong Bruce Lee is THE man, but come one, what's easier...naming four MJ songs or four Bruce Lee movies??? That's what I thought.
MJ had a 40 yr career that sold ~700 million albums. Bruce Lee is a niche whose prime was before stars got blown up big. I would say Jordan is more well known than Bruce. Not sure which MJ would come out on top...
Google results shows Results 1 - 10 of about 90,700,000 for Michael Jackson. (0.10 seconds) Results 1 - 10 of about 31,100,000 for Bruce Lee. (0.12 seconds) No comparison
haha.. fair enough. Although, most of those movies were made in Cantonese, and were only available to China/Asia. The only movies that got any global exposure (IIRC) were Fist of Fury, Enter the Dragon, and Game of Death... and he passed away while he was still filming Game of Death, they had something like 11 minutes of REAL Bruce Lee footage... and I believe Enter the Dragon was the only one filmed in english. MJ was a superstar from childhood, Bruce Lee burst onto the scene when he was already in his 20's. So if you think about it... Bruce only had roughly 10 years... MJ had 50.
you are comparing pop music to kung fu movies dude. do you not get it? even for movies, kung fu is a niche market, you won't get a crazy sell out movie like the dark knight. music is everywhere, its free, you can listen to it on the radio so bruce lee could be the best kung fu artist ever, but he will NEVER be as popular as MUSIC STAR. This thread is stupid. if you wanted, who do you like more, MJ or Bruce Lee, then all of you can make a point, but for popularity? they are singing Michael Jackson in Jackie Chan movies <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/dBUvDo8TsFk&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/dBUvDo8TsFk&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
When people talk highly about Bruce, they're talking more than just his kung fu movies. The casual fans will only see Bruce for his fighting but he was much more. Bruce was somewhat of a philosopher. His books on fighting can be adapted to everyday life. To pass off Bruce as just some martial artist who caught a lucky break is not fair. Still, theres no comparision of popularity between the two, but Bruce brought more than just kung fu movies. Just checkout this small snippet from this interview and peep the knowledge he spits: <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/_k1UgOxBytc&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/_k1UgOxBytc&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
I agree. Most casual observers never understood the deeper meaning of Bruce Lee and his message. I actually don't even care much for his movies or kung fu, but rather about the philosophy on life he talked about. He sought never ending personal perfection and improvement through deep self introspection and questioning the status quo.
Bruce Lee is way more famous around the world...just the chinese population alone would make Bruce Lee the better known celebrity. The results of this poll just show the USA-centricity of this board (which is natural).
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