Rush Hour: An Unexpected Image of Black and Asian Solidarity

Since this video is blowing up, I’ll just politely ask everyone to watch the whole video before leaving a comment. A lot of y’all are complaining about things that are eventually addressed and/or refuted with sources cited on the screen Also, let’s do better than simply replying to the thumbnail 😂 Much love ✌🏼 -Terrence

Let's be real here: race jokes are not always the same as racist jokes.

I love how majority of the bloopers for these movies is just Jackie Chan messing up English and getting mad and then in the third one Chris has to say three words in Chinese and gets them wrong and Jackie goes, “Ha! See! Not easy speaking another language, is it? You all make fun of me! You have THREE WORDS! I have THREE MOVIES!” while everyone dies of laughter 😂

One of my best friends who I sadly lost contact with was Asian and I remember people in school calling us "Rush Hour" because we would always be inseparable and messing around with each other lmao. Love to all of my Asian brothers and sisters. - A fellow black man

I'll never forget that when I worked at a cruise ship there were a Philipino and an Indian guy who would call each other nicknames such as "rice bowl" and "curry soup" something like that very stereotypical and racist but they were really good friends it was their way of referring to each other, one day someone heard that and didn't know they were friends the person reported them to their superiors, they had to stop saying the nicknames after that, even tho they told their superior they weren't offending each other. This video reminded me of that 😂

"I'll slap you so hard, you'll end up in the Ming dynasty", is so out of nowhere and hilarious because the fact Carter knew about different dynasties gave it another layer

The reason why the jokes work is because the racism never came from a hateful heart and the fact that Chris and Jackie became best friends made the film more enjoyable to watch.

The racist jokes work because these two grown ass men share a strong bond. It was always directed with that in heart and that's why it worked.

I'm only 3 minutes in, but as an Asian American, this genuinely connected me and my Black best friend. We have a picture in 11th grade of us posing together like the dvd cover

As a chinese person... Its not because its a different time, its because it works in the movie, the racism isnt a point, its a storytelling tool. Rush hour was always within its bounds. Its a story about 2 different cultures clashing, how their relationship struggles and grows, and how they overcome their differences. The 'racism' goes from distain for eachother, to comradarie jabs. Which is a very real human interaction. If you think its different now, then you likely were laughing at the "racism", and not the comedy, and missed the story beats alltogether

NGL, as a Chinese, the line of 'slap you back to the ming dynasty' was funny as hell

Awww the part about Asian Americans and African Americans largely supporting eachother and having solidarity was so positive and had me welling up.

I’m Chinese and Rush Hour was my childhood favorite and I still love it now. My gen Z cousins also laughed their ass off watching it. We recognized that a lot of the jokes were racists but it didn’t feel offensive. Maybe because it was SO low hanging stereotypes and how both main characters were doing it to each other so it didn’t feel like one race was being targeted.

“Rush Hour is the reason Rotten Tomato’s exist” is one of those facts I’m just gonna be slowly digesting for the rest of my life

Gentle reminder to everyone that you can love a piece of media while still criticising it.

I introduced Rush Hour to my 12 year-old nephew last year... He loved it so much that he re-watched it dozens of times. It's incredible how much Rush Hour resonates with all generations.

as a black and asian person at the intersection of both identites, who has experienced antiblackness not just in the american context but also in asia (specifically japan and korea), i have many, many thoughts. but my biggest takeaway was that i need to rewatch all the rush hour movies ahaha. i appreciate the nuanced and well-researched approach to this very difficult topic. thank you for creating a jumping-off point for convos with my friends and family :)

As an African American the line “I’ll bitch slap you back to Africa” had me and my family laughing so much lol great callback to the first movie

I had just bought my house when COVID hit. I’m a black woman. My Asian neighbor down the way was the first to visit my house, even before my family. But when the attacks started the most hurtful thing that happened was I honked as I passed her walking to say hello. Before she realized it was me, she looked so afraid. I worked that day and had my black co-workers express they didn’t care about Asian folk (not all, but quite a few) I said I would not allow anyone to hurt her. They said said we’d both get killed and my response was “Then the last thing she will see before we both die, is me protecting her”. I don’t even know her name. But when no other white neighbor has still come to say hello, she did. It meant worlds. I got her back, even if she doesn’t know it.

"I been lookin fa yo sweet and sour chicken ass!" That shit till this day has me in tears every time🤣😂