The RZA and the Manifestation of Dreams
The Wu-Tang Clan, practically a household name amongst anyone under 30 years of age (but maybe that’s how the Wu wanted it) has been a persistent force in the Hip-Hop Industry. First, let me say that each individual in the Clan had a rich amount of raw talent, but it took a practical visionary to mold the Clan together; that man was the RZA.
Since the beginning, The RZA had a dream; to bring to life his own universe made up of 70s Hong Kong Kung Fu flicks, 80s New York City street culture, and all the technological promise the 21st first century held. Come 2012, it seems the RZA has come as close as ever to showing us exactly what he sees when he closes his eyes. In full Hi-Def, Bobby Digital (another RZA moniker) has brought to the silver screen The Man With The Iron Fists, a new age take on classic kung fu movies, with the RZA playing the lead role of course.
I never had a chance to catch the film while it was in theatres, but luckily right down I-85 from Greenville, SC to Spartanburg, SC there is a little movie theatre that shows films for just $2.50 a person. The Man With The Iron Fists was playing, and I do not think I’ve ever spent a better $2.50. Now, Rotten Tomatoes gave the Quentin Tarantino produced film a 50% and I can see why; the film is definitely not for everyone. Personally though, I think most people fail to recognize true art when it smacks them in the face. I mean, just seeing all the viciously lethal weapons that were dreamed up for this film was worth the ticket price alone.
The film was most beautiful though, not because of any aesthetics, but because if you have kept up with the Wu and read some of the literature the RZA has put out; you know that this film is what the past 20 years have all been for. The RZA said in The Wu-Tang Manual that he always envisioned each album he produced as a movie without the picture. See the RZA has always been a filmmaker, yet life circumstances and finances kept him from the big screen early on, but Hip-Hop(as it always seems to do) gave him a door and a path. The Man With The Iron Fists may be the end of that path, but also the beginning of another one. I wish the RZA much luck with the rest of his career.
