ESPN airs 'Be Water' documentary about Bruce Lee

A documentary about actor and martial artist Bruce Lee will air on ESPN on Sunday.

The day after every episode of Green Hornet, my friends would gather in our place on campus designated for "outsiders" (a step just above "nerds") and discuss the intricacies of Kato's fights in the TV series.

Kato was played by martial arts legend Bruce Lee and the sight of an Asian man beating up on white dudes was cathartic for us who grew up with the yoke of the emasculated Asian male weighing us down.

Kato was the Green Hornet's sidekick, but to a generation of Asian American kids, he was the real hero, a kick-ass martial artist who got the clumsier Green Hornet out of many a jam.

I also have to admit that I kind of enjoyed walking around campus and not being picked on because everyone thought that all Asian boys knew martial arts and the myth Lee created gave the would-be bullies just enough pause to make school bearable.

Finally, someone was a heroic figure who looked like us. Lee was more than an actor and more than an action hero. The image he portrayed made him something of an idol, someone to be worshipped with almost religious fervor.

Of course, as I grew older, I would discover that Lee was just a man; a human being with flaws. The manner of his still-debated death at the age of 32 knocked him off the pedestal we put him on.

But you cannot argue the impact he had and what he represented to Asian American boys. He allowed us to dream bigger dreams, set higher goals and the wherewithal to fight those fights on campus and in the workplace that would otherwise hammer us down.

In other words, be like water, as Lee advised. "Empty your mind. Be formless, shapeless -- like water. You put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend."

'Be Water' director Bao Nguyen

Be Water is a documentary that ESPN will air this Sunday (June 7) as part of the sports network's 30 on 30 series, which just finished the The Last Dance about Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls.

“Obviously, Bruce Lee is this global icon, but for me, he was this myth. Who was he as a person, his struggles as an Asian American male in 1960s Hollywood? I wanted to explore that,” says director Bao Nguyen.

Nguyen is a lauded filmmaker, with projects at PBS, HBO, and films premiering at the top film festivals. His latest project, Be Water, is about the legacy of Bruce Lee, which premiered at Sundance earlier this year.

In addition to being a documentary and narrative filmmaker, he also launched a new venture, East Films, which is a film company with offices in Vietnam and Los Angeles, the two places he currently calls home. The goal of the new film company is to create high quality content in Asia and bring more Vietnamese cinema across the globe.

"He's become more than just a man. He's become an icon that anyone can project their story on," Nguyen said. "But in order for heroes to become relatable, for people to really want to be like them, you have to know their human side. Their struggles. Their fears. You need to be able to say, 'He had the same insecurities that I have, but he believed in himself and fought his way through it.' I find that to be the most aspirational part of Bruce Lee."

How to watch Be Water:

Be Water, airs tomorrow on June 7 at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT on ESPN. The documentary will be available to stream on ESPN+ immediately after the broadcast. 

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