Intro to Black Society

In Cantonese "Hark se Wui" also "Hei she Hui" in Mandarin means Black Society. The etymology of this term is more indicative of secret, and corrupt. In Western terms we recognize this as the Chinese mafia or Triads. Triad is historically derived from the prevalence of one symbol used in Fujian province in the 18th Century by a secret society. Their triangle symbol stood for mankind, earth, and heaven. Poor dropout gang members, or "rats" as they are literally known in Chinese, and rascals as our great British translators have made them known, enter into the society following a folklore history by worshipping the Chinese God of War & Martial Arts Guan Yu. Their legacy stems from the overthrow of the Shaolin Temple at the Manchu takeover of China. Eight brothers escaped and in loyalty to the Qing empire sought to defeat them and forever be a thorn to authority. (really, not making this up) This history has become perverted and has led to the current centuries old corruption that plagues China and most prominently the south of Hong Kong and Macau. It is estimated that on both of these islands Triad membership ranges from 200,000 to 450,000 members. (Tongs do not have the historical base that Triads do, they exist as an informal means to a group direction; legal and otherwise)

Now besides the history lesson, Triad movies have been crap for years. John Woo and Chow Yun Fat raised the bar years ago but have since sold out again. So if you're looking for serious film with developed plotlines the bulk of Triad movies will not satisfy you. Some new ones are good. Triad movies offer gratuitous violence, absurd greed, and contrived plots. Some films like Infernal Affairs include Cop stories, yet hardline Triad films depict themselves as autonomous with police being more of a nuisance. Anyways, here are my favorite things I like seeing in Chinese gang movies:

1. A boss is able to call up 500 guys at any moment.
2. There's always a scene where someone gets a machete stuck in their shoulder.
3. Somebody gets tortured in a really f'ed up way. (cutting off an arm, mincing it up, and then locking you up in a dog kennel next to the dogs who are eating your arm- Election 2)
4. 1 guy gets chased by 500 guys with machetes.
5. The same 12 actors are always cast as gang bosses.
6. If you're dying or in the hospital, you beg your bro for a smoke just to show how tough you still are.
7. Desperate underlings who grovel while in jail or take any dare the boss gives you.
8. Beat downs.

A great film that combines the good and the bad comes from Director Johnny To in Election. Bosses Big D and Lok face off from within the same society as a bid to become the next Chairman. Big D goes to any means by bribing the voting elders and killing off rivals. Lok seeks stability and profit while maintaining his integrity and using his loyalty to win over the elders. What ensues is a wild free-for-all as both rivals fight for the ancient Dragon Baton which has symbolized Chairman leadership for nearly 100 years. Machetes, gang fights, and tough drama ensue. What I really like about this film is that it combines the serious mask behind the gangs with their ritual and brutality. Also, lead actor Simon Yam is a great protagonist and is comparable in many respects to Robert De Niro in Hong Kong. Besides many HK actors Yam truly controls a full arsenal of artistic emotional devices, which is rare. He's calm, cool, projecting and secretly vicious in contrast to Big D's overexaggerated greed and anger. I believe that Johnny To was attempting to reteach Hong Kong audiences about quality film versus the fodder that they'd been getting fed for years. With the sequel Election 2 he leaves all the kitsch behind and goes for dark noir as well as political commentary to Communist China.

This is one of my favorite genres and this post is getting really long for me. In sum, its a definite cultural experience delving into Triad film. I'll make this Part 1... the intro to the Black Society.