When I first started researching Brandon Lee’s life and career I never dreamt it would take me where it has. A small fascination into the character of someone I was very impressed by, turned into a more focused goal after his untimely death in 1993. When Brandon Lee died on March 31st, 1993 there was worldwide attention, namely due to the manner in which he died, as well as the fact that Brandon was Bruce Lee’s son (who died in unusual circumstances in 1973). As I read article after article from the various media sources, I became first fascinated, then annoyed at the lack of facts in the majority of the news information regarding his death. My annoyance soon turned into a profound need to find the accurate information – which increasingly became more difficult as the years went on and when attention from the media dissipated. The endless searching for the most accurate information available, from the best sources about Brandon and his legacy, was often tedious. Slowly over the years, the relentless research bloomed into a body of work that I am very proud of. It is honest, accurate (as much as I have been able to get my hands on), and has been done with integrity and ethics. Brandon’s life has fascinated me because his life is the kind of story that can inspire humanity, without being superficial or patronizing.
I begun writing about Brandon’s own “legacy” in the late 90′s, to small readerships, which eventually grew. The Brandon Lee Movement was not created to communicate with fans as much as it was to educate them, and provide them with the factual details about his life. As the years have progressed our objectives have changed slightly, and there is huge responsibility not to fans, but to Brandon’s own memory, as well as those in his life, to get the facts right for history too. To think objectivity and to observe that information through “real world” eyes has become paramount. The BLM of course have our critics (the same people who consistently use our original research information and material for their own purposes – not always honorable I might add), and you are always bound to ruffle a few feathers (and egos) when you are doing your own thing. People get mad, threatened, jealous, vindictive, envious – you name it. I have had some amazing experiences whilst in the default position of Brandon Lee historian, but also some that could only be described as character building. The internet has become a scary place in many cases – a vicious and often apathetic environment where you have to learn where you step, because many times words are used to harm and contextual interpretations can quickly elevate into negative backlash. I still find Brandon’s life and legacy fascinating all these years later – that is in part why I continue. Brandon’s life is worth a whole lot more than the majority of coverage has provided his legacy with.
Brandon Lee was not just a pretty face, someone who could do a few moves here or there, or just Bruce Lee’s son – and these are the least interesting ideas about him. There was so much more going on underneath the facet of the Hollywood machine, there was someone we all could and DID relate to. A life is not lived through or for someone else – or despite of it. Brandon was not an actor simply because his father had been, it was a deeply ingrained dream and a need that as a individual he needed to accomplish. Acting was so much apart of how Brandon chose to express himself – he was an artist of life and a lover of living.
Some critics may say that when someone dies, their legacy and people’s memories of them can become almost mythic. People wish to portray the deceased person in some kind of perfected light, whereby objectivity dare not reveal itself. However, I have found that the fact that as individuals we are fallible, makes the quest for an authentic life so much more endearing to humanity. Life is not perfect, there are changes at every turn, and as humans with very fragile souls, we all are transformed by the complexity of everyday living – much like a symbolic butterfly.
Brandon was a person who not only loved life but had an affinity for the human experience. He rode motorcycles, might of drove a little too fast in his ACURA NSX, he had an ego, at times he may have been even arrogant (like we all are from time-to-time), had arguments and struggled with who he was – but also at the end of his life he did exactly what he wanted. He laughed, he cried, he hurt and he loved.
Recently, I saw a program that examined the new concept in gaming called Permadeath. In Permadeath the gamer instead of having multiple lives in the virtual world, the person is given just ONE life – just like in “real life”. I found this new concept interesting because at last some kind of virtual reality is starting to mirror the real world where you don’t have a second chance sometimes to get something right. Life is not on pause, and it certainly is no fantasy. When you are shot in this world, you don’t get to have that opportunity to always live to see another day. As human beings, we do not know when we die and therefore everything is illuminated.
Prior to Brandon Lee’s death in preparation for his marriage to his long-time partner Eliza Hutton, he reflected on the fragility of life from Paul Bowles novel, ‘The Skeltering Sky’. The quote (originally printed on his wedding invitations) became his epitaph. It has symbolized to many fans and admirers how mundane events can hold real significance, when you take into account just how unexpected life can change. Tragedy he said in an interview in 1993, often provides humans with the opportunity for growth, or it can ruin our whole view about ourselves. Humans are lazy, we don’t like to change BUT when life forces us to re-think, to move in the opposite direction, we can sometimes find out that there is whole new world that can open up – if we allow ourselves to adapt to life. The trap of conformity and fear can lead to our downfall – but the possibilities are endless if we only look at life as a gift.
The pain of Brandon’s passing for his family and friends can never be dissolved, for people live on through memories and for what those experiences with what people have given them. There will be more than a few fans making reference to personalizing the idea when it comes to Brandon Lee’s passing, but that is also part of someone’s legacy. The fact that his life is remembered and it is cherished fondly – is more important in retrospect than any superficiality people can get carried away with. To be loved and to be missed – in the end don’t we all crave that kind of immortal acceptance? My late mother once said to me as a teenager, “you’ll miss me when I’m gone”, and a short-time later I had to bury her and guess what?… I do. Humans can never truly appreciate what we have when we have it, it’s all part of that ignorance is bliss idea we all are born with. However, on a personal level if someone touches your life, they will touch it forever. Strangers or loved ones – today Brandon Lee, you are missed and we all are sure glad that you were born.
Brandon’s positive energy in life lives on through the legacy he left behind. It is our hope that more people will realize the extent of his contribution. Brandon deserves a lasting and true tribute to his own legacy.
Brandon Lee, 1965 – 1993 “A life worth Remembering”.
