Jackie Chan

 "Journalists who profile Jackie Chan invariably mention the hole in his skull. It's about the size of a dime in the right side of his head. 'If you ask nicely,' Richard Corliss of Time wryly observed, 'he'll let you put your finger in it.'" (Jackie Chan). Jackie Chan is now an international superstar not only in the film world, but the philanthropist world as well. Reporters say that Chan is humble and therefore often let them see the hole in his skull. This down to Earth feeling and attitude is what developed from Chan's many trials and errors throughout his early life and acting career. Jackie Chan was born on April 7th, 1954 in Hong Kong, China. His parents served as servant figures for a rich household, his dad a cook and his mother a maid. But after receiving a job offer in Australia, his father and mother had to go and left Chan in the care of the rigorous master at the China Drama Academy. Chan spent ten years there, studying martial arts, singing, acrobats and other performing skills under a ruthless teacher, who started the kids up at 5 am everyday till midnight and threatened beatings to those who didn't follow directions. After several tries Chan crawled his way back into Hong Kong film by being a stuntman and many hoped he would become the next Bruce Lee. But he would not and could not become the next Bruce Lee. He was the only Jackie Chan. After several tries in the American film industry he quickly became wealthy and famous due to his movies. A hero must possess good morals, the ability to impact the world positively, and dedication themselves whatever he or she does. Good morals mean that his or her foundations for right and wrong and personal values are set. A good hero must have made some impact in the world no matter how large or miniscule. Dedication is what will motivate the hero and ensure that he or she will never give up on their morals. Jackie Chan possesses all of these traits and that is what qualifies him as a hero.

In today's society, Chan holds to his morals in a career that seems to reward poor behavior. Jackie Chan has his strong morals as his foundation from living a harsh life; Chan loves to help other people, even if it doesn't give him fame. But for the people that are in need. In his earlier years, Jackie Chan lived a life of poverty, going to an academy that didn't focus on schoolwork, but instead on performing. He did not receive a very good education and desired more when he got to his later years in life:  "Chan has always regretted his lack of a formal education. So when he launched the Jackie Chan Charitable Foundation in 1988, it offered scholarships and other help to young people." (Forbes) Jackie Chan demonstrates his good values and strong morals through what he does for charity. He notices the need for education in remote areas and wants to put a stop to it. He realizes this so he puts that idea of the need for education and implements it into the Jackie Chan foundation. Since Jackie Chan also lived in poverty, he was well acquainted of how it affected people and sought to change it.  "Living in poverty when he was a child, Chan deeply understands the significance of giving away. He insists that the wealthy have an obligation to help out the poor who have no way of helping themselves." (The Borgen Project). Chan's good morals are shown as he worked his way out of poverty and into a wealthy lifestyle. He has not forgotten the trials he has endured through. Chan desires to help people trapped in poverty so that they do not have to experience the same pain. Jackie Chan allows his feelings and memories combined with his strong values, to fuel his foundations and charities.

Jackie uses his wealth and fame to make and change the world such as providing natural disaster relief, raising awareness for endangered animals, and providing funding to help the less fortunate which make him a hero.  "Chan founded the Dragon's Heart Foundation in 2004 with the purpose of fulfilling the desperate needs of children and the elderly in remote areas of China. This foundation has built over 20 schools, provided books, fees and uniforms for students and raised millions of dollars to give poor children educational opportunities. In 2011, Chan created a European branch for the foundation and spread its charitable work." (The Borgen Project) Chan demonstrates his heroism by utilizing his influence and creating foundations, like those mentioned, to help out with the desolate areas of the world. This quote also shows his heroism by giving us details of how he impacted the world, and not only stopping in his homeland of China but also expanding in places like England and other parts of the world. Another thing that Chan does to make an impact in society today is helping with the cause of natural disaster reliefs in several areas. Jackie Chan has done a lot for the world, among other campaigns; he has promoted disaster relief efforts for the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. (Chan) Chan aids people throughout the world, and wants others to help out with disasters. Through his influence, Chan helps internationally and uses his wealth to better the world.  Jackie demonstrates his heroic side through all of this because of the way he presents himself as a philanthropist. He does not help for fame; he helps because he wants to make an impact in the world. Jackie Chan's impact towards the world is what makes him a hero as well as his other attributes.

His dedication towards balancing his family life, career, and charity is what makes him a hero.  The main way Chan shows his dedication is through his charity work. He is never afraid to do something for someone if it means helping a cause: "Others may give more or get more attention, but probably nobody works harder for more causes than Chan. 'Every time we ask him to do an event, he agrees without any question,' says Anthony Lau, director of the Hong Kong Tourism Board. Chan has been the face of everything from no-smoking campaigns to cleanup efforts. Lau recalls requesting the star's appearance in Japan two years ago. Chan was working in remote China but flew 30 hours straight to the event. 'The next day, he made the journey back-another 30 hours.'" (Forbes). Chan's dedication is demonstrated since he might not get as much fame or recognition for his charitable works, but he does it anyways out of the goodness of his heart. This shows that wherever it is, Chan is willing to help out before leaving although it may mean that he loses rest. Chan also has to balance time between his passion of filmmaking, and charity work.  "For many years I have had to balance the amount of time I spend on charity work with my film commitments. I think it has worked well, although I always wish that I had more time to do charity.. I think it's a good balance and I have never minded using my personal time (when I'm not making films) to do charity work." (Chan). The fact that Jackie Chan tries to balance his profession with charity, something he is passionate about, he has to put in so much dedication into finding the right balance. Jackie Chan often juggles many duties. Whether it is film related or charity related. But he somehow finds time for both, and is still able to make a difference. Jackie's dedication is obvious as he does what he loves. He loves film but also is dedicated to carving out time for charity, and raising money and awareness for good causes. The dedication that he shows balancing everything in his life and still has the heart and energy to do charity is an inspiration.

Jackie Chan is called a hero for many reasons, but the biggest ones are prominent in his life: how his good values and strong morals have led him to charity, how he has used his wealth and influence to impact the world, and his dedication to whatever he puts his mind to. Chan's good morals and strong values in his life fueled him to be the person he is now. His influence and wealth by being an international star has served him well for philanthropic work. Chan's dedication to what he does is another reason why he is so heroic. Having to balance his professional career with things he is also passionate about like giving back is hard with a man with his schedule, but he does it anyways. I have learned how I have to hold to my values and not let society change what I know what is right. I have also learned how any little thing I do can make a positive impact on the world. Jackie Chan inspires me not only in what he does for the world with his charitable donations and campaigns, but it's the way he does it. Jackie has helped me directly through this essay, because I have learned about possessing traits like dedication. In my life I have a lot of things going on including athletics, friends schoolwork, and volunteering. I used to have a hard time balancing, and I would give and take a lot of things. But through this I've learned how I can balance these things through Jackie. Through everything Jackie Chan has been through, crawling through the ranks of society and the film world, Chan understands what it means to struggle. But he takes those feelings, those feelings of desperation and heartache and channels them through his films and his charity. Chan knows what its like to live through poverty, so he inspires others to help him end it. He inspires others to donate to earthquakes. He inspires others to make a difference in the world. He inspires me to be a hero.

Works Cited

Chan, Jackie. "Interview Jackie Chan." Interview.

Southeast Asia Globe. Sea-Globe, n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2014.

.

Forbes. Forbes.com, n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2014.

 .

"Jackie Chan." Newsmakers. Detroit: Gale, 1996. Biography in Context. Web. 2 Apr. 2014.

The Borgen Project. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.