Web 2.0 tool for Martial Arts films

The interactive Web 2.0 movement has created room for many niche hobbies and pop culture trends to expand and reach a wider user base with relative ease. Here I present an website which may be of interest to followers of Asian Cinema. http://www.spcnet.tv/ is the website, and immediately one can tell from the pictures of prettyboy Asian pop singers with straight permed emo hair that this site is about everything Asian. spcnet.tv is a website about Asian movies, tv shows, anime and music which is fairly comprehensive and has frequent user contributions.

Obviously the site covers many aspects of popular culture, but movie news and reviews looks to be one of the largest sections. There is Asian Entertainment news, as well as user contributed movie reviews, many of films not released in the US yet or not widely known. There is also a large forum with many posts running the gamut from Donnie Yen’s Ip Man to the titles of obscure Korean Dramas. The website appears to be run out of Asia (as opposed to ones such as kungfucinema) and therefore likely has a slightly different audience as well as a different take on information and events. This results in content which may not be found elsewhere on more mainstream sites, and provides a greater understanding of the trend and culture of Asian popular media.

A unique section of the website which I have not seen many other places is the literature portion of the site. Much of it is fan fiction, inspired by the stories in books, movies and TV which contributors of the site are followers of. However there are also links and good information regarding famous wuxia novels (Chinese sword fighting adventures, a modern example being Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). Stories such as these existed long before motion picture cameras did, and in them the inspiration for countless kung fu films can be found. It is important history that I admittedly am not too well versed on, but spcnet.tv is a good resource for one to begin to delve into such literature.

The website features a lot of user added content including not only fan fiction stories but also numerous movie and TV reviews. In order to add content, as well as view some content, you must be a registered user with spcnet and log in. Registration is free and provides access to much exclusive content. Overall this website seems to be a valuable resource with lots of information on Asian cinema, including martial arts films.