In Contemporary Western Pop Culture
"Dim mak" has become a kind of "camp" pop culture item which is recognized also outside of the genre of Wuxia or kung fu films. For example, in Thomas Pynchon's Novel Vineland, one of the protagonists uses the "Quivering Palm Death Touch", which kills the opponent one year after it is used. In the 1977 series Quincy, M.E., an episode entitled Touch of Death features a martial arts movie star whose mysterious death is found to be a result of a dim mak attack against him, ten days earlier. Dan Brown's novel Inferno sees a character incapacitating a guard by putting pressure on his wrist, explaining the technique as "Dim Mak".
Quentin Tarantino referenced the "Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique" in his movie Kill Bill Vol. 2 (2004). The 2008 animated Wuxia parody Kung Fu Panda depicts a "Wuxi Finger Hold", in which holding an opponent by one finger produces an enormous shockwave of energy. In The Simpsons episode "When Flanders Failed", Bart repeatedly threatens Lisa with the 'touch of death' to get her to do things for him, after playing an arcade game of the same name and joining a Karate school.
Californian metal band Five Finger Death Punch is supposedly named after this technique.
Read more about this topic: Touch Of Death
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