Week 50: The Karate Kid

Dear Avid Reader,

The heat in Texas is ridiculous. I blame the wealth gap in this country.

And the sun of course.

Nothing Exist In Whole World, Only Tree

Here are few things I noticed on this watching of Karate Kid. First, the kid who initially kicks Daniel in the knee has a interesting name. He is referred to as Bobby in one scene and Mr. Brown at the Cobra Kai dojo. That mean his name is Bobby Brown. I guess that's his prerogative. Yes!

Here are some other name things I noticed. And Ali's name is spelled Ali. Like the boxer. Does her uptight father know about this? And why does everyone mispronounce Mr. Myagi's name. The correct pronunciation seems so obvious. I'm not sure why I noticed these things before. Perhaps my name should be MUD. Yes!

Look Eye, Always Look Eye

Another thing that hit me is how crazily the America of today would have reacted to the events of Karate Kid. Like how the Cobra Kai hooligans would have been rounded up and thrown in jail following the first incident on the beach. And why is no one wearing pads at the karate tournament? Overprotective mom would have filed a lawsuit on the organizers milliseconds after the first foot landed on her precious angel's face. Count on it.

But the most blatant example of how much our country has changed in thirty years involves Mr. Myagi. Because if it this movie happened today, there is no way he is allowed to walk the streets after punching and kicking high-schoolers. No one would have cared if he was defending Daniel. No one. The media storm alone would have at least forced him to move back to Okinawa. But most likely he's in jail and on a sex offender list. Count on that twice.

Not Everything Is As Seem

Now before moving on, we must discuss the montages. This movie has two of the greatest montages. And while the mini-golf-date montage is good, a better one is less heralded than all of the others: the Daniel training montage. When he is on the boat alone and trying to learn the crane kick. It's so quiet and small, which underscores the plucky determination of Daniel. We get to look on as he slowly overcomes his fears and begins to embrace his own existence. This montage is where Daniel finally becomes a man.

But of course the greatest montage is the one set to Joe Esposito' immortal "You're The Best". This montage has no equal. It is epic, and breathtaking. It may very well be the finest movie-making and scoring in the history of film. No, it is. Hands down. I will not argue about this.

No Such Thing Bad Student, Only Bad Teacher

These funny things aside I noticed something much more important. This movie is really more about adults than it is the kids. Or maybe it is all to do with the kids and how little the adults actually change the children in their lives. Either way it makes for a very nuanced dynamic. I'll try and explain.

Let's look at the adults first. Mrs. Larusso is well-meaning but ultimately self-centered. I mean, she puts her career over the very safety of her son. What mother lets her son continue at a high-school where he is continually bullied? And finding out that he has started lying about it (the sunglasses scene) means that the situation is really impacting this kid a very dangerous way. Moving on to Mr. Myagi, we find a very nice man, but still a man that is closed off emotionally and establishes early on that he no qualms about beating children into submission. Ali's parents are textbook examples of classist, wealthy, racist snobs. And sensei John Kreese is clearly a madman. The most egregious example is his threat of ordering his students to pummel both Daniel and Mr. Myagi. It's so menacing. It freaks me out every time. Seriously.

You Trust Quality What You Know, Not Quantity

Now on to the kids. Daniel and Ali are clearly nice kids. And Ali's friends seem like very nice and well-meaning. But look further to Lawrence and Bobby. The typical menu would feature one-dimensional, "rich kid" a-holes. Some easy villains for the audience to turn into punching bags like so much rehashed commedia dell'arte. But the character Bobby is not so easy to to set-up and knock down. He is truly appalled that he is asked to put Daniel "out-of-commission". And it's no suprise to the audience because he has been asking his fellow bullies to show mercy to their victim, especially when off the field of competition.

Now Bobby is clearly no-holds-barred when it comes to sports. He tackles Daniel on the soccer field and is a ferocious sparring partner at the dojo. You can see that he has found a way to achieve balance with his aggressive nature and can channel it into athletics. Bobby is a fully realized character. And it's why the knee-kick is so devastating on-screen. Because if Bobby is against it, the viewer knows it's bad. Bobby has too much respect for the game.

You Karate "Guess So", Squish Just Like Grape

These conflicted beliefs are not seen in a character like Dutch. He is your typical violent bully. he has no mercy. Adrenaline is constantly coursing in his body. Everyone has seen a Dutch. And I think everyone has seen a John Lawrence. An individual of great potential and ambition twisted by an awful mentor adept at exploiting a desire to please. He has become a casualty of war of wealthy conformity. He has earned well what happens to people who dabble with the lower classes. Maybe his fighting with Daniel is a form of protecting Ali using the only tools the adults have taught him: violence and disgust.

But John's gentler nature, perhaps his true nature, peeks through at the finale of the movie. The line, "You're alright Larusso. Good match," reveals that Daniel is finally accepted as an equal. Allowing Daniel to have worth destroys the world of cruelty and suppression that has been constructed for the bullies.

While John and Bobby show signs of repentance, I beleive Tommy and Dutch will never accept Daniel. Perhaps they too are from poorer families and believe ostracizing Daniel ensures that there is always a class below them. Scorn, they have observed, is a quality that all wealthy families cherish. And wealth is what they are truly after. And while they harden, it is beautiful to watch John and Bobby come out of the shadow of the classism of their elders. Because, Bobby and John are victims themselves of bullies that are much more powerful than a groups of kids that dress exactly alike on Halloween. especially since a bunch of dudes dressing the same on Halloween is totally lame.
Man Who Catch Fly With Chopstick, Can Accomplish Anything

Karate Kid is always lumped in with other coming-of-age movies from the 1980s. but I think the delicate beauty of the film. The heroes are flawed. Daniel is far to emotional, and impetuous. He picks the fight at the high-school dance, hardly a virtuous act. Mr Myagi is stubborn and deeply troubled. the emotional scars of his wife's death still haunt him. And he baits Daniel by calling his punches "girl" like. He also attempts to diminish Daniel's triumph of capturing a fly with chopsticks. Remarking that it is "beginner's luck", clearly an attempt to heal a fragile ego

And the villains, as I have already covered, are not villainous all the time. They are conflicted by the opposing forces of their own gentles natures against their families desires for success at all costs. I mean, the first group of friends that Daniel makes are far more cold and cruel than the Cobra Kai. I mean they kick the kid out for getting beat up by the worst bullies around. What a bunch of d-bags.

Don't allow the action of this movie confuse the facts. This is a fragile and delicate film about the journey from boy to man. And it should be regarded as a great film by any standard. Just because it includes some fighting and a date montage at a mini-golf park should not eradicate the importance of this film.

Until Next I Blog,

James