GTGC #216 The Karate Kid (1984)

Dalton and Dustin are back at it again this time we take on The Karate Kid. That's right it's two weeks in a row that we get to talk about martial arts and a whole lot more.

Dustin likes this movie (mostly due to nostalgia) a whole lot more than Dalton but that's not enough for both of us to give a generally positive reaction to this film. So it doesn't look like we will put the movie in a body bag, but will we? From there we get on to our favorite movie mentors in which there are few surprises to long time listeners to the show. The Karate Kid inspires us in ways very similar to what Hollywood film does a lot of and we have lots of game picks.

Once we get down to analysis, we talk about racism at first. We then move to the gender dynamics of the film, and even get to talk a bit about class issues surrounding the film. We engage the question of who is the real protagonist of the film and come to the conclusion that Mr. Miyagi is far more interesting than Daniel. However, that is just a warm up to get us to a favorite topic at GoodTrash where we get to talk about violence. There are some interesting tropes we identify and we even get to talk about the theological pacifist traditions of both the East and West. It is as always a rip-roaring good time!

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