The ‘Karate Kid’ theory that’s blowing our minds
One little idea can make you see something from a whole different perspective. That’s what happened to YouTube user J. Matthew Turner when he thought, “Hey, what if Daniel from The Karate Kid was actually the bad guy?”
For those familiar with the classic movie, this sounds crazy. Daniel, the new kid in a new school, takes up karate in order to defend himself from school bully, Johnny Lawrence, who is overly possessive of his ex-girlfriend Ali, and is generally known as a degenerate by all who grew up with him. Right? Not so fast, says Turner.
Turner sees Johnny as more of a “flawed hero,” but someone who, after years of straying, wants to get himself back on the right track. Then, Daniel comes along, and for seemingly no reason, targets Johnny and his peers, starting all the fights, and flaunting his relationship with Ali.
In the midst of all this, Mr. Miyagi shows up. Originally presented as a wise teacher, Turner sees him more as a “local busybody, karate master, and child batterer.”
Together, Miyagi and Daniel team up for the sole purpose of taking down Johnny who, at the beginning of the film, expressly said he wanted to be a good person:
Are you starting to see where Turner is coming from here? If not, take a look at the video he made below, summarizing the whole story from this new perspective.
So, what do you think? Is Johnny a misunderstood antihero just trying to graduate, or are you still #TeamDaniel? Wherever you land on this issue, I’m definitely sensing a movie night later.
(Image via Columbia Pictures)
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