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What Cobra Kai Says About Men
This show makes me incredibly frustrated, and I can’t stop watching.
I was born in 1985, right around the time the first Karate Kid came out. I never watched it, and I have absolutely no nostalgia for it. I don’t really remember the ’80s, considering my adolescent years were more in the ’90s and early oughts.
But I can’t stop watching Cobra Kai, and I think it has a lot to do with my frustration with the men in the show, and wanting to see them do better.
Cobra Kai is a well-made comedy about the original characters of the Karate Kid movies, 30 years later, having to come to terms with their life choices.
There are just enough clips from the old franchise so even a newbie understands who the protagonists were. And in ’80s teen movie style, the original characters don’t really seem too complex.
Cobra Kai is a comedy, but it gives these characters more back story and dimension. It’s now not just absolute good versus absolute bad. Johnny Lawrence, the bully of the originals, is a troubled alcoholic who doesn’t deal with emotions or technology, but has a soft spot for his neighbor’s kid, Miguel, who he begins coaching in karate.
And Daniel LaRusso, the Karate Kid, wants to do good, but is also stubborn and self-righteous…
