4.7 - THE KARATE KID (1984) and Belonging

We continue our move into the ‘Western’ arena with another modern (ish!) classic of the Martial Arts genre: THE KARATE KID. After contrasting reviews (and a confession from Sam…) we look at the film in terms of its surprising comment on class tensions in the US, the ‘finding a family’ narrative of the film, and the way in which this episode of the podcast is actually about two entirely different movies.

Next Time
(yes, it has taken me 7 episodes to work out that this title needed changing…)
Our Martial Arts odyssey continues with a film that goes by two names: DRUNKEN MASTER II, or LEGEND OF THE DRUNKEN MASTER.

Recent Media (see above comment…)
BIRD BOX (2018): Susanne Bier, Josh Malerman, Sandra Bullock
CHEF’S TABLE (2015—): David Gelb, Brian McGinn, Clay Jeter

Recommendations OCEAN’S 11 (2001): Steven Soderbergh, George Clooney, Brad Pitt
THE WAY, WAY BACK (2013): Nat Faxon, Jim Rash, Toni Collette
THE MIGHTY DUCKS (1992): Steven Herek, Emilio Estevez, Joss Ackland
MYSTERIOUS SKIN (2004): Gregg Araki, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Brady Corbet

Footnotes
We start by talking about the existence of this film as something of a pop culture artefact, rather than a conventional film; this article provides an interesting take on the place of film in US pop culture. An unfair comparison, maybe, but Sam would like to make sure everyone’s seen this. Should you too want to spend two and a half minutes finding out about this film (and then hating yourself for doing so), go ahead. Here’s the obligatory link to more on Rob’s favourite dramatist, and his influence in cinema. Finally, here’s a useful video on an idea Rob mentions at the very end of the episode.