When I first saw the movie trailer for Cobra Kai last year I was very excited. I grew up in the 80’s so The Karate Kid was more than just a film, it was an ideology. I even remember trying the ‘Dannyboy’s crane shit’ in a schoolyard fight. Of course, it didn’t work . . everyone had seen the film by then.
I did think Cobra Kai might arrive as a film coming to cinemas. The failures of previous films since made me thing they had finally realised a return to the original formula would bring back the loyal fanbase.
I was not expecting multiple TV episodes . . I was expecting it on Netflix, or YouTube .
. . .I was certainly NOT expecting to pay for it on YouTube.
The first two episodes are free and as wicked as you could hope, offering refreshingly alternative views on what has always been an old-fashioned Us.vs.Them saga. For me, the original film was a metaphor of the toxicity of American foreign military campaigns and wars. It was about the ongoing systematic oppressive violence and bullying in western society that contradicted the true meaning of marital arts. That meaning is a pacifist ideology that instils self discipline, self-confidence and this always seemed obvious to me. The film wasn’t just about the nerd getting the hot girl and kicking the school bully’s ass. It was about accomplishment and balancing yourself within nature.
It was about the look on Miyagi’s face in the closing freeze frame.
Cobra Kai adapts to the new globalised world order well though, incorporating some Nietzschean style perspectivism, pitting both sides of the story together and really questioning the open ended balance of humanity. There are even some subtle Trump supporter nuances, which we can all appreciate.
The price isn’t extortionate, especially in this day and age compared to the cinema or online film rental prices. But it does make me wonder if YouTube are heading down the same road as Netflix, trying to take on Hollywood.
Rant &Rave 