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The Heroic Individual in The Karate Kid
Brian Alexander
University of North Texas
BrianAlexander@my.unt.edu
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The Karate Kid, released in 1984 was one of the most iconic movies of the 1980s. The
movie centers on the character Daniel LaRusso, played by Ralph Macchio. Daniel is a troubled
youth who has just moved to California with his mother after she accepts a job offer. Within the
first week of inhabiting the area he meets opposition from the local bullies who are all students at
the Cobra Kai Dojo. After multiple attacks from the Cobra Kais, he is finally aided by the local
handyman, Mr. Miyagi, played by Pat Morita. Mr. Miyagi agrees to teach Daniel karate so that
he can compete in the All Valley Tournament and earn the respect he has longed for. This movie
works well as a rhetorical object because it is already situated in a particular culture, that being
one of the popular 1980s coming of age story that teens grew up connecting to.
In selecting this film as my text, I hope to analyze the basic core elements of hegemony.
The conflict of the film lies in the relationship between Daniel and the Cobra Kais, and their
constant heated interactions. The Cobra Kais pick on Daniel because he attempts to stand up to
them on multiple occasions while he still remains a representation of the weaker and less
privileged group. Their status as the social authoritative group around school influences the other
students to naturally like them because they have both physical power and wealth. With these
factors of hegemony present, as well as other challenges Daniel faces throughout the movie I
hope to address my thesis. The thesis that I hope to prove in this paper states that while class and
oppressive groups are common factors in an ordinary society, I argue that the average individual,
similar to Daniel LaRusso, can overcome cultural hegemony and achieve heroic individualism
through struggles, the assistance of metaphorical figures, and a desire for equality.
In validating this thesis, I hope to show that the characters that are portrayed in movies
can indeed have relatable characteristics to average individuals in the society that we live in.
These movies can send messages to audiences that we, as an audience, can draw connections
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from and apply to our everyday lives. Now, there will be supernatural factors that may not
always apply directly to what is realistic in human abilities, but the overall goal is for the most
part there. This paper will have a focus on heroic individualism, the mythical figure, cultural
hegemony, and social class.
The first element that will be focused on is the achievement of heroic individualism in the
movie. In order for Daniel to overcome the struggles that many protagonists face in stories, he
must first be seen as a “mythical hero”. There are specific qualities that characters face in order
to be labeled as mythic heroes, such as breaking away from parental figures, experiencing low
points through suffering and captivity, accepting guidance from a high figure, and developing a
relationship with a feminine symbol that can be seen as his equal (Frentz & Rushing, 2002, p.
67). Many of these instances are seen more than once in this film and sometimes act as repetitive
conflicts throughout the film. Daniel’s constant attempts at not revealing the problems he facing
to his mother is one minor occurrence at him trying to develop into a mythical figure. What also
aids Daniel in becoming a mythical hero is the decision for Mr. Miyagi to refer to him as
“Daniel-son” throughout his training. “But a neophyte is also an initiate, one given a new name
as he sheds the old self” is relevant in helping Daniel become this new person and have a new
sense of his identity (Frentz & Rushing, 2002, p. 66).
Another main element that should be focused on is the concept of an archetype. In the
case of Daniel, he is symbolic of the traditional underdog archetype and this, in turn, may be a
critical reason behind why we support his character. Underdogs are relatable to many individuals
due to the fact that at one point or another in our lives we have all been made to feel like we are
hungering after goals which society is trying to tell us is out of our reach. Going back to Daniel
and the notion of archetypes,
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[they] may represent ourselves, perhaps most commonly as the low-born hero who must
struggle against long odds to establish his/her place in the world. In essence, film and
television narratives are metaphorical vehicles; texts which carry a legacy of archetypal
meanings with which their consumers can implicitly identify” (Hirschman, 2002, pp.
321-322)
helping to show that movie characters share cultural identities that are sometimes created to
appeal to many of us in society. Archetypes play into heroic individualism in that they are
fashioned to face the burdens and obstacles previous heroes have faced in order to succeed. This
holds true in the same sense for Daniel.
A concept that also plays into archetypes is the idea of a collective unconscious.
Introduced in Jungian psychology, it pertains to the unconscious mind that is shared by a society,
a people, or all humankind, involving morality. In relation to Jungian thinking, the collective
unconscious is made up of archetypes in that humans have at the core of them, archaic
perceptions (Hirschman, 2002). What can also be attributed to collective unconscious is this idea
of a heroic quest. Every hero experiences one and must accomplish one in order to achieve a
sense of heroic individualism. The concept centers on three circumstances that the hero must go
through: the protagonist sets out on a mission, the protagonist overcomes obstacles, and the
protagonist completes missions (Hirschman, 2002). This can be seen in the movie when Daniel
decides to compete in the karate tournament, then he faces both challenges in learning karate and
balance in his life, and then ultimately winning the karate tournament and earning his respect
from the Cobra Kais.
The final critical element in attributing Daniel to a heroic individual is his sense of not
belonging. Daniel, not long after moving to California began to feel as if he did not belong. The
little friends that he did make abandoned him to side with the Cobra Kais and he began to feel as
if he could only depend on himself. The audience can see that Daniel loved to rebel, to be
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different and challenge all that the Cobra Kai stood for, that is why there are multiple instances
in the film where Daniel stood alone in retaliation against the group. Even with this though, the
goal was always respect and acceptance. Daniel only wished to challenge the group as long as he
did until he was finally accepted. To be permanently displaced from society is far too
unappealing for us, because we know that we all belong to society. To have respect at all is better
than having none, even if we possess a respect that we particularly do not care for (Jacobson,
2006). Now, showing that we do not belong is not a bad thing, it is another proponent of a hero,
for what is the need of a hero if there exists nothing for them to challenge. This is another
requirement for them to rise up to the individual they must become to succeed. While doing this
though, there flaws will become evident and they will exemplify that they are indeed a “flawed
hero.” In the case of Daniel, he is a flawed hero, “he attains his heroic status by virtue of his
difference, his otherness, his strangeness, the disturbance he causes, if not to the laws then to the
beliefs of those around him: his being perceived to be – not least by himself – a thing apart”
(Jacobson, 2006, p. 166).
The next piece to the puzzle of The Karate Kid is the idea of a mythical figure. In our
everyday life’s, we may associate these to be mentors, leaders, those who push us along to our
goals. In Daniel’s case, his mythical figure is Mr. Miyagi, who represents this idea of a mythical
Asian. Mr. Miyagi comes to the aid of Daniel as he is being beaten up by multiple Cobra Kais
and in the process inflicts serious pain unto the group. To understand how Mr. Miyagi embodies
this role, we must first understand how one is first proclaimed a mythical Asian in the first place.
In many films that have these figures, the role of these individuals is to validate or build-up the
role of the white character that they are looking over (Tierney, 2006). In regards to Daniel, he
obligates Mr. Miyagi to accept this role since he came to Daniel’s rescue in the first place. It is
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through constant instruction and guidance that the mythic Asian proves to be very beneficial to
the protagonist, or the white character.
The mythical Asian is not just a figure that is restricted to past occurrences and seen just
as a thing of history. The role has also been present in more modern films such as in the movies
The Last Samurai, Bulletproof Monk and Kill Bill. Due to this, these figures can be seen as more
relevant and more recognizable. While we may not all have mythical Asian figures in our life’s,
this aspect of the movie can still pertain to us in that we do have motivational or inspirational
individuals who assisting us in our ever present challenges.
Another way we can relate to Daniel’s mythical Asian is through the concept of “Asians
helping whites” (Tierney, 2006). “Asians who are helpful often prove their loyalty to (or
acceptance of) the White person by providing them with valuable cultural artifacts, whether a
technique or a weapon” (Tierney, 2006, p. 617). In the film, Mr. Miyagi informs Daniel that he
has never taught karate to another person because he has never met a person who has held a
substantial enough reason for him to teach it to them. Daniel, through enough persistence and
persuasion is able to convince Mr. Miyagi and begins to learn his secret techniques. Along the
way, Daniel also obtains this quality of a salvage paradigm, which refers to Whites’ often self-
appointed role as curator and protector of vanishing or dead traditions of a culture or spirituality
(Tierney, 2006, p. 618). This is crucial in in understanding how Daniel was finally able to beat
the leader of the Cobra Kais, Johnny Larson. It was through the crane technique. Throughout the
movie, Daniel grew curious of Mr. Miyagi’s secret crane technique and wondered if it were
possible to learn. Mr. Miyagi instructed him that it was indeed possible for one to learn it, but
Daniel must “first learn stand, then learn fly” (Avildsen, 1984). It was during the final scene of
the movie where Daniel executed the secret technique in a culmination that exemplified that Mr.
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Miyagi’s status as a mythical Asian had indeed been proven, and in a broader picture, been
beneficial to Daniel’s success.
Daniels’ character is important to the issue of hegemony because his role is
representative of elements that are in contemporary society. Hirschman (2002) notes that
characters like Daniel’s are similar to common individuals in that they must struggle against
great odds in order to establish their place in the world. This is why society is so attached to
movies that have plot lines and characters similar to The Karate Kid; we cannot help but to
notice the “familiar social concern” (Wright, 2005). A major concern that is faced in this film is
the idea of cultural hegemony. To begin to understand this theory, we must try and understand
the work of the author Antonio Gramsci. The closest thing that we have to a definition by this
author would be “the spontaneous’ consent given by the great masses of the population to the
general direction imposed on social life by the dominant fundamental group” (Lears, 1985, p.
568). The dominant group in this context would be the Cobra Kais, whereas the great masses
would be associated with Daniel’s peers.
Daniel constantly tries to change the direction of normalness that is constantly present in
his day to day encounters with people, but everyone is content with the system and how things
are. It is through these tendencies of remaining stagnant and not questioning how things should
be that the Cobra Kais impose their “rules” on social life, persuading everyone to go along with
how they believe society should be ran. What presented so many challenges to hegemony in the
film, was Daniel’s struggle for acceptance, although he continued to face exile and exerted
rebellion, his end goal was always acceptance.
A minor factor that attributed to a few of the dilemmas Daniel faced in the film was his
economic status or social class. Daniel lived in Reseda, California, a neighborhood which was
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not necessarily labeled as a poor area, or the slums, but looked down upon as less than average.
Daniel’s love interest in the film, Ali Mills, lived in what was known as “The Hills,” the suburbs
or the richer area of the community. From day one, it was made known to Daniel that those who
lived in “The Hills” were off-limits to Daniel’s kind, those who did not live in the same area.
This proved to be a source conflict for the film because both Ali and Daniel initially were drawn
to one another. What added on to this issue was the fact that Ali is the ex-girlfriend of Cobra Kai
leader Johnny, another individual who comes from a wealthy family.
Problems arise in the sense of economic status as Daniel faces multiple hardships. He is
not able to deal with the Cobra Kais because his family is too poor to afford karate lessons, he is
not completely accepted by Ali’s friends because he rides a bicycle to school instead of a
motorcycle, and he feels that his life is not fully balanced because he lacks monetary-wise with
the other students at his school. In light of these reasons, he feels that everything is out of his
control and they are not easily fixable. According to Keltner, Kraus, and Piff (2009)
On the basis of this research, we contend that lower class individuals, because of their
lower rank vis-a`-vis others, are disposed to feel little personal control. As a result of this
reduced sense of personal control, lower class individuals will tend to downplay internal
or dispositional causes of social behavior that imply control and influence. Instead, we
reason that lower class individuals will prioritize those causes that are more salient to
their own life experiences. More specifically, lower class individuals will explain social
outcomes in terms of contextual factors that are, by implication, outside an individual’s
control (p. 993)
showing why Daniel believes that problems are constantly being sprung up and why they will
not change. When Daniel views others around partaking in the more enjoyable social experiences
or materials, he sees that as a sign of everything he cannot have. As he sees the snobby, rich kids
either living in the better neighborhoods, having the better cars, associating with the individuals
his girlfriend associates with, or being a member of the Cobra Kais and being respected by
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everyone else, he formulates in his mind that these must be the qualities it takes to make it and be
the cause of less stress in one’s life.
The circumstance that temporarily inhibits Daniel from ascending to the level of the kind
of person he wants to be is perception, even in regards to social status. It is the self-perceptions
on what an individual has or does not have in regards to resources as well an outlook on being
beneath people in terms of rank that diminishes how much personal control one actually may
acquire in a given society (Keltner, Kraus, & Piff, 2009, p. 993). It was with the assistance of
Mr. Miyagi that Daniel learned that balance can transcend one’s economic status so that they
may feel a sense of control in their life. Daniel never reached a level of equality in the movie to
match that of Ali or the Cobra Kais, but he did not need to in order to warrant respect from his
peers. He only needed to understand how he fitted into the picture of society and then he would
have everything he needed.
By making the decisions that Daniel did, one may ultimately be seen and looked down on
as a rebel, but they will achieve a sort of mythic individualism that will separate them and lead to
their success (Holt & Thompson, 2004). Jacobson (2002) puts it best in everyone’s seeking of
acceptance and how “it would be melodramatic to see ourselves as permanent fugitives from
settled society; the majority of us exist too comfortably to claim it” (p. 174). Bringing this all
together full circle, Daniel challenges the system although he wants acceptance and becomes
“that guy” according to Gates (2010) because no one else chooses to do so. Sometimes it is
difficult for the weaker class in society to bring about a change if there is no one willing to show
them the way or distribute any form of guidance. It is because of this that Mr. Miyagi’s role as
the mythic Asian proved to be so critical to the story and to overcoming the hegemony present in
the film. Besides in one specific instance, Mr. Miyagi never directly assisted Daniel in gaining
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his respect, he only led him along the path. Tying this back to hegemony, the Cobra Kais only
remained in power and control for so long because everyone else believed that this was the way
the system had to be, with no one questioning it or the consequences that came about. This
changed when Mr. Miyagi finally intervened and began to instruct Daniel.
Daniel greatly struggles throughout the film but never fully lets it be a crutch to him, or
keeps him from ultimately arriving at his goal. Likewise, he only temporarily falls back on using
his economic status stand in the way of causing problems. He reaches a level of equality that
ascends him beyond that of where his financial situation may displace him. He hungers after
diversity and does in the end finally reach it.
I believe that this movie, while not always reflecting the usual setbacks or struggles that
each of us may regularly face, examines the important themes that are central and important to
all coming-of-age tales. We have our average individual who faces some form obstacle that
teaches them about life lessons, while changing their life for the better. Along the way they are
guided by a mentor who is wise beyond their years and through the kindness of their heart affects
the lives of many around them.
Once again, I believe that all of these concepts and ideas are important to the everyday
person and by observing these elements it gives the common person a further and detailed look at
rhetorical ideas such as hegemony, mythical figures, and socioeconomic classifications in an
engaging, understanding, and relatable perspective. In closing, I believe that the final thing that
assisted Daniel in tying everything together was some very wise words of wisdom that helped
him see to eye-to-eye with Mr. Miyagi. Mr. Miyagi told Daniel, “remember lesson about
balance…lesson not just for karate, lesson for whole life” (Avildsen, 1984). In doing this, I think
that Daniel was able to comprehend all the problems that he had once seen as things that were
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holding him back from achieving that level of being that mythic hero that we all have grown to
love and admire.
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