MovieChat Forums > The Karate Kid (1984) Discussion > Film perpetuated false stereotype of "wh...

Film perpetuated false stereotype of "white & blonde" California

posted 3 years ago by [deleted]
33 replies | jump to latest

The mother even says "to me it looks like the whole world turned blonde."

That's quite an extreme comment.

They're in Los Angeles, which in 1984 was very racially diverse with a large black and Latino population.

Not many black or Latinos to be seen in this movie. They're sprinkled quite lightly.

The high school was basically 98% white, with coloured people having no speaking parts.

I know the movie is trying to make Italian looking Daniel and the Japanese maintenance man look like "outsiders" but they certainly wouldn't be in LA.

[–] PaladinNJ (20666) 3 years ago

It was a core of five or six main characters. Pretty much everyone else was an extra.

[–] sokar (2098) 3 years ago

Not many black or Latinos to be seen in this movie.

Why is that a problem. Maybe the producer and director didn't think they needed any to tell their story, why shouold they be forced to put them in if they don't want to. I would say the same thing about a Spike Lee movie if he was being forced to put in white people. It shouldn't matter.

Here is a revelation that not many people who complain about this stuff never seem to get.

Not every movie has to be racially diverse. Movies can be all white or all black or all asian. It shouldn't matter.

No one should be forced to hire anyone they don't want for their art based solely on skin colour, its ridiculous.

[–] [deleted] 3 years ago

He’s but most people who arrive in California for the first time quickly realise that Hollywood sells a false image of California.

[–] VanHellion (624) 3 years ago

Didn't this take place rather deeply into the suburbs?

[–] Rolltide (964) 3 years ago

Which brings up another problem. Daniel's family was working class so why are they living in a rich suburb?

[–] BensGirl (590) 3 years ago

When did Daniel live in a rich suburb??
He lived in a crummy apartment.

[–] Rolltide (964) 3 years ago

The almost all white school he attends duh. The Cobra Kai kids are rich.

[–] BensGirl (590) 3 years ago

You said Daniel’s family live in a “rich suburb” which they didn’t.. you didn’t say the Cobra Kai kids.

[–] Rolltide (964) 3 years ago

They all went to the same school!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They have been making these lame bad rich kids vs heroic poor kid movies forever since the 1930s.

[–] BensGirl (590) 3 years ago

Again, you said Daniel lived in a rich suburb. He didn’t. I pointed out he didn’t. Now every response it’s something different. Because they went to the same high school means absolutely nothing. Now saying that, I’m done engaging with you. You made a statement, it was wrong and I pointed it out. You can’t handle that, so you continue to change your statement. That’s speaks volumes about you. Bye.

[–] Rolltide (964) 3 years ago

So kids from Malibu attend the same high schools as kids from South Central?

[–] CrabgrassWilly (1616) 2 years ago

Good analogy! And by that I mean the opposite.

[–] BensGirl (590) 2 years ago

They didn’t live in Malibu. Ali and her group lived in Encino, and Daniel lived in Reseda. They are less than 4 miles apart.. very diverse areas. Clearly you have never been to Cali, because you have no idea what you are talking about. You spout off random crap, and when someone points out how wrong you are.

[–] BeaSouth (2946) 2 years ago

Good post. Your exasperation with Rolltide was well justified. And, the very premise of the OP is ridiculous considering the co-star of the movie was a Japanese guy

[–] BensGirl (590) 2 years ago

Exactly! And thank you for that xo

[–] Rolltide (964) 2 years ago

I did not say they lived in Malibu. I'm saying they are rich kids attending a mostly white school. That is in the film!

Never been to Cali? WTF? I could have grown up in some other area of the state. It's LA.

How many high schools in that 4 mile stretch from Encino to Reseda? Reseda has several and Encino has several.

[–] [deleted] 3 years ago

Watch Breaking and Breaking 2: Electric Boogaloo

Plenty of blacks and latinos in it.

[–] Jsully9 (377) 2 years ago

I grew up in SoCal and went to high school in the 80s. My HS was overwhelmingly white, it had nothing to do w racism, hating minorities. It was simply we did not have minorities at many suburban communities.

[–] kenburke (2309) 3 years ago

What you speak of is the way LA is, not the way Hollywood presents it to be.

[–] NitroHangover (1128) 3 years ago

Pfffffff, really? You think that the city of Los Angeles is overwhelmingly made up of blond-haired people? Have you ever even BEEN there? Even in 1984, it was one of the most diverse cities on Earth. In the 60's and 70's, when California had no real cultural identity in pop-culture, one of the first stereotypes that developed was the "blond surfer-dude" culture, and the "blonde valley-girl" culture. That stereotype completely ignored 90% of the actual reality of Los Angeles, and of California in general, yet it still persists today. You are proof of that.

The director of the film said in the DVD commentary that he decided to make Daniel olive-skinned, darked-haired and brown-eyed, and all of the Cobra Kai bullies blond-haired on purpose, in order to invoke Nazi imagery. Most of the Cobra Kai actors didn't even have blond hair in real life, but they had it bleached for the role.

[–] BourbonKing (5700) 3 years ago

I think I'm the only Gen Xer who hated this movie and Ralph Macchiato's stupid fish-out-water-awe-shucks-underdog character. Even his character in The Outsiders was more endearing to me, but this whole movie and its premise didn't interest me at all.

You're right about the false image of California but that's par for the course on 99% of movies portraying L.A. culture. Even Steve Martin's very funny and trite "L.A. Story" was filled with stereotypes but it was done on purpose. NO harm done either way, but I just didn't care for this movie at all, even though it has generated enough nostalgia to reincarnate as "Cobra Kai"

[–] kenburke (2309) 3 years ago

I like Cobra Kai but I was not that crazy about the Karate Kid. It seemed to borrow from overused plots and stereotypes. I DID like the Karate Kid 2, though.

[–] [deleted] 3 years ago

LA Story was a movie I didn't like as a child, I wonder if it's worth a rewatch? Since I've lived in LA now.

[–] BourbonKing (5700) 3 years ago

It aged badly because most of the spoofing was from that Era, even though there are still some stereotypes that live on to this day.

[–] TandyMan (10661) 3 years ago

maybe true for LA, but spot on for the most of America. We had a single black kid in school and that was it.

[–] trevorh321 (5495) 3 years ago

You mean a white person can't be an outsider in a predominantly white school?

[–] Rolltide (964) 3 years ago

At the time the film was made ethnic whites like Italians and Jews were viewed similarly to Hispanics. They were not considered just white.

[–] Oblivioid (1285) 3 years ago

The film makes it clear that Daniel is an outsider based on social class.

[–] JohnnyCastle (393) 3 years ago

They were obviously going for the SoCal surfer vibes but for whatever reason it was LA. I never realized that they were supposed to be in LA or I just forgot but its just a movie its not like its supposed to be a documentary or something.