3.07.2009

Sweep the leg, Johnny!

We watched Karate Kid last night as a family. Aside from the ~10 swears (unnecessary!), it is a good movie to watch together. The 80's slower pacing made it nice for my kids, who were able to mostly follow the plot without help.

We were able to talk about the following:

Good choices vs. bad choices. (Did that boy do a mean thing? Why do you think he did that? Why would those boys want to hurt Daniel?)
Rich vs. Poor (Why do you think Ali's family doesn't like Daniel? Is that right?)
Mr. Miagi's training. (Is Mr. Miagi teaching Daniel karate? What is he teaching him? Does Daniel understand what Mr. Miagi is doing?)
Good teaching vs. Bad teaching. (Is the Cobra Kai teacher a good teacher? Why or why not? Why are his students upset about what he asked them to do?)
Fair play vs. Poor sportsmanship. (Why are the people booing Johnny and cheering for Daniel?)
Mr. Miagi being a father figure for Daniel. (What did Mr. Miagi teach Daniel? How is he like a father to Daniel? How is Daniel like a son to Mr. M?)

You may want to check it out. Lee and I give it 2 thumbs up for older kids.

4 comments:

Susan said...

A band called "No More Kings" has a song and video called "Sweep the Leg." It is a hoot! (Maybe not for your children -some hoochie-coochie dancers.

Back in '85 or so, we *rented* a VCR and the movie and watched it 6 times at a slumber party! LOL!

Take care! Susan

Nitro Krycerin said...

The only thing that bothered me more than the swearing was that Ralph Macchio is SO SKINNY. That bothered me then, too. :)

Anonymous said...

Let's just hope they never ask what Manzanar was...

Nitro Krycerin said...

Um, thanks, Sean... I had to look that one up. You've just added layers of complexity to Karate Kid that I never knew were there. I'll have to think of more study questions for when they are a bit older. :)