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GilesDaldanus's Replies
What I noticed as well while rewatching this scene is that Miyagi doesn't give a bow with an upper body inclination of more than 20° to Silver (Silver's bow was lower on both occasions), which based on what I have read pertaining to the etiquette on bowing in Japan, may suggest that Miyagi regarded himself as being of higher rank in this situation, perhaps due to Silver's young age. Elderly people are very respected in Japan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvzrki6yCcQ
I would like to think that Miyagi had forgiven Kreese by that point and he did exchange a shocked glance with Daniel when hearing the news, so he must have felt quite sad, but he could have been even more expressive, offering further condolences. Maybe he didn't find the right words, especially given that English was not his first language.
I agree, Daniel must have secretly been hoping that an unexpectedly strong opponent on Mike's side of the draw could do him a favour and put a spanner in the works of Silver and Kreese. In any case, he tried to give it a go, maybe also realizing that the people in attendance deserve to have the chance to watch a great fight. In addition to Miyagi's words of encouragement, I think what helped LaRusso is that by going overboard in his gloating, Mike became way too complacent, expecting the last point to be a mere formality.
Regarding the differences in style of karate - that's indeed a possibility. I think that Daniel (who received a bye to the final) got to watch Barnes during his tournament fights, but it seems as if Mike's opponents were absolutely no match for him, so it's unlikely that LaRusso was able to glean many insights in terms of what strategies could work against "Karate's Badboy".
Maybe I exaggerated a bit, as it wasn't a sustained attack, but he did launch a powerful kick at her...Jessica deserves credit for being quite tough and willing to have Daniel's back.
I think that Daniel initially tries to be diplomatic in his responses to Barnes, Snake, and Dennis regarding his refusal to participate in the All-Valley Karate Tournament. He also does appear to feel uneasy/slightly guilty about turning down Silver, realizing that Terry had invested many hours in his training. Furthermore, one can say that Daniel demonstrates that chivalry is not a foreign concept to him, as he is immediately angered and enters fighting mode when Barnes attacks Jessica.
I almost forgot about Jessica, that's a good call...As for Daniel, it's not totally clear whether he eventually decided to go to college.
I have the feeling that Mike Barnes may have excelled in other spheres as well. He was extremely ambitious and had business acumen, so maybe would have been willing to apply himself at an institution of higher education, especially if good grades were a prerequisite to being allowed to compete for a college karate team.
I am in agreement. It's also the case that the two women were really nice and immediately seemed to grasp that there was no malicious intent on Cohen's part. R.I.P. Judith Dim Evans, it's sad that she passed away.
The lawsuit doesn't have good chances of success:
https://variety.com/2020/film/news/borat-lawsuit-holocaust-survivor-interview-dismissed-1234815936/
I agree that the filming itself may have posed quite a few risks to others and they should have worn masks during some of the events held in the White House. I hope that no one was infected. On the plus side, it's likely that Sacha Baron Cohen and the other actors test themselves frequently for COVID-19, just like most sportspeople (they certainly have the financial means), so they may be somewhat safer to be around than regular people.
It does look like a rather far-fetched scenario, especially in real life. To play devil's advocate, it's likely that Silver was not strapped for time and being a somewhat eccentric billionaire, decided to embark upon a new type of "adventure" while at the same time doing his friend's bidding. However, it's somewhat odd that Silver didn't eventually change his mind about the whole scheme due to developing an attachment to his student, as Daniel was nice and polite to him, perhaps even starting to view him as a mentor figure.
It's never explicitly stated in the movie, but Barnes may have been an emancipated minor. I think that he didn't really hate Daniel or have a personal issue with him...it was more a case of Barnes being competitive to the extreme (always giving his best when fighting) and also being concerned that if Daniel doesn't show up at the tournament, then he won't receive the reward from Silver, as specified in the contract. While I think that Snake and Dennis were successful in providing further comic relief, they were indeed far from being in Dutch's (and Tommy's) category when it came to the intimidation factor.
Yes, this could have certainly been a possibility. On the bright side, we got to see compelling new characters like Silver and Barnes etch their names into the Karate Kid folklore.
I absolutely agree! Didn't make sense to me either...I always found it surprising how Kreese initially seemed to have a sense of fair play and appeared to respect Miyagi, but unexpectedly showed a much darker side of his character at the very end. At first he didn't think much of Daniel, as he probably regarded him as a weakling who would never become a skillful karate practitioner, so it's somewhat odd that instead of admiring how far Daniel had progressed by the time of the 1984 All Valley Tournament (in part due to his students' bullying indirectly encouraging LaRusso to be serious about karate), he wanted him injured rather than seeing him win the title and then offering him to join the Cobra Kai.
Good point, I must have not been attentive enough while watching the film, as I didn't catch the bit about Kreese paying rent to Silver. I think that we are essentially in agreement when it comes to Kreese's character traits. To be honest, I think that Silver could certainly pass for a guy in his 30s, especially given how youngish LaRusso looked.
This could be problematic, though if Silver somehow managed to obtain the support of enough people feeling marginalized by the system, then he could potentially pull it off, just like Trump did in 2016 in spite of the Russian links (some of his associates like Rick Gates actually pleaded guilty of conspiracy against the United States). Silver is arguably less compromised in comparison to some other political figures.
I concur, this would have been an appropriate way to deal with the situation in a way acceptable to all sides involved and come clean!
Yes, Silver owed a debt of gratitude of Kreese and should have been keeping in touch with him more regularly. It's a bit surprising that he didn't know about the situation his friend had found himself in in the aftermath of the 1984 All Valley tournament. However, it may be the case that Kreese was a guy who valued his privacy (he didn't have a very easygoing personality) and didn't generally like to confide stuff. Even the best friends sometimes drift apart when they are no longer high school or university students.
I agree that if you decide to become a politician all your transgressions (minor and not so minor) from your past will be bound to resurface at some point. However, charisma and being able to convince people of the merits of your policies goes a long way and can still see you win a presidential race. As for his age, it's possible that Silver was indeed supposed to be a guy already well into his 30s, though the actor Thomas Ian Griffith was actually slightly younger than Ralph Macchio (Daniel LaRusso). He could have done that and I don't think Barnes would have been opposed, but maybe Silver liked him a lot and wanted to make him one of the faces of his karate business ventures.
Indeed, though one could argue that it was a very generous offer to begin with and Kreese would have likely not felt betrayed, as he would have understood the need to provide such an incentive to Barnes (Silver's revenge plan was hatched due to Kreese's personal issues with Daniel and Miyagi). He must have also been incredibly grateful for being given the opportunity to recharge his batteries and clear his mind in Tahiti.
I will have to mostly concede the latter point, well put, but given Silver's young age (he was presumably in his late 20s at the time) and depending on how credible the charges against him would be deemed by the general public and/or whether he was actually convicted, it may have eventually turned out not to be a deal-breaker if he decided to participate in an election ten to fifteen years after the events.
[quote]Loyalty to his friends?
I've bought 20 locations John, all yours 100%
He said that right? Later on he gives 50% of the dojos to Barnes...if he wins.[/quote]
I admit that I forgot about this part...I am only speculating here, but it's not out of the question that Silver may have had another conversation with Kreese (prior to recruiting Mike Barnes), during which Kreese had expressed his gratitude, but made it clear to him that he didn't actually need to have ownership over as many as 20 dojos. It's doubtful whether he was motivated to be as actively involved with karate as before.
As for dumping nuclear waste and using underhanded tactics to make deals with Senators, I agree that it doesn't paint a pretty picture, though one has to take into account that environmental standards were more lax 30 years ago and it's possible that Silver could have passed the buck to his subordinates, claiming that they were the ones involved in ironing out the details of the agreements.
True, the Cobra Kai karate practitioners probably hit a low point in terms of their popularity in the mid to late 1980s due to John Kreese and Mike Barnes' antics, i.e. Kreese assaulted his own pupil and there is absolutely no indication that Barnes followed in Johnny Lawrence's footsteps and congratulated Daniel LaRusso on his victory. However, I am somehow left with the impression that the people in attendance during the 1989 tournament were rooting against Barnes, but weren't aware of Silver's role behind the scenes. Even though Silver was the successful businessman who concocted the plan and was puling the strings, Barnes and to an extent Snake (who at one point jumped on the mat to confront Daniel) bore the brunt of the general public's disapproval.
Many online posters (such as on discussion forums and especially those frequently commenting under YouTube videos) seem to have taken a liking to Silver and consider him a compelling character. They acknowledge that he is not averse to bending the rules and has done some rather questionable things, but appear to admire his loyalty to his friends and the optimism he radiates. He reminds me a bit of Trump and a point in his favor is that he doesn't have the same baggage when it comes to political scandals.
I think that if a politician with Terry Silver's charisma and connections was willing to support the imposition of a very tight lock-down as a measure to combat the pandemic, most people would be unlikely to flout the rules.
Btw, it's interesting that Sean Kanan (Mike Barnes) supports Donald Trump and is one of the few people who seemed confident that Trump would win in 2016.
https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/soap-actor-sean-kanan-on-angelina-jolies-trump-stance
I have the gut feeling that Daniel and Miyagi's political views may not align with those of the majority of Cobra Kai members...
It's a very valuable quality to have and I guess that some of your coaches referred to you as an athlete who regularly put in clutch performances! I am not the calmest guy when playing racquet sports and have lost a number of games during tournaments due to not being able to keep my temper in check. However, I often manage to find another gear when facing an opponent in a final, especially if I am confident that his style of play suits mine. I think that the unfortunate situation with the current COVID-19 pandemic has imbued me with a greater humility and encouraged me to learn to set my priorities straight. It's good to be competitive and one should always strive to be the best out of respect for one's coaches, the opponents, and oneself, but it should never become a matter of life and death.
Very well put! Home advantage can be a major factor as well, depending on the sport, in addition to the stakes involved (i.e. whether the match is considered a 'must win' or a 'dead rubber'). There are almost always bogey opponents you are averse to facing in individual sports, even if in theory you should be vastly better than they are.
True, but Daniel was still willing to fight him (though arguably only when his protective instinct kicked in after Barnes showed that he was not averse to going after Jessica) and I somehow got the impression that LaRusso was not that scared of him until he had to face him in the tournament, more like he was tired of fighting and wasn't that motivated to further prove himself as a karate practitioner, thus regarding Barnes as a pest and an inconvenience rather than a huge threat.
Also, it's possible that Barnes simply had a certain aura about him that from Daniel's standpoint made him appear more menacing than Chozen and Johnny. As for myself, I don't actually consider Barnes to be less skillful than Chozen and in some respects he is probably the most impressive of Daniel's opponents, though I would have been the most concerned (and admittedly fearful) if I had to face the Japanese guy, especially given the high likelihood of weapons being used. Chozen is much higher on the intimidation scale from my perspective.