美国国家公共电台 NPR 'Cobra Kai' Looks At What Happened After 'The Karate Kid' Beat The School Bully

 

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

With these four little words...

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE KARATE¹ KID")

PAT MORITA: (As Miyagi) Wax on, wax off.

CORNISH: ...We're off and running with the characters from the classic 1984 movie "The Karate Kid." This time, it's for a series on YouTube Red. Ralph Macchio and William Zabka are back now decades after their final karate showdown as Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence. Now they're middle-aged² and stuck in the past. LaRusso owns a successful car dealership³, karate chopping prices in half and giving out bonsai⁴ trees to customers. His high school bully⁵ has had 30 years of hitting rock bottom before returning to the dojo.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "COBRA KAI")

WILLIAM ZABKA: (As Johnny Lawrence) Are you sure you're ready - 'cause once you go down this path, there's no turning back.

XOLO MARIDUENA: (As Miguel Diaz) Are you going to be my karate teacher?

ZABKA: (As Johnny Lawrence) No.

CORNISH: Wait for it.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "COBRA KAI")

ZABKA: (As Johnny Lawrence) I'm going to be your sensei.

CORNISH: The series is called "Cobra Kai." It's written by Hayden Schlossberg, Jon Hurwitz and Josh Heald. I spoke⁶ with Hurwitz and Heald the other day about their reboot.

JON HURWITZ: For these particular characters, I think for Johnny Lawrence, he's been living his life, but he's been living his life in the shadow of Daniel LaRusso literally⁷. Like, Daniel has become the auto⁸ king of the Valley and has billboards¹⁰ that are, like, right near his apartment building and commercials that are playing on the radio and on television every day of his life. So if he would have liked to have sort of forgotten that horrible karate tournament in his past, it's impossible where he currently lives.

And as for Daniel, you know, the way we joke about it in the show is that karate in the '80s was like football in Texas. It's like he's a legend because of that tournament - a local legend. And he's not even realizing that it feels like a gimmick¹¹. For him, it's just, like, genuinely sincere, and he has this love for this time in his life. And yeah, these two guys - they're still caught in the past.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "COBRA KAI")

ZABKA: (As Johnny Lawrence) It was the summer of '82. "Rocky III" had just come out. My buddy¹² Dutch was a huge Mr. T fan, so we went to the local theater to check it out.

CORNISH: I think that one of the fun parts of the series is this very kind of Rashomon-like approach where you see the same scenes from the movie that might be familiar - right? - in flashback, but they're told from a completely different point of view. And the basic plot of the original film was new kid comes to town, encounters a bully who knows karate. To fight back, he gets a mentor¹³, learns karate and then wins the big tournament, right? And then the Johnny Lawrence character explains it a completely different way, right? It was new kid comes to town...

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "COBRA KAI")

ZABKA: (As Johnny Lawrence) But then Daniel LaRusso came to town.

CORNISH: ...Steals my girlfriend...

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "COBRA KAI")

ZABKA: (As Johnny Lawrence) The next thing I know, he's hitting on her. I see the two of them flirting¹⁴ with each other.

CORNISH: ...Beats me up, sucker punches me...

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "COBRA KAI")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTORS: (As characters) Yeah, yeah, yeah.

CORNISH: ...Kind of humiliates¹⁵ me publicly in a massive tournament. And I actually found it convincing.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "COBRA KAI")

MARIDUENA: (As Miguel Diaz) What happened? Who won?

ZABKA: (As Johnny Lawrence) LaRusso won. I lost. But what's worse is I lost Ali.

CORNISH: How did you go about approaching the alternate point of view? Did you go scene by scene and say, actually, if you think about it another way...

HURWITZ: This is Jon speaking. You know, we approached this alternate point of view by simply getting inside the head of Johnny Lawrence. And I think from...

CORNISH: So did you turn the sound off and, like, have a drink and then just kind of narrate¹⁶ the alternate universe?

HURWITZ: You know, we didn't exactly do that. But, you know, it was one of those things that - to tell you the truth, we still see Daniel LaRusso's side as well. So it's one of those things where, you know - we're comedy writers as well. And we've always talked about the Johnny Lawrence character sort of from a comedic point of view. And when you first start to approach the Johnny Lawrence character as sort of, like, the hero of his own story, you're twisting the story just a little bit here and there to make Johnny a little bit more sympathetic in those moments.

As a result of that, we added extra layers to that Johnny Lawrence character. We end up sort of seeing the troubles of his childhood. We see him discover karate for the first time. We figured out an array of ways to get the audience behind this character to understand this character in ways that you didn't get to see in the movie while also looking at that movie and re-editing it a little bit in our heads so that we understand the logic¹⁷ that Johnny Lawrence may have as to why he was in the right.

CORNISH: What is it about that period in time that looms¹⁸ large for people? I mean, I feel like this is why we're all on Facebook still checking out people that we went to high school with. You know, like, how can - what is it you wanted to say about the effects of kind of being stuck?

JOSH HEALD: I think - this is Josh - I think high school is a very, very volatile¹⁹ time for your emotional well-being²⁰, both good and bad. It's the time when you have first love. It's the time where the stakes of your life never seem so large because the blank page in front of you is just so blank in terms of where you could go and what every little decision feels like it springboards out to. That's just a commonality that - you know, that I've found in my life talking to other people, you know, reconnecting with people from high school. It's just - there's the movies you watch then, the music you listened to, the foods you eat, everything. You become nostalgic for that.

CORNISH: There are so many shows on right now that embrace nostalgia²¹ when I think of "Roseanne" or I think "Fuller House" (laughter) on Netflix, which is a play on "Full House," even "The X-Files." I mean, what makes it work to your mind, and when does it falter²²?

HEALD: You know, it's funny that - you know, you mentioned "Fuller House." That was a show that we remember seeing billboards for, and it's kind of charged us up thinking, like, OK, if Kimmy Gibbler can be on a billboard⁹...

(LAUGHTER)

HEALD: ...Billy Zabka should be on a billboard. But for us, it was a matter of, how do we take this show that - this movie that we love and transform it into a different medium and make it this multiple-season series and not just continue to go to the nostalgic well? You know, we wanted to temper that. If we could create a new show, a new world set in the universe that that movie introduced and really rely on and lean on our two leads to be the anchors for that as opposed to window dressing²³, then we saw an opportunity to really have a show that was special and its own show.

CORNISH: In the end, it feels like you're essentially²⁴ saying each one of us is the hero in our own story.

HEALD: That was the goal of this show. It was not meant to say, now Johnny Lawrence is the hero, and now Daniel LaRusso is the bad guy. When you're with Johnny, you're on team Johnny. When you're with Daniel, you remember, oh, yeah, Daniel's great; I'm with Daniel now. And we wanted to intentionally²⁵ introduce that conflict all the way through the season where by the time you get to the end - we've heard it from, you know, from our friends, family. We've seen it in comments online. It's the I-don't-know-who-to-root-for, and there's real value in I-don't-know-who-to-root-for.

HURWITZ: This is Jon speaking. Not only does seeing the world through different perspectives lead to sort of the most interesting form of storytelling, but it's also something that I think is helpful in life. Taking every experience that you're having in life - and when you have conflict with somebody else, it's always helpful to take a step back and try to see the world through their eyes and put yourself in their shoes. And oftentimes you find out that everybody has their own problems. Everyone has their own challenges that they're going through. And rather than just sort of focus on, this person is sort of running directly opposed to, you know, how I'm feeling right now, try to understand each other, and hopefully you can progress in a more productive way.

CORNISH: Josh Heald and Jon Hurwitz, thank you so much for speaking with us.

HEALD: Thank you very much for having us.

HURWITZ: It's our pleasure.

CORNISH: And "Cobra Kai" is now streaming on YouTube Red.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "YOU'RE THE BEST")

JOE ESPOSITO: (Singing) You're the best around. Nothing's going to ever keep you down. You're the best around. Nothing's going to ever keep you down. You're the best around. Nothing's going to ever keep you down.

1 karate   

n.空手道(日本的一种徒手武术)

参考例句：

• Alice's boyfriend knew a little karate.艾丽斯的男朋友懂一点儿空手道。
• The black belt is the highest level in karate.黑腰带级是空手道的最高级别。

2 middle-aged   

adj.中年的

参考例句：

• I noticed two middle-aged passengers.我注意到两个中年乘客。
• The new skin balm was welcome by middle-aged women.这种新护肤香膏受到了中年妇女的欢迎。

3 dealership   

n.商品特许经销处

参考例句：

• The car dealership has a large inventory of used cars. 这家汽车经销商拥有数量庞大的二手车。
• A key to this effort is the experience in the dealership. 达到这个成果的关键是销售的体验。

4 bonsai   

n.盆栽，盆景

参考例句：

• It's a bonsai tree for your new apartment.这是一颗盆栽，祝贺你迁新居。
• The dish looks like a bonsai flower.这道菜看上去像一盆花。

5 bully   

n.恃强欺弱者，小流氓；vt.威胁，欺侮

参考例句：

• A bully is always a coward.暴汉常是懦夫。
• The boy gave the bully a pelt on the back with a pebble.那男孩用石子掷击小流氓的背脊。

6 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

7 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

8 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

9 billboard   

n.布告板，揭示栏，广告牌

参考例句：

• He ploughed his energies into his father's billboard business.他把精力投入到父亲的广告牌业务中。
• Billboard spreads will be simpler and more eye-catching.广告牌广告会比较简单且更引人注目。

10 billboards   

n.广告牌( billboard的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Large billboards have disfigured the scenery. 大型告示板已破坏了景色。 来自辞典例句
• Then, put the logo in magazines and on billboards without telling anyone what it means. 接着我们把这个商标刊在杂志和广告看板上，却不跟任何人透漏它的涵意。 来自常春藤生活英语杂志-2006年4月号

11 gimmick   

n.(为引人注意而搞的)小革新，小发明

参考例句：

• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。
• It is just a public relations gimmick.这只不过是一种公关伎俩。

12 buddy   

n.（美口）密友，伙伴

参考例句：

• Calm down,buddy.What's the trouble?压压气，老兄。有什么麻烦吗？
• Get out of my way,buddy!别挡道了，你这家伙！

13 mentor   

n.指导者，良师益友；v.指导

参考例句：

• He fed on the great ideas of his mentor.他以他导师的伟大思想为支撑。
• He had mentored scores of younger doctors.他指导过许多更年轻的医生。

14 flirting   

v.调情，打情骂俏( flirt的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Don't take her too seriously; she's only flirting with you. 别把她太当真，她只不过是在和你调情罢了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• 'she's always flirting with that new fellow Tseng!" “她还同新来厂里那个姓曾的吊膀子！ 来自子夜部分

15 humiliates   

使蒙羞，羞辱，使丢脸( humiliate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• His teacher continually humiliates him in maths lessons. 他的数学老师频频在课上羞辱他。
• The lowly vassals suffering all humiliates in both physical and mental aspects. 地位低下的奴仆，他们在身体上和精神上受尽屈辱。

16 narrate   

v.讲，叙述

参考例句：

• They each narrate their own tale but are all inextricably linked together.她们各自讲述自己的故事，却又不可避免地联系在一起。
• He once holds the tear to narrate a such story to mine.他曾经含着泪给我讲述了这样的一个故事。

17 logic   

n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性

参考例句：

• What sort of logic is that?这是什么逻辑？
• I don't follow the logic of your argument.我不明白你的论点逻辑性何在。

18 looms   

n.织布机( loom的名词复数 )v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的第三人称单数 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• All were busily engaged,men at their ploughs,women at their looms. 大家都很忙，男的耕田，女的织布。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The factory has twenty-five looms. 那家工厂有25台织布机。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

20 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。

21 nostalgia   

n.怀乡病，留恋过去，怀旧

参考例句：

• He might be influenced by nostalgia for his happy youth.也许是对年轻时幸福时光的怀恋影响了他。
• I was filled with nostalgia by hearing my favourite old song.我听到这首喜爱的旧歌，心中充满了怀旧之情。

22 falter   

vi.(嗓音)颤抖，结巴地说；犹豫；蹒跚

参考例句：

• His voice began to falter.他的声音开始发颤。
• As he neared the house his steps faltered.当他走近房子时，脚步迟疑了起来。

23 dressing   

n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料

参考例句：

• Don't spend such a lot of time in dressing yourself.别花那么多时间来打扮自己。
• The children enjoy dressing up in mother's old clothes.孩子们喜欢穿上妈妈旧时的衣服玩。

24 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

25 intentionally   

ad.故意地，有意地

参考例句：

• I didn't say it intentionally. 我是无心说的。
• The local authority ruled that he had made himself intentionally homeless and was therefore not entitled to be rehoused. 当地政府裁定他是有意居无定所，因此没有资格再获得提供住房。