The Karate Kid, a quintessential film portraying the journey of an adolescent through the odds of life and the final triumph of life, serves to cinematically describe the stages of development of an adolescent individual. In the essay, I apply the theories of Erik Erikson in deciphering the cinematic essence of the film and having a comprehensive view of the matter.
Erikson describes the stage to be one when the adolescent is concerned about how others perceive of him or her. The superego of the adolescent grows as does the confidence of oneself. The child finally develops a sense of sexual identity with time. In the phase of transition, every individual is trying to grasp his or her role as an adult. In the film The Karate Kid, to me Daniel LaRusso’s geographical displacement signifies the displacement of his self and the inception of the journey of discovering his identity as an individual. He comes close to Ali Mills, a girl in his high school. I believe he seems to be on the path of understanding his sexual identity as he steps into this stage of life. Johnny Lawrence, Ali’s ex-flame, on the other hand is deviated from the moral road and seeks revenge on Daniel.
Erikson goes on to discuss about ‘identity crisis’ when the individual is torn apart by what he or she is and what the society expects him or her to be. Adolescents face situations which demand the re-establishment of boundaries for themselves in opposition to a greatly hostile world. The adolescent is now in a state of ‘identity crisis’ or confusion. However, the society provides allowances for the adolescent to find oneself, a state known as ‘moratorium’. In the film, Daniel faces extreme bullying and even physical harassment from a gang of boys. His sense of self is stirred and broken. He is a weakling in comparison to the cumulative strength of the boys. The brutal world seems to be encroaching of his adolescent cognition and development. However, the intervention of Mr. Miyagi allows him to get the moratorium much required to endeavor a leap to find oneself and re-emerge in life.
The theory of ‘identity achievement’ states that the adolescent by now has already gone through the stage of identity crisis and is now committed to a sense of fidelity. It is evident to me that Daniel shows the grit in his training and is greatly guided by Mr. Miyagi, who is by now his surrogate father-figure, in his cognitive development transcending the undulations of the past events. During the tournament is victimized time by his baleful opponent who deploys an unethical and forbidden blow on his knee. He finally manages to get the better of his opponent and lands a kick on him which makes him win the tournament. He achieves the true sense of his identity through his persistence and focus. I find him emerging as the quintessential cinematic portraiture of the theory describing one’s achievement of identity in the face of crisis and hostility.
Every adolescent faces these stages in his or her journey for identity achievement. The film perfectly portrays the cognitive behavior of the adolescent and the gradual steps toward finding oneself and situating the goals in the plane of the ‘real’ world. The individual then treads on the alley of life that would lead to adulthood.
References
Steinberg, L., Bornstein, M. H., Vandell, D. L., & Rook, K. S. (2011). Lifespan Development: Infancy Through Adulthood. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
