I've been very anti-modern entertainment for the past few years or so: don't watch cable or Netflix, don't go to the movies (last new movie I saw was Joker), don't read modern literature, etc. However, I still use the internet, and watch YouTube -- for as long as they let neutral and right-wing creators on the platform, so not for much longer I'm sure -- and I finally got around to watching clips of Cobra Kai.
From the moment I saw footage mocking politically correct speech, I got curious. One YouTube Premium trial and two seasons later, and I found Cobra Kai to be exactly the show we needed, one that rejects Leftist politics. It mocks gender neutrality, it mocks cultural appropriation whiners, it makes fun of a white guy interrupting a karate tournament to preach about equality, and it did this across three seasons.
I'm curious if this is going to keep going, because the show is on Netflix now, and they approved a fourth season. So, while I expect the Lefties to try and worm their way into future episodes, if you need a show that serves to entertain and not indoctrinate, Cobra Kai Seasons 1 - 3 has my stamp of approval.
Question mark?
That show was pozzed to shit from episode one and got worse every episode.
This was also pozzed to shit but followed the old model of being a vehicle to sell toys so they had to try to appeal to everyone, and it shows.
I did mention in the top post that Netflix now has the broadcast rights for the show, and given their track record I expect Lefty influence to start permeating itself in Season 4 and possibly beyond (showrunner says he has 6 seasons worth of stories planned out).
As for Mandalorian, I don't watch it -- a show based entirely on fanservice is not enough for me to come crawling back to Star Wars -- but it's also my understanding that the Story Group and KK is virtually locked out of its production, which pisses them off to no end.
But, whatever the case for anything, let them go woke and lose viewers. It only hurts the dumbasses who are funding this shit. Anyone with a brain just doesn't watch.
Eh, at least we get to enjoy whole seasons of these shows before they roll hard left.
Oddly they eliminated the hefty black girl with glasses from season three. Not very woke, but we'll see if they compensate.
What I like is that Cobra Kai treats the characters like characters, not as a soapbox for some social “issue”. Miguel isn’t a hispanic teenager, he’s a teenager who happens to be hispanic, if that makes sense. Aisha isn’t a black teenager, she’s a teenager who happens to be black. It would’ve been so easy to transform some of the characters into caricatures, but they remain characters.
I’d like to gush about the story some more, outside the context of political activism, but idk how .win formats spoilers. I’ll just say, at this point in time, I’m enjoying the ride while it lasts and hopefully they don’t get on the soapbox and ruin the series.
As a counter to that, they're never treated with kid gloves, and dudes beat on them all the time.
The girls do fight males outside their weight class and win, even if it isn't frequent, but it's not nearly as bad as it could be.
Username checks out.
Season 1 was incredible. Season 2, eh...
It's been a while, but I seem to recall getting a certain whiff of wokeness off it. Nothing much, mind, and it may certainly be just me getting a bit too oversensitive towards this shit, but yeah, I remember feeling slightly worried about it towards the end.
Guess I'll start on season 3 today.
Care to specify?
The wokest thing I can think of is Tory and Sam fighting against and beating boys their age, at their relative size or larger.
The latter is skilled from years of karate instruction, so it's relatively understandable, but even that was never so overt that it broke my suspension of disbelief.
Honestly, I can't remember any specific scenes or details; like I said, it's entirely possible I've just become so allergic to wokeness, I'm starting to see it where there's none.
I feel that way for a lot of things myself, so I know where you're coming from.
It doesn't help that the indoctrination has been turned up to 11 in recent times, so it's really becoming hard to see what's truly "woke" and when I'm just jumping at shadows.
Season 2 sucks because the old sensei from the movies is a terrible character for a show focused on nuance and depth. What made the first season work is that it didn't have any "villains" in the traditional sense. Both Danny and Johnny had their virtues and faults, and the problem between them stemmed from pride and insecurity more than any genuine dislike or even animosity for the other. It was smart and well-written.
Reintroducing that pan-faced guy that I don't remember the name of threw off the entire dynamic of the show. Suddenly you have a traditional villain with traditional villain schemes, and the whole show became paint-by-numbers because of it. I couldn't even finish the second season because it just became so utterly boring.
They flesh him out more in season three to at least try to make his motivations understandable and less cartoonish.
I havent watched it but I assume the Cobra Kai members are the ones who are anti SJW anti leftist politics. Are you sure you arent cheering for the "bad guys"? or are they not made out to be the "bad guys"? If they are supposed to be the "bad guys", they will probably turn to "the light" over the duration of whatever season they want to end it.
Cobrai Kai is a series where the rival/villain of the first movie, Johnny Lawrence, starts a karate dojo modeled after the one from his youth to help social reject teenagers to gain the strength and character necessary to stand up to bullying.
So, from the start, you do have Cobra Kai sort of acting as the anti-PC squad. Johnny insults his students for their obvious physical flaws, and he has an innate abhorrence towards modern Leftist terminology and behavior. However, it's shown to be a positive thing, as he's doing it to toughen up his students, and it works; those who don't quit due to his behavior and harsh training do become more confident, stronger people, who are able to stand up to their former abusers.
However, a conflict arises as the mantra 'Strike First. Strike Hard. No Mercy.' which runs central to the Cobra Kai 'Way of the Fist' isn't properly tempered due to Johnny's inexperience at being a teacher, along with him being poisoned by his previous experience with John Kreese, the original sensei of Cobra Kai. In short, he doesn't know how to balance the concept of mercy with that of action. As a result, his students gain the very same 'do anything to win, no matter how dirty' mentality that Cobra Kai originally taught despite Johnny's efforts, and they gradually become the very bullies they originally wanted to fight against, much to Johnny's chagrin.
Things continue to escalate as Daniel LaRusso, the hero from the original movies, can't let his old biases go, and continues to antagonize Johnny and Cobra Kai, including convincing Johnny's landlord to raise his rent, and starting his own karate dojo to train students in Miyagi-Do karate. Further issues arise as John Kreese, long though dead by Johnny, comes out of hiding to take back the mantle as sensei of Cobra Kai, and solidify the 'No mercy' aspect of The Way of the Fist.
So, at first, Cobra Kai students aren't portrayed as the "bad guys" at all, just outcasts and misfits learning to fight against those who wrong them. However, as time goes on and Kreese's influence on the students grows, they effectively become the bad guys, counter Daniel's own karate students who have their own issues, but that's an analysis for another post.
Also, the PC attitude also affects Daniel, if only slightly: a bunch of people complain about cultural appropriation when he uses Japanese music and imagery to advertise his karate dojo.
Well, at least now that stupid Koala Kai commercial makes a bit of sense, thanks.
I couldn't get past the first season of this show, I was cringing too much at myself for watching what was essentially a teenage drama.