Cross Cultural Conflict in Karate Kid Movie
Story
Twelve-year-old Dre Parker (Jaden Smith) and his mother Sherry (Taraji P Henson) move from Detroit to Beijing. There they live in a new apartment building called Beverly Hills, and Dre attends the local school. While visiting a nearby park, Dre strikes up a friendship with Meiying (Han Wenwen), a young girl who plays the violin. But Dre’s encounter with Meiying attracts the attention of the school bully Cheng (Zhenwei Wang) and his gang. They target Dre for attack.
Cheng wants to hurt Dre, but Mr Han (Jackie Chan) steps in. He is the maintenance man for Dre’s apartment building and a Kung Fu master. He makes short work of the bullies.
Mr Han encourages Dre to go to the Kung Fu academy where Cheng is a student. Mr Han hopes they can reason with Cheng through his instructor Master Li (Rongguang Yu). Unfortunately, Master Li is a bully too. So Mr Han decides that the only way to help Dre is to enter him in a Kung Fu tournament where he will fight Cheng one on one.
From here, the movie focuses on Mr Han teaching Kung Fu to Dre. Dre’s relationship with Meiying also blossoms as the day for the Kung Fu tournament draws near.
ThemesWhat is this?
Here we outline any topics, issues and ideas in this movie that might upset children and adolescents, so that you can gauge whether it is appropriate for your child. For example, children and adolescents may react adversely to themes of crime, suicide, drug and alcohol dependence, death, serious illness, family breakdown, separation from a parent, animal cruelty or distress, children as victims, natural disasters and racism.
Bullying; martial arts; tweenage romance; grief and guilt over the death of family members
ViolenceWhat is this?
Here we identify any violence in this movie, and explain how and why it might impact on your child or adolescent. In general, movie violence can make children less sensitive to the use of violence in real life. Alternatively, they may become fearful about the prevalence and likelihood of
Twelve-year-old Dre Parker (Jaden Smith) and his mother Sherry (Taraji P Henson) move from Detroit to Beijing. There they live in a new apartment building called Beverly Hills, and Dre attends the local school. While visiting a nearby park, Dre strikes up a friendship with Meiying (Han Wenwen), a young girl who plays the violin. But Dre’s encounter with Meiying attracts the attention of the school bully Cheng (Zhenwei Wang) and his gang. They target Dre for attack.
Cheng wants to hurt Dre, but Mr Han (Jackie Chan) steps in. He is the maintenance man for Dre’s apartment building and a Kung Fu master. He makes short work of the bullies.
Mr Han encourages Dre to go to the Kung Fu academy where Cheng is a student. Mr Han hopes they can reason with Cheng through his instructor Master Li (Rongguang Yu). Unfortunately, Master Li is a bully too. So Mr Han decides that the only way to help Dre is to enter him in a Kung Fu tournament where he will fight Cheng one on one.
From here, the movie focuses on Mr Han teaching Kung Fu to Dre. Dre’s relationship with Meiying also blossoms as the day for the Kung Fu tournament draws near.
ThemesWhat is this?
Here we outline any topics, issues and ideas in this movie that might upset children and adolescents, so that you can gauge whether it is appropriate for your child. For example, children and adolescents may react adversely to themes of crime, suicide, drug and alcohol dependence, death, serious illness, family breakdown, separation from a parent, animal cruelty or distress, children as victims, natural disasters and racism.
Bullying; martial arts; tweenage romance; grief and guilt over the death of family members
ViolenceWhat is this?
Here we identify any violence in this movie, and explain how and why it might impact on your child or adolescent. In general, movie violence can make children less sensitive to the use of violence in real life. Alternatively, they may become fearful about the prevalence and likelihood of