Cobra Kai Never Dies! Generational seriality and revived legacies of The Karate Kid
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 10194331 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Agata Frymus (0000-0002-5971-5970, School of Arts and Social Sciences Monash University Malaysia Subang Jaya Malaysia, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 57 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 20-33 |
| Publication date | 2024-01-28 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Journal of Popular Culture (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0022-3840 • E-ISSN: 1540-5931 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/jpcu.13303 |
| OpenAlex | W4391296738 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 23 |
This article investigates the hallmarks of generational seriality—the term coined by Matt Hills—using Cobra Kai , and its predecessor, The Karate Kid trilogy, as case studies. It combines textual analysis of overarching themes of these texts, such as the portrayal of white masculinity, and aligned conceptualizations of class, with the examination of televisual nostalgia. It draws on existing scholarship on TV returns and revivals, exploring how Cobra Kai enters a dialogue with the fans of the franchise, and how that dialogue is articulated. While building upon the iconography familiar to The Karate Kid fans, Cobra Kai contains a great degree of self‐reflexivity, with dialogue or entire plot lines that parody regressive gender politics of the 1980s. The series brings together the generic conventions of the teen film and ample opportunities for nostalgia in its original fan base; thus, it significantly expands its appeal to two distinctive demographics
Aesthetics · Appeal · Art · Literature · Masculinity · Plot (graphics · Political science · Politics · Reflexivity · Scholarship · Sociology · Trilogy · Visual arts · White (mutation · Anthropology · Gender Studies · Gender, Feminism, and Media · History · Law · Media Studies and Communication · Media, Gender, and Advertising
Mediated Nostalgia
The Hollywood Sequel
Financial Times
Whatever Happened to Predictability?”
Conspiracy, Procedure, Continuity
Push, Pull, Rerun
Cult TV Revival
An equivocal space for the protestant ethnic
Between Light and Nowhere”
Remember Things
Cult Cinema
Nerds, Geeks, and the Hip/Square Dialectic in Contemporary Television
American TV Series Revivals
Nostalgia is not what it used to be
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |