‘Cobra Kai’ gives a subtle but powerful lesson on white privilege & entitlement

The motto is a psychology and a way of life that everyone exercises, which includes exercising the paradigm of white privilege and white entitlement.

WARNING: DO NOT read this article any further until you have watched all four seasons of Cobra Kai. While this article does contain season four spoilers, it will chafe a specific demographic of readers.

Cobra Kai, since moving from YouTube after its second season to Netflix from season three and onward, has enjoyed tremendous success, reviving The Karate Kid franchise. I found Cobra Kai to be a refreshing continuation of The Karate Kid franchise, even more so when it doesn’t focus solely on Johnny Lawrence and Daniel LaRusso.

It’s great to see how Johnny and Daniel grew since the events of that fateful match at the All-Valley Karate Tournament. I also loved the developing human portrayal of the main and supporting cast, especially how Cobra Kai humanized John Kreese and his journey into how he became the person he is today.

“Strike First, Strike Hard, No Mercy,” the creed of the titular Cobra Kai dojo, is an important device to the story’s plot, especially how each individual interprets it.

I consider myself a political buff ever since I campaigned for John Kerry (D-MA), when he was a US Senator at the time, when he ran against incumbent US President George W. Bush (R-TX), during the 2004 Presidential Election. I became more of a political buff ever since I kept in touch with a number of people after the election was over, especially people who work under notable administrations.

Kreese’s interpretation of the creed in Cobra Kai, remember that John Kreese is a FICTIONAL character, is the embodiment of white entitlement, white privilege, and white patriarchy, whether it’s intentional or “not,” but the intent of the interpretation blurs the lines.

Martin Kove, the actor who does a tremendous job of playing John Kreese, when interviewed, explains that John Kreese is misunderstood. I agree with Kove because Kreese truly is misunderstood. To understand Kreese’s logic, it’s important to watch The…