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Intercultural Individualism In The Karate Kid

1048 Words5 Pages

The box-office smash of Columbia Pictures, The Karate Kid (2010), is generally regarded as a modern movie of traditional Chinese martial art, love and friendship. One of the messages the film-makers successfully conveyed is intercultural opposition as well as the cultural differences between American and Chinese people. In this essay, the author will conduct an in-depth analysis of two dimensions: Individualism/Collectivism and Long-term/Short-term time orientation, which from her perspective are most prominently portrayed for the whole of the movie. In the first place, The Karate Kid reaffirmed old American value of individualism as a contrary to Chinese collectivistic culture. Theoretically, individualism appears to describe a culture where “autonomy, independence and self-fulfillment” are highly encouraged (Finkelstein, 2012), hence, it offers the members a great deal of freedom on their path to personal success (Adler & Elmhorst, 2008, p.48). Meanwhile, people in collectivist societies tend to prioritize unquestioning loyalty to the group, attempt to build up long-term and intense relationships with others (The Hofstede Centre, n.d.). Dre Parker, a 12-year-old boy coming from Detroit, America, is a typical individualist-oriented child. In the movie, his self-independence and self-determination was illustrated through his burning aspiration to learn Kung-Fu and to win the Kung-fu competition. On his first day in Beijing, Dre was severely beaten up by Cheng, the leader

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