So this whole time he's just this maintenance man living in L.A fixing faucets and trimming Bonsai Trees??? Then who comes waltzing in Miyagi's life? Some scrawny Italian kid from Jersey who can't defend himself? I guess he kinda give Miyagi something to live for, their Yin and Yang. Daniel Son didn't have a father to look up to and Miyagi never had a son to cared for.
I guess it stands to reason there isn't a thread about this since everyone else figured it out thirty years ago. Don't forget the postwar analogy of Italians and Japanese coming to the new world to escape their past with a renewed sense of humility, the cold war paranoia of the Vietnam vet karate instructor who resorts to cheating and manipulating the young to win and save face on a public stage, and the inverted xenophobia of suburban kids in all "black" uniforms using their strength, aggression and sense of belonging to attack outsiders and "protect their women."
Brilliant <iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/h22kyhdCwIw?list=PLDrkhiumgrb7_u2jVTz7UiNW1D5uIJCZZ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
If I remember correctly there was a scene in the movie where Mr. Miyagi gets drunk and tells Daniel that he served in the US Army during WWII, in the legendary Nisei 442nd Regiment http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/442nd_Regimental_Combat_Team. He had a wife and son who where interned in an internment camp for Japanese Americans and while he was overseas they died in the camp.
Yeah, it's the scene where he drank sake and passed out. Daniel found the letter stating that his wife and son died during childbirth. Daniel's father also passed away, so Mr. Miyagi was more of a father figure to him. They grew to understand one another in many ways. One of my favorite scenes: <iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/QRBecIRf6Ac" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
