What if everyone had it wrong? What if an underdog story is actually about a violent rabble rouser who incessantly antagonizes others into fighting? What if The Karate Kid isn’t a sensitive portrayal of a discounted teen from New Jersey, but instead a dark character study of a sociopath who isn’t content until he completely upsets the societal status quo with nothing more than his fists, feet, and demon sorcerer trainer?
That is the theory advanced by YouTube user J. Matthew Turner in his video exposing Ralph Macchio’s Daniel as a dangerous young man and William Zabka’s Johnny Lawrence as a flawed hero who is simply trying to look out for the community.