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Eight Observations about Cobra Kai
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1. Cobra Kai can best be thought of as a time capsule of the 1980s and that’s its appeal. Particularly in an era of endless reboots, Cobra Kai is carefully constructed to appear like something that would have been released in 1990. The way of drawing heroes and villains; the imagining of a school administration that hasn’t been re-educated post-Columbine to keep an eye on bullying; the synthesizer-heavy score and filming cues, are all very ‘80s.
2. Shows that are meant to preserve the old-school feel of their source material — I’m thinking prequels like Gotham (Tim Burton’s Batman universe) and Bates Motel (Psycho) — often attempt a middle ground by stripping away the modern elements like showing cell phones and other signs of 21st century culture in the frame. This results in an odd anachronistic stew, whereas Cobra Kai has the opposite (and I think better) approach of acknowledging that it is set in the present day while centering on two characters who are technologically stuck in the 20th century. Of the pair, Johnny simply never learned to adapt technologically (and symbolically beyond) whereas Danny is aware that the 21st century exists (particularly in the form of his bratty son) but wants to champion getting off the…
