Camera Angles In The Karate Kid

The Karate Kid directed by John Avildsen is the story of a boy name Daniel and his mother making a drastic change moving from California to New Jersey. Daniel does not adapt to his new life, however he meets a girl names Ali that comforts his during this hard time. He did not foresee the distress that would come from her ex boyfriend. Daniel later finds out that the ex boyfriend, Johnny, is a member of Cobra Kai dojo. At the beginning of the film Daniels life is very unbalanced, however with the help of Mr. Miyagi he is able to find balance within himself. The director does an brilliant job of portraying the them of balance with the use of distinct sounds and abstract camera angles. The use of background sounds in the film play a major role in maintaining the theme of balance. The music that is played throughout the movie foreshadows what is going to happen. For example, there is suspenseful and dark music whenever they Cobra Kai are around. The suspenseful music that is played in the first beach fight scene gives the reader a good idea of what is about to happen. This type of music displays that there is …show more content…
The different way that the camera is angled helps the audience decide whether the scene is balanced or unbalanced. When the camera angle is angled from below the director is suggesting that the scene is unbalanced. An example of this is the beach fight scene at the beginning of the movie. When Daniel is beat up and fell to the ground the camera is angled as if the audience is lying on the ground with him. This shows that Daniel has been overcome and is in a time of unbalance. However, the same cannot be said about the last fight scene of the movie. In the last scene, Johnny knocks Daniel to the ground again. This time the camera angle is above Daniel looking down. This camera angle shows that Daniel has finally achieved balance and that he will do whatever it takes to finish his