Karate Kid: Are We Born Villains or Do People Groom Us To Be? [Ft. Dr. Funnies]

🎙️ Today, we’re joined by the hilarious and brilliant Dr. Funnies, the creator of Mental Health Funnies on Instagram and an incredible therapist. In this episode, we break down the classic 1984 film The Karate Kid 🥋, diving into mentorship, resilience, and how those who guide us can change our lives—for better or worse.

We explore Danny’s journey with Mr. Miyagi, who teaches him patience, discipline, and the value of building a strong foundation through unconventional methods like “wax on, wax off.” 🛠️ This becomes a metaphor for mental health: growth takes time, and you have to trust the process to overcome challenges. We also take a closer look at Mr. Miyagi’s personal struggles with grief and trauma, reflecting on how even our mentors carry unseen pain while supporting others. 💔

Then we shift to Johnny Lawrence, the “villain” of the story. We explore how his toxic mentor, John Kreese, led him astray, raising questions about whether people are born bad or shaped by harmful influences. 🤔 Johnny’s surprising sportsmanship at the end and his redemption arc in Cobra Kai show how mentorship can impact us—for better or worse.

Dr. Funnies ties all of this back to mental health, humor, and real-life lessons, reminding us to surround ourselves with supportive communities 🌱 and to take small, consistent steps toward healing. They’re a phenomenal Black therapist doing amazing work, and we highly recommend following them on Instagram at Mental Health Funnies.

Enjoy the laughs and insights in this thoughtful and fun episode! 🎧✨

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Thanks for checking out Different Spectrums! 🎙️ We're a podcast led by licensed therapists and neurodivergent individuals who explore emotions in movies and shows. Our mission is to normalize mental health challenges and promote understanding.

Join your founders and hosts, Dr. Nazeer Zerka and Spencer Srnec, as we process some key scenes to help you better understand your emotions and maybe even find some validation in them.

To find our guest: Dr. Funnies

https://linktr.ee/mentalhealthfunnies

https://www.instagram.com/mentalhealthfunnies/

Episode Breakdown:

0:00 Attention

0:54 Sponsorship

1:57 Intro

6:58 Scenes

25:08 Discussion

We’d love to hear your ideas for future episodes and connect with you on social media. You can find all our links here: https://linktr.ee/different_spectrums

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