Ralph Macchio dismisses ‘too White’ criticism of 1984’s ‘Karate Kid’: ‘Ahead of its time’
Published: Thursday, January 17, 2013 at 6:48 a.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, January 16, 2013 at 6:14 a.m.
TALLAHASSEE | As film’s most famous child actor prepares to embark on a nationwide tour to promote his new movie “Karate Kid,” he might have to revise his take on the film’s critics.
“Too white,” Ralph Macchio proclaimed in his interview with USA TODAY. “There are not enough movies in the world that can be seen with that black child that could not be misused and misunderstood.”
He adds, “It’s too white.”
That’s one way to look at the backlash from critics who’ve said the upcoming movie is “too white” for its target audience.
In fact, Macchio says, “It’s more than being too white. It’s the way (the) filmmakers (handled) the story. It’s in everything. It’s in the music and the song selection, in the colors of the clothes. It’s the way these scenes are shot. It’s the way the parents are portrayed. … It’s the way that we’re portrayed in the press.”
Macchio, 48, is one of several movie stars who’ve responded to the charge that the film is “too white” with a response that says the film “was ahead of its time,” “the way it should have been” and a ‘lesson to be learned,’ as he made clear in an interview with USA TODAY.
“(The critics are) looking at it in the way they have been told to look at it, as it has been taught to them, while I hope they realize we were ahead of our time,” he says. “We