Radio-Active's Karate Kid Essay Contest Has Nothing to Do With Music but Could Win You $25 Worth of Jams

​"We're all fans of this stupid movie," says Radio-Active Records manager Mikey Ramirez of The Karate Kid. This is his honest explanation for how the 1984 martial arts romantic drama for kids came to inspire the store's first essay contest.

"We're all fans of the soundtrack too," he adds. "It's terrible."

What started as an inside in-store ironic appreciation -- "It's one of the movies we constantly quote" -- has blossomed into a full-blown contest, complete with a $25 Radio-Active gift card for the winner.

Check the jump for complete details on how to enter.
The contest calls for a response to the film based on one of the prompts below. Your submission may be posted to the Radio-Active Facebook or emailed to info@radio-active-records.com, no later than February 24.

"This contest has nothing to do with music or records," adds store employee Richard Vergez.

Here is what it does have to do with:

Being that this movie breaks down complex systems through simple methodologies, your submission may be as simple or as complex as you require to make your point (remember, Daniel only required one kick from the Crane Technique to win all that his heart desired... for that moment). Your judges would like to see these main themes examined:

- Is Daniel a Hero for striking out on an individual path; or should he have just turned the matter over to the proper authorities so he could focus on his studies, an after school job that actually paid $, establishing good credit, and attracting prospective mates with less violent baggage?

- Is it possible that Johnny Lawrence traversed greater moral obstacles in his own mission for personal growth and enlightenment (evident in his congratulations to Daniel after being bested in their agreed upon system of trial)? Could Johnny be the one who fought hardest and won against what must have been years of systematic abuse, made apparent in his noxious outward behavior and submission to a tyrannical mentor in the character of karate instructor John Kreese?

- Is Mr. Miyagi a Guru worthy of praise; or was he a lonely, lazy blue-collar drunk who should have left matters regarding other people's children to the parents? Was the outward appearance of his home and workplace evidence of his mental and spiritual conditions? Did he help redeem Daniel, or simply chump a latch-key kid into cheap labor?

- Please draw all noteworthy comparisons between Ali's character to the sacred feminine portrayed in: The Virgin Mary, the Princess in Mario Brothers, Kali, Isis, Lilith, etc. Was Ali's influence constructive or destructive, self-centered or altruistic? Are organizations like Cobra Kai, the Boy Scouts, Freemasons, and football teams conducive to growth and prosperity for all, or only for the select few? Is the individual obscured or ennobled in their practices?

- Does mercy belong in your dojo?

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