It’s (Not) All Good, Man:<i>Better Call Saul</i>and the Nostalgic Reconstruction of an Ever-Longing Character

Tedesco-Barlocco, Brunella

doi:10.1093/adaptation/apaa009

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 15 publications

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“…In her examination of Better Call Saul , Brunella Tedesco‐Barlocco (2020: p. 360) describes the spin‐off series as implicitly nostalgic in its structure, especially through centering on a protagonist “forced to live in an unrewarding present while constantly looking back.” This notion applies with special force to the series investigated here. Beyond the patterns of self‐awareness, part of Cobra Kai's critical acclaim can be attributed to its portrayal of decline: the dissatisfaction that Johnny feels with adulthood denotes the viewers' own longing for the years of their youth.…”

Section: Televisual Nostalgiasmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cobra Kai Never Dies! Generational seriality and revived legacies of The Karate Kid

Frymus

2024

The J of Popular Culture

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This article investigates the hallmarks of generational seriality—the term coined by Matt Hills—using Cobra Kai, and its predecessor, The Karate Kid trilogy, as case studies. It combines textual analysis of overarching themes of these texts, such as the portrayal of white masculinity, and aligned conceptualizations of class, with the examination of televisual nostalgia. It draws on existing scholarship on TV returns and revivals, exploring how Cobra Kai enters a dialogue with the fans of the franchise, and how that dialogue is articulated. While building upon the iconography familiar to The Karate Kid fans, Cobra Kai contains a great degree of self‐reflexivity, with dialogue or entire plot lines that parody regressive gender politics of the 1980s. The series brings together the generic conventions of the teen film and ample opportunities for nostalgia in its original fan base; thus, it significantly expands its appeal to two distinctive demographics.

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Section: Televisual Nostalgiasmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cobra Kai Never Dies! Generational seriality and revived legacies of The Karate Kid

Frymus

2024

The J of Popular Culture

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Serial characterization as a feminist ethics of care in Better Call Saul

Thomas,

Haugtvedt

2023

Journal of Popular Television, The

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We pursue the consequences of temporal complexity for character development in Better Call Saul (2015–22). We advance this argument by attempting an Aristotelian reading of Better Call Saul but then show some of the deficits that follow from transferring this methodology from theatrical to serialized televisual character. Following this, we highlight some of the deficits of a judgemental approach to character that appear within the narrative of Better Call Saul, and we propose instead to understand serialized character development ateleologically. This distinction introduces the relevance of a feminist ethics of care, which we believe provides a more relevant frame for the moral evaluation of serialized character. In contrast to the absolutism of universal principles, a feminist ethics of care orients one to understand those for whom one cares in ‘relational contexts’ that emphasize specific, material and concrete conditions. This dichotomy between judgement and care is dramatized within Better Call Saul through the interpretations that two characters bring to an extended deceit. Just as the discursive and diegetic complexity of the series prompts viewers to continually re-frame and re-evaluate Jimmy McGill, Jimmy likewise regularly uses a similar move of misdirection during his scams in which he invites other characters’ judgement about one aspect of his performance while accomplishing his actual goal by other means. Jimmy routinely invites judgement through taking on personae that he ultimately discards, reserving and preserving evaluation of his authentic motivations in continual acts of deferral. If Jimmy is ever rehabilitated, he arrives at such a possibility through an authentic confession directed towards the person who has cared most for him, Kim Wexler. Ultimately, we believe that Better Call Saul uses the structure of its serialized discourse to endorse the moral attention and responsiveness that are characteristic of a feminist ethic of care, rather than a system of characterization based on a teleological, final judgement that sees character from an endpoint looking backwards.

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It’s (Not) All Good, Man:Better Call Sauland the Nostalgic Reconstruction of an Ever-Longing Character

Cited by 2 publications

References 15 publications

Cobra Kai Never Dies! Generational seriality and revived legacies of The Karate Kid

Cobra Kai Never Dies! Generational seriality and revived legacies of The Karate Kid

Serial characterization as a feminist ethics of care in Better Call Saul

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