Karate Kid or Back to the Future?

As a semi-child of the 80s, I have been struggling with something for a long time. I have pondered this subject informally, but never fleshed out my thoughts about it. So, here goes:

Which 80s trilogy is better: The Karate Kid or Back to the Future?

Now, before the haters begin shouting, lets clarify: yes, there are other trilogies which could be considered better than these--Star Wars, Indiana Jones, etc. But, I believe these two hold a special, quasi-comical, quasi-dramatic place which only 9 year old children truly appreciate.

Let the games begin:

1. Main Character
Both Marty McFly and Daniel Larusso share an endearing underdog status which helps us root for them right from the off. Both have family struggles--Marty struggling with the existential, Freudian dilemma of a weakling father, Daniel (absent of father) just moved to a new place with a somewhat aloof, but caring mother.
Both are unassuming and cute. Both have high aspirations caged in very adolescent worlds.
However, the first round goes to Back to the Future. Daniel is an emotionally closed in teenager, unwilling to express his emotions at times. His persistence and boylike facial expressions makeup for this, but . . . No one runs like Marty. Really, watch Michael J. Fox run throughout the three films and you see the heroic underdog embodied in full stride. Marty is open, humble and enduring. He stands up for himself and others. His mission is fueled not only by revenge, but by a hope to set the time-space continuum right.

Winner: BTTF

2. Eccentric mentor?

Both classics. Doc Brown and Mr. Miyagi have reached iconic status and if there isn't a website where you can by t-shirts with their likenesses on them the Information Age is truly a failure. Doc Brown is wide-eyed, excitable recluse with crazy aspirations. His genius is hidden behind a whirlwind of scattered thoughts. But, he got the flex capacitor right. A time machine out of a Delorean, genius. Mr. Miyagi on the other hand is a zen-like master, cool under pressure and always under control. His sage like advice is subtle yet potent. But, these aren't the reasons that KK wins this round. No, it is the sheer amount of times that Miyagi beats ass throughout the trilogy that gives the KK the edge. Miyagi beats Johnny and the gangs ass and the jokers at the beach in the first one, the Cobra Kai sensei in the second, and then has it out in his home town on Okinawa in a family duel.

Winner: KK

3. Girlfriend?

Both are hot. That's for sure. But, there is a definitive answer as to why the KK version is the winner here. BTF contains numerous scenes of Marty kissing, or at least romantically compromised, with his mother. I am sorry. I don't care who is girlfriend is. I don't care what she looks like. The sexual energy has been zapped straight up. On the other hand, Elizabeth Shue is always hot. Always.

Winner: KK

4. Plot?

No doubt, the Karate Kid is an endearing figure. I practiced the Crane Kick for years after seeing the first film and still pull it out in bar fights when need be. Daniel's quest for self-confidence and revenge is great. The way Miyagi works him into shape is classic. But, there is simply no way that BTTF doesn't win here. Throughout the films, we are taken from suburban America in 1985, to the future of flying cars, back to the Wild West and then into an alternative 1985. This is more than teen angst, the fate of the time-space continuum rests in the balance. The sheer drama oozing from Doc Brown's eyes and Marty's numerous run ins with the Biffs, the decision about whether or not to tinker with the future, the interweaving stories of family, love and self-control--this is the stuff of epics.

Winner: BTTF

5. Lessons Learned?

I credit any moral fibers in my existence to these trilogies. Truly, the stuff of life is contained here. Daniel learns about hard-work (pain the fence, sand the floor, etc.), how to stick up for yourself, what it means to have a mentor that is demanding and compellig, how to hope against hope and to never give up. Miyagi instills in him the virtue of self-control--karate is not about hurting people, it is about balance. Isn't all of life? I mean really.
BTTF is chalked full of it to. Marty is balancing a shaky self-identity made up of rock star dreams, a dissapointing family and an incessant desire to prove himself to anyone that challenges him (Did you call me chicken?). Over the course of the trilogies, he comes to see that people are not static--small, strange events can transform destinies. A bit of self-confidence can bring out the genius in people (like his dad). He stands up to bullies at all costs, especially for the vulnerable (his mother, George, Doc, etc.). There is probably a sermon tied in here for people that do that kind of thing. Anyway, point being, Marty's combination of persistence, cool under pressure and care for the vulnerable leads to the restoration of the time-space continuum with the added bonus of those closest to him becoming what they truly could be--self-confident, talented individuals. This is starting to sound like eschatology.

Winner: BTTF

So, by a slim margin the debate is decided. As always Daniel-san put a good fight, but in the end the cosmos is restored by the only man that could pull off Marty McFly and Alex P. Keaton in the same decade.