Hey, my lovelies. I hope y’all are having a great day/night wherever y’all are from. And welcome to another segment of The Rant Cafe where I rant and crash out about characters, tropes, stories, movies, anime and TV shows that piss me off.
So I was scrolling on Tiktok and saw a video of a guy reenacting a scene in Kung Fu Panda 1 where Tai Lung confronts Shifu after he broke out of prison and bodied the furious five.
For those who don’t know Tai Lung was previously a student of Shifu who was promised by Shifu to be the Dragon Warrior, a legendary title and prophesied martial arts master. So Tai Lung dedicated his ENTIRE CHILDHOOD training to become the Dragon Warrior and he was the best of the best. But the moment he and Shifu went to Oogway, the founder of Kung Fu, he was like, yeah no. This nigga ain’t fit to be the Dragon Warrior despite all the work he put to earn the title. And Shifu did nothing and obviously Tai Lung crashed out and became a villain and terrorised erbody and was imprisoned for it.
Hell, even the Furious Five, who spent years training and perfecting their craft weren’t chosen to be the Dragon Warrior.
Yet the title fell on Po, a panda who had NO experience and NO training or even worked to EARN that title.
Now listen, I get that Po eventually did get into training and worked towards earning and being worthy of being The Dragon Warrior. But are we going to sit here and pretend that this isn’t narrative nepotism?
Yes Tai Lung was wrong for taking out his anger and hurt for not being chosen to be the Dragon Warrior. He could have left. He could have started his own Dojo where hard work was appreciated. But I don’t blame him for being mad at the system for being unfair. And quite frankly, now that I think about it, for someone as wise as Oogway, he ain’t shit. Coz how can you see potential in Po, who hadnt work to earn the title and appreciate the work and dedication Tai Lung put in ever since he was a child.
Shifu ain’t shit either. In fact, this mutha fucka is the main reason and the blueprint who contributed to Tai Lung’s downfall and how we got here in the first. This mutha fucka promised Tai Lung would be the dragon warrior if he trained and worked hard enough. He he actively groomed Tai Lung to believe he was a god from when he was A CHILD. This nigga whispered "destiny" in his ear since he was a baby. Shifu was obsessed with moulding and creating the perfect warrior only to look away when the consequences arrived. He didn’t even stand by Tai Lung, argue his case on his behalf, question Oogway or explain that it was unfair and that Tai Lung worked and trained his whole life preparing for this. He just accepted it and did nothing. He just stood there, accepted the vibe check from Oogway, and left Tai Lung to deal with the psychological damage alone. No wonder the Tai Lung crashed out and turned evil! Yes, Tai Lung is evil, arrogant, prideful and he would have turned into a tyrant if he was given so much power as the Dragon Warrior, but he was also a victim and was failed by the system he dedicated his entire childhood for.
Shifu was essentially a toxic sports dad who abandoned his kid the second he didn't make the draft or the final cut.
And sure, Oogway’s reasonings for not granting Tai Lung the Dragon Warrior scroll was because he could see the greed and darkness in his heart, coz admitted Tai Lung even before he turned evil had those traits and Po had something Tai Lung had: humility and total lack of malice coz our boy Po is the most kindhearted panda with the biggest heart.
This nigga was willing to forgive the mutha fucka who attacked his village and killed his mama when he was just a baby, even if the nigga was beyond saving. That’s what we love about Po and what makes him OUR Dragon Warrior. And like I said, he did put in the work to earn his title and earn the respect of his heroes.
Hell Po felt like he was unworthy of the title because he felt like a nobody and that there were better candidates to be the Dragon Warrior.
My issue with this trope and why I chose Kung Fu Panda one as an example is mainly because I’m asking: What message are we sending?
Like I know the main message of Kung Fu Panda 1 is that there is no secret ingredient to your worth—value isn't something you can win, perform, or achieve; it is something you choose to believe about yourself.
But I can’t help but wonder especially with Tai Lung’s story: Are we saying that no matter how hard we try. No matter how much time and work we put in to perfect our craft or achieve our goal, someone who has never worked a day in their life will always get the thing you’ve been working for because of nepotism.
Coz I personally think that the main message would have hit harder if Po was already training or was a cleaner in the Jade Palace but wasn’t as gifted or was training in secret and still had that thing where he wasn’t confident or didn’t feel worthy to be the Dragon Warrior and learned the lesson that there is no secret ingredient and that his self worth and value isn't determined by how gifted or talented he is and that he has to believe in himself just as Oogway believe in him when he chose him to be the dragon warrior.
By leaving Po completely untrained at the start, the movie accidentally tells the audience that Oogway was running a cosmic lottery, and Tai Lung just bought the wrong ticket.
But that’s just me. What do y’all think?
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