If Bruce Lee were alive in the 1980’s:
If Bruce Lee were around in the 1980's, my guess is that he would've thought the iconic film, "The Karate Kid" was O.K. He might appreciate the message, but I bet he'd have wanted the martial arts element be EVEN MORE substantive. I bet it would have inspired him to make his own student-teacher martial arts movie. In his film, "Enter the Dragon", he has a scene where he's teaching a student, one-on-one, not just movements, but how to tap into one's deeper consciousness, and the philosophy behind it. Indeed, in the original Karate Kid, they referenced Bruce Lee's teaching scene from Enter the Dragon, when Mr. Miyagi said to Daniel while bowing, "Always look eye!" Bruce Lee famously smacked his student on his head while bowing and said, "Never take your eyes off your opponent, even when you bow!"
I think were Bruce Lee alive in the 1980's to make his own teacher-student martial arts movie, it would have a lot more to do with using martial arts as a way to liberate oneself from oppressive and traditional structures (as he constantly did), to become one's own master of self expression, and to always be learning and adapting.
Dang. That movie would be AMAZING.
Even in his final and incomplete film, "Game of Death", he was trying to teach the audience about the ability to adapt to any type of fighter, without he himself being bound to one particular discipline.