Why Hollywood Gets Teaching All Wrong (and why this matters for course building)
Say it ain't so, Mr. Miyagi!
A few days ago, I had an interesting realization: Hollywood often portrays terrible teaching methods as if they were great ones.
Worse, many of us internalize these portrayals as examples of effective learning.
This hit me while I was brainstorming an article on how people learn. One of my sections focused on the importance of finding a great teacher, and I thought it would be fun to title it Find Your Yoda. I even considered extending the analogy—Find Your Own Jedi Order for learning communities, for example.
But before fully committing, I decided to rewatch some of Yoda’s actual teaching scenes from The Empire Strikes Back.
And that’s when it struck me: Yoda is a terrible teacher.
The Yoda Problem: When Teaching Becomes a Pep Talk
Consider the famous moment when Yoda instructs Luke to use the Force to lift the X-Wing out of the swamp. Luke struggles and says, “I’ll try.” Yoda immediately responds with the now-iconic line: “Do or do not. There is no try.”
At first, this sounds profound. But let’s think about it from a real teaching perspective.
If a student doesn’t yet know if they can do something—or even how to do it—what are they supposed to say other than “I’ll try”? Telling them not to just try doesn’t actually help them succeed.
And what happens when Luke fails? Yoda doesn’t break the task down or offer a progression to ease his learning. Instead, he lifts the X-Wing himself and then essentially shames Luke: “That is why you fail.”
If belief alone determined success, we could all just declare, “I believe I can run a marathon tomorrow”—and miraculously do it. But real learning doesn’t work that way.
If we wanted to help someone lift an X-Wing—or do anything difficult—we wouldn’t just tell them to believe. We’d train them to believe by guiding them through small, manageable steps:
Lift something light—maybe a peanut.
Move up to an apple.
Then a basketball.
Gradually progress to heavier objects.
Eventually, lifting the X-Wing might feel possible.
This is how we actually build confidence and skill. We start small, experience success, and progressively increase the challenge. That’s what makes belief grow—not a stern lecture about mindset.
The Mr. Miyagi Problem: Teaching Through Hidden Lessons
Another beloved Hollywood teacher, Mr. Miyagi from The Karate Kid, presents a different kind of bad teaching example.
His method? Have Daniel paint fences, wax cars, and sand floors—all without explaining that these motions will later translate into karate blocks and strikes. It’s only when Daniel gets frustrated that Miyagi finally reveals the connection.
The problem? This method assumes that far transfer of learning—taking skills from one context and applying them under pressure in another—happens automatically. But research shows it doesn’t. People don’t naturally make big learning leaps unless they are given clear connections and time to reflect on them.
If Miyagi were truly setting Daniel up for success, he’d still use repetitive drills—but he’d also tell Daniel their purpose from the start. Instead of making Daniel frustrated, he could have said:
“We’re going to build muscle memory for your blocks by starting with this motion. It will feel like second nature soon.”
“Once you’ve practiced enough, I’ll throw punches, and you’ll instinctively block them.”
Instead, Miyagi lets Daniel believe he’s just being used for free labor, creating unnecessary conflict. Well, it's unnecessary from a teaching standpoint but totally necessary for another purpose.
Why Hollywood Gets Teaching Wrong
Here’s the thing: Hollywood’s version of teaching is about drama, not learning. Stories require conflict. If learning were shown as a smooth, progressive process where students gradually improved without frustration, it wouldn’t make for a compelling movie.
Good teaching, however, avoids unnecessary struggle. It minimizes frustration. An effective teacher wouldn’t set a student up for failure just to create a dramatic “aha” moment later.
The Right Way to Teach and Learn
Real learning happens through progressive skill-building. It follows a sequence:
Start with small, achievable tasks – Build confidence and competence with early wins.
Slowly increase difficulty – Add challenges only when the previous step is mastered.
Make connections explicit – Help learners understand how each step relates to the bigger picture.
Reinforce through repetition and reflection – Strengthen neural pathways with practice and review.
This method aligns with cognitive load theory, which explains that people can only process so much new information at once. Dumping too much complexity on a learner—or expecting them to make intuitive leaps—often leads to overwhelm and failure.
What This Means for Course Creators and Coaches
If you create courses or coach others, avoid Hollywood’s mistakes:
Don’t just exhort learners to believe—help them grow their beliefs with a clear path to success.
Don’t expect students to make huge conceptual leaps—give them bridges to understanding.
Don’t create artificial frustration—set up achievable steps that naturally build confidence.
Your students will learn faster, retain more, and be far less likely to quit.
Hollywood’s version of learning makes for great storytelling—but in real life, the best teachers know that progress is built step by step.
Take the Next Step in Course Creation
If you’re a coach or course creator looking to apply real, research-backed learning techniques, check out The Atomic Course Blueprint. It helps you break down complex topics into small, digestible lessons that students can actually apply—without the frustration Hollywood-style teaching creates.
✅ Design courses that guide learners step by step.
✅ Avoid overwhelming your students with too much at once.
✅ Ensure your lessons lead to real results.
If you want to create a course that truly helps people learn (instead of just dramatizing the struggle), see how The Atomic Course Blueprint can help you. Check it out here.
Still here? I love that. 🙂 If this resonated with you, hit reply and tell me: What's the worst teaching advice you've ever received?