Rocky: "just another bum from the neighborhood"

John G. Avilsden's Rocky is an iconic boxing film. An American classic. While they didn't reinvent the wheel when it comes to the typical boxer's story, Rocky still manages to contribute to the conversation that the boxing genre has opened.

The typical tale of a washed up underdog, Rocky follows the overarching narrative of a working class boxer, punching his way to success. He fits the mold cast by his predecessors. Where and why the film breaks this mold is where we can dig into the core of the film, and understand what sets it apart from other boxing films.

Context is crucial to understanding Rocky. Set during, and released during, the American Bicentennial, as well as the cold war, Rocky had a lot of pressure to be an All-American hero. Indeed, this aspect of Rocky is further explored in the sequels of the film, with the introduction of a Soviet boxer. It's no surprise then, that red, white and blue are a recurring motif throughout the film. Posters, shorts, lights, everything is red, white, and blue. The theme of American celebration runs strong through Rocky, but looking past the flashy, arranged event that is the main fight between Rocky and Apollo, we see a different side of America. We see the run down, but lively neighborhood's Rocky and friends live in, the store's they frequent, the gym's they train in. We see the inside of America's industrial backbone in the meat plant, and the luxurious home of Rocky Balboa. We are given a peak into a life that is peaceful and content, but often repetitive and slightly depressing. Rocky exposes the cracks in a society that was promised greatness, and delivered mediocrity.

You had the talent to become a good fighter, but instead of that, you become a leg-breaker to some cheap, second rate loan shark!

Rocky begins the film as the enforcer for a local loan shark. This unsavory occupation becomes a focal point for many of the films important conflicts. While being a "leg-breaker" is not usually considered an honorable profession, the film does not seem to be criticizing Rocky for his life choices, in fact it portrays Rocky as a sort of "righteous" debt-collector, who refuses to carry out needlessly cruel requests like breaking fingers and bones, or accept a victims clothes as compensation. Instead, when taken as a whole, the whole loan shark operation serves as a red flag for greater societal issues. A certain amount of poverty and desperation has to exist in a population before they start to turn to loan sharks for financial services. The overall sentiment of the film is expressed in the quote included above from Rocky's would-be trainer. Disappointment. He's not the only one who is disappointed, throughout the film, Rocky's friend Paulie constantly asks for help getting a job with the loan shark. Disillusioned with his job, his life, Paulie is willing to turn to less than legal means to achieve his goals. In the world of Rocky Balboa, the American Dream is not dead, but people are starting to get impatient.

"I can't haul meat no more"

This is perfectly exemplified in Paulie's confrontation with Rocky and Adrian. In his rage he rants about his frustration, with his job, with his family, with his marriage outlook. In this way, Paulie and Rocky are very similar characters, they both start the film "getting by", with Rocky responding to a criticism of his career by saying "it's a living". The film seems to be challenging Americans, like a mirror, it is reflected on us and shows us exactly what getting by and being complacent looks like.

"He doesn't know it's a damn show! He thinks it's a damn fight!"

That, is where Apollo Creed comes in. A man of spectacle, the spitting image of Muhammad Ali. Apollo is depicted as flashy, a showman.  Creed's role is two-fold, to serve both as an inspiration, and exciter, and also as a criticism of blind optimism and hubris. Creed reminds us of what America was supposed to be about, "do you believe America is the land of opportunity?". Creed is the American Dream incarnate, offering a shot at the world championship to some bum from Philadelphia. He reinvigorates the public, reminds to aim higher, to not be content. But Creed's optimism is two-sided. American to the point of satire, Creed can be seen as a criticism of the glorification of America on it's bicentennial, when we have previously observed the levels of poverty and mediocrity still present in the supposed "land of opportunity". Furthermore, Creed's optimism gets the better of him in the end.

Through Rocky, we see a third option. He rejects the complacency and laziness of Paulie(who undergoes a change in the end), and also the hubris of Apollo. Rocky reaffirms the American faith in hard work, and determination, epically summarized in a legendary montage. Rocky's goal isn't to win, but to prove to himself, and his family and community, that he can go the distance. That he's not "just another bum from the neighborhood". That in America, a nobody can be somebody, if they put in work. Do you believe America is the land of opportunity?