American History in Films - Report Example

American History in Films: Rocky (1976) Rocky is American sports film that was produced in 1976. John G. Avildsen directed it. The movie was written and starred by Sylvester Stallone. It tells the typical heart-moving story of rags to riches. It is a perfect embodiment of how the American dream unfolds in an unexpected manner. The story is of Rocky Balboa, who is a kind uneducated loan collector for a loan shark in the city of Philadelphia. Rocky is a simple club fighter who gets an opportunity to face off with Apollow Creed for the World heavyweight championship. It tells the heart-compelling story of luck combined with hard work. The aim of the paper is to analyze the historical inferences that can be seen in the movie. Plot The movie starts in November 25, 1975 when Rocky Balboa is introduced as a minor boxer who works for a loan shark in Philadelphia. Rocky lives in Kensington, which is one of the low-class neighborhoods in Philadelphia. Apollo Creed, the world heavyweight champion, is determined to defend his title against Mac Lee Green in Philadelphia Spectrum. The fight was to take place on New Year’s Eve day. Unfortunately, Mac Lee Green opts out of the fight because of an injured hand. Apollo selects Rocky as an underdog fighter to face him. Rocky believes he cannot beat Apollo but hopes he can the distance with him. The fight does not go Apollo’s way because Rocky is difficult to knock out. Apollo wins the match via a split decision. The prime time of the movie is a heart throbbing boxing match between Apollo that seems to on forever. Production and Public Perspective of Rocky The production of Rocky was done under a tight budget. Stallone claims he was inspired to write the movie after watching a fight between Chuck Wepner, and the reigning World Heavyweight Champion Muhammad Ali wrote the movie. The championship fight happened in 1976. The movie is all about stifled ambitions and broken dreams, which prompted Stallone to write the story of Rocky Balboa. According to news from LAHExam, several companies offered to buy the impressive script from Stallone but he refused (AFI Catalog). Stallone insisted that he would let a company produce the movie if he were allowed to star in the lead role. United Artists refused to let Stallone star as the lead actor. Instead, they wanted Ryan O’Neal, Burt Reynolds or James Caan to play Rocky Balboa. Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff tried to persuade United Artists to let Stallone take the lead role to no success. Therefore, Stallone refused an offer that went up to $275,000 to sell a script to United Artists. Winkler was noted saying in a LAT Interview that he and Chartoff had to exercise a provision in their contracts that gave them permission to make any movie of their choice for a cost of $1,500,000. The United Artists proposed a budget of $2,000,000 for the film, which would allow the company to avoid the producer’s deal and make a movie with a star that they choose. Winkler and Chartoff had a meeting, with the head of the production department in United Artists, where they agreed to make a movie for $1,000,000 in order to guarantee their full control of the Rocky project. It is apparent that they were determined to make a movie using Sylvester Stallone as the lead actor (AFI Catalog). Avildsen (Rocky Director) was hired because of he had a reputation for keeping movies under low budget. According to an article published in NYT, Avildsen convinced Stallone to change the scene where he takes Adrian to a busy skating center to cut budget. Instead, the skating arena remains empty because it is closed. The skating scene makes one of the most memorable moments in the movie. Upon the completion of Rocky, United Artists started a huge promotional campaign to promote the movie. The movie was marketed as a true ‘Cinderella story’ given that Stallone had to go through so much to make his dream of starring in the movie a reality. Rocky became a tremendous hit in the American movie industry in 1988. It was among the highest grossing films in 1977 bettered only Star Wars. The article reported that, by December 2006, Rock had a grossed approximately $225, 000,000 all over the world and $117,000,000 in the United States. The movie enjoyed immense supports from the public. Possibly, the simplicity of the story was the main factor in the success of Rocky. The success of the film is evidenced by the fact that the movie still enjoys high ratings even today. It is still considered a classic even 30 years after the movie was screened. Some critics downplayed Stallone’s acting and the ability of Avildsen to direct a movie. Vincent Canby, who was with New York Times, dismissed the movie as backdated with poor acting and directing. Canby claimed the movie’s weakness are because of poor directing by Avildsen. American Interests and History Rocky was produced during the era of Post-classical cinema, which came after the studio system had declined in the 50s and 60s (Pillai 73). Rocky was created and acted at era when the American film industry was undergoing major changes due to new knowledge and audience demand. At this time, two types of films, which were blockbusters and independent films characterized the film industry. Blockbusters are films that focused on achieving spectacle. It was very expensive to create a blockbuster movie. On the other hand, independent films were made at very low costs so as to supplement blockbusters. Rocky was clearly in the independent films category. It is a fact that the movie was made a very low budget, which made the total cost be a million dollars. It required professional acting and its success dependent on critics and access to the audience. The independent films were budgeted low because their success was not guaranteed. Therefore, their failure would cost the studio fewer losses. It is worth noting that independent films have developed to become an influential part of the American movie industry. It is worth noting that Rocky was created when America was still struggling with issues of racism and poverty. Rocky lives in Kensington, which is a poor neighborhood where loan sharks are in charge. In the film, one can see the issues of racism cropping up. For example, in one interview Apollo is asked, “How do you think that Rock feels to fight a black man?” The statement is an apparent case of racism. The society has created a gap between whites and blacks, which might have prompted that question. The evidence of poverty can is evidenced by the type of houses found in Kensington. Rocky passes dirty streets, which are filled with Asians. In fact, the story of Rocky himself is that of a struggling club boxers who gets paid peanuts for fights. The movie starts with Rocky winning a boxing match after being overwhelmed with fury. Rocky and his fighting mate are paid less than $50 net wage after pounding each other for a long time. Paulie who is Rocky’s friend keeps complaining of low wages. It shows the benefits that came with the inclusion of African Americans in the US film industry. The struggle to have African Americans include in US motion picture was intense between 1963 and 1974 (Dawson 1211). Rocky starts several African Americans, which shows how much progress the film industry had made in terms of racism and profiling. In the 1970s, the United States of America achieved significant technological advancements. The country has managed to go to the space and mandate several Apollo missions to space. In fact, the name ‘Apollo Creed’ might have been taken by the fighter to show his might. Philadelphia is teeming with activity because of many industries and a busy port. The evidence of heavy industrialization is shown in the streets when Rock Balboa is training. Rocky passes a number of shops and manufacturing plants. It is also shown when Rocky confronts one of the Gazzo’s debtors to collect. In 1972, NASA attempted its last lunar exploration with a mission dubbed Apollo 17 (Gepper 340). The other aspect of American history that comes out strongly in Rocky is the presence of street gangs. Rocky meets a gang of teenagers who are singing at the beginning of the movie. At one point, he gives advice to a young girl on the importance of avoiding gangs and studying. Rocky emphasizes the significance of education and the disadvantages of a gang. In the 1970s, American was struggling with managing street gangs, which were led by crime kingpins (Lombardo 1970). The situation was very serious in big cities like New York. The growth of boxing as an entertaining sport is another aspect of American history that comes out in Rocky. The match that took place between Charles Wepner and Muhammad Ali inspired the story of Rocky Balboa. Boxing was among the most celebrated sports in America. Muhammad Ali had risen to fame because of the popularity of boxing as an entertaining sport. The popularity of boxing is shown by the attention Apollo Creed gets from the audience. In addition, very many people attend the fight between Apollo and Rocky. In Mickey’s gym, many boxers are training with the goal of becoming champions in the game of boxing. The advantages that are associated to being star are depicted using the lifestyle that Apollo Creed lives. The movie also shows the typical treatment of entertainers with pomp and awe. Works Cited AFI Catalog. Rocky. n.d. Internet resources. 4 December 2014. Dawson, Andrew. "Challenging Lilywhite Hollywood: African Americans and the Demand for Racial Equality in the Motion Picture Industry, 1963-1974." Journal of Popular Culture (2012): 1206-1225. Print. Gepper, Alexander C. T. " Extraterrestrial encounters: UFOs, science and the quest for transcendence, 1947-1972." History & Technology (2012): 335-362. Lombardo, Timothy J. "The Battle of Whitman Park: Race, Class, and Public Housing in Philadelphia, 1956–1982." Journal of Social History (2013): 401-428. Pillai, Swarnavel Eswaran. "The 1970s Tamil cinema and the post-classical turn." South Asian Popular Culture (2012): 77-89. Rocky. Dir. John G. AVildsen. Perf. Sylvester Stallone. 1976. DVD. Read More