The Dark Horse

Before the film studies classes began watching the film Rocky, we were introduced to a theme: The American Dream. At first, I was unsure as to how this would relate to the film, however, as it progressed, the realization came to me that this theme was an undercurrent throughout the entire film. To me, the American Dream involves rising from rags to riches. From being a nobody to being a somebody. From living a life of poverty to one of financial comfort and luxury. The idea is that, with enough hard work and effort, anyone could become successful in the United States of America. If this sounds like you, then you are living the American Dream. 

There is no doubt that Rocky represents the American Dream. In the movie, when talking to Adrian about his upcoming fight with Apollo Creed, he said that he wanted to "Go the distance". He was "The Dark Horse": the underdog. He faced tons of adversity, including from Creed, but found a way to overcome it. If that's not an example of the American Dream, I don't know what is. That quote alone accurately represents the American Dream. At the end of the film, while it was hard to tell, it looked as though Apollo Creed had won the wrestling match, but the American Dream is not all about winning, per se. Even if you lose like Rocky did, you still win, but in a different sense. You still "went the distance". You still worked hard, and were given a once in a lifetime opportunity. While the odds seemed to be against you, and you didn't feel so confident in the beginning, you made the wise decision to take on the challenge, and that alone is worthy of recognition.

As Rocky was preparing for the fight, I noticed that look of determination on him. At first, he had tried speedwalking up the stairs, which proved to be very hard for him. He couldn't climb them quickly, and was out of breath by the time he reached the top. But it wasn't long until he scaled those steps with ease. Even though he was just a character in a movie, I felt proud of him.

Since I am a student in the Thunderclap Pathway, I also took the time to notice the way the scenes were edited. While training, fast-paced music (non-diegetic sound) was playing, along with accurate tracking shots, both of which made me feel as if I was a part of the scene myself. For an older movie, this was very well done, and I appreciate the use of the Steadicam as well.

Time was running out; it was the last night before the day of the fight. Despite all of the vigorous training that he had done, and the high level of confidence he displayed along the way, Rocky still had his insecurities and doubts about the fight with Apollo Creed, which he told Adrian. The chemistry between her and Rocky became even clearer at this point, because she was the only person that he shared his emotional side with. He was much more comfortable with her than anyone else.

It was time to fight. Apollo Creed came in gracing the ring (or at least, that's what he thought he was doing with his ridiculous outfit). While shaking hands with Rocky, he called him "chump" twice, and during the fight, he taunted Rocky. Usually I am not one for violence, but I really hoped that Rocky would do some damage to Creed, because he was being an absolute jerk. His whole intent for fighting Rocky in the first place was for publicity. He wanted to make a fool out of him, and earn his grossly-large paycheck. He even enticed the audience to support him by throwing them money, which he clearly had plenty of. This is completely against what I believe the American Dream should be. The American Dream is about being real, honest, sincere. They shouldn't work their way up to success by deceiving people, and by partaking in publicity stunts. People living the American Dream are role models who inspire others to succeed.

Fortunately for me, Rocky definitely did some damage to Creed, despite the fact that he lost the fight. That's karma in action. Creed had such a big ego, thinking that Rocky was going to be easy to fight with. He was wrong. Dead wrong.