Themes of Masculinity in Rocky
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In 1976, Sylvester Stallone created the character of Rocky Balboa and introduced the first in a series of films featuring this lower class Italian boxer and his drive to become successful. Rocky Balboa "symbolized something far more than a simpleminded pugilist. Indeed, his character transcended the dynamics of the boxing ring and came to represent the values upon which America itself thrived.... It told us the story of the American Dream" (Glazov, 1). At the same time, the film and its central character allow an opportunity to explore both the realities and myths of constructed masculinity. In this essay, examples of the masculine traits, attitudes, and behaviors of Rocky Balboa will be presented, building an argument that Rocky provides what Van Deraa (17) calls an archetype of masculinity at its most physical and violent level that is nevertheless representative of a personal catharsis of emotional self-actualization. As the film begins, Rocky Balboa is presented as a small-time club fighter from the lower class of Philadelphia who also works as an enforcer for a loan shark (Ebert, 1). He is inherently violent but is also in love with a painfully shy girl who works at the neighborhood pet store and is also a man who clearly cares for the unlikely pets (i.e., turtles and a goldfish) he has purchased from the pet store. Rocky is given a chance to fight the world heavyweight champion largely because of his nickname - the Italian Stallion - which suggests a certai
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ship bout. It is only when Rocky begins to have emotional engagements with others that his capacity as an athlete is fully developed (Van Deraa, 19). Van Deraa (19) stated that "Rocky presents a nuanced, if somewhat sentimental archetype of a man who must negotiate his masculinity through complex emotional relationships with others, while simultaneously developing his physical strength."
The subtext of the film is that Rocky's masculinity is partly defined by his humanity toward others (Van Deraa, 19). On the one hand, Rocky defines himself as a boxer and dedicates an enormous amount of physical and mental energy to becoming worthy of entering the ring against the world heavyweight champion. The viewer sees Rocky's commitment to this quest in his abandonment of tobacco and alcohol and his increasingly punishing training regimen. Rocky pushes his physical development to the point where he is in fact worthy of undertaking a championship bout while at the same time developing his emotional capacity to bond with others. There is no doubt that the film presents contextualized fighting as what Van Deraa (19) calls "an acceptable form of masculine expression." Interestingly, Rocky can do whatever is needed in the ring no matter
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Van Deraa, Rocky Balboa, Italian Stallion, Brussat Brussat, Rocky Adrian, Adrian Stallion, Dream Glazov, Adrian Rocky, Adrian Adrian, Interestingly Rocky, van deraa, rocky balboa, online february 10, van deraa 19, accessed online, 10 2009, online february, february 10, accessed online february, february 10 2009, deraa 19, boxing ring, rocky's masculinity, italian stallion, masculinity goes beyond,
Approximate Word count = 1498
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)
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