A short biography of the life of Stallone and the success of Rocky.  This is a good resource for one looking for quick information on the successes and failures of Stallone.  By D. Goldstein

Ryan and Kellner contextualize Rocky within the culture and society of its time.  The authors state that the movie was made during “the second major recession of the decade” and that the film’s story barely hides its elements of working class racism.  Ryan and Kellner see Rocky’s attack against the African-American Creed as a metaphor for the white working class’s resentment for the rising status of the African-American in 1970’s society.  By D. Goldstein

This criticism offers a small synopsis and background history of the film and its creation.  Like Rocky’s other critics, Leab describes the title character as “The Great White Hope.”  He claims that the success of the film rested on its reception by America’s White working class and that the film rejected the prejudices and fears of the Black movement toward equality in the 70’s.  It is interesting that the move to a “Bicentennial America” meant a move toward racism.  Again, I assume Stallone did not intend for this connection when he wrote Rocky’s script, but I’m sure the culture of the era influenced Stallone to unintentionally include the racist elements of the film such as Rocky’s degradation at the hands of an arrogant Black reporter.  By D. Goldstein

O’Brien notes the misrepresentation of Black boxers in the film Rocky.  He states that “in the last half century,” there has been only one great white boxer.  The rest have been black.  However, Rocky presents a White boxer as the great boxing champion.  Implicit in the Rocky films is racism.  Only after the Italian-American Rocky defeats Apollo in Rocky II does the African-American former champion choose to join his side and help him train.  In this article, O’Brien posits that racism in society may have shaped how Rocky was written.  By D. Goldstein

Martin posits that Rocky is a film rich with “ideological and mythical meanings” and conservative values.  Martin sees Rocky not as a symbol of hope for the oppressed poor, but as retaliation against the Civil Rights movement of the late 1960’s which challenged the dominant power of European-American male.  Martin implies that the theme of the oppressed white man may have conservatively shaped public attitudes in the late 70’s, leading to Reagen’s “New Right” of the 1980s.  It is very interesting to see how a film such as Rocky may have had political implications as well as cultural ones.  Martin interprets the portrayal of Rocky as the poor, oppressed white man fighting against the dominating Black man as a way of scapegoating African-Americans as the cause of financial difficulties at the end of the 70’s.   Given the film’s popularity, it is reasonable to think that this message could have affected the views of many Americans.  By D. Goldstein