The ultimate movie thrill is the sight of an underdog coming through on top after facing what seems like the world. While that description is a little stretched to apply to Rocky, I do not know if there is a more iconic underdog story. The film tells the story of the neighborhood club boxer, from 1975 Philadelphia, Rocky Balboa who is given a long shot against the world heavy-weight champion Apollo Creed. The film Rocky is an accurate representation of the times in every aspect; not only is it based off of real people and real events, but the film itself was a real “underdog”.
The movie depicts Rocky living in pretty poor conditions in Philadelphia, which for the most part seems to be done intentionally to create the classic “rags to
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The first is where Rocky received his nickname and ethnicity, from the boxer Rocky Marciano. Marciano was an Italian boxer whose prime was in the 1950s, and he was the only boxing champion to ever go undefeated. The second boxer influence was the “Bayonne Bleeder” Chuck Wepner. Wepner, after having a string of eight wins in his mid-30s, was given a long shot, just like Balboa, to go against the heavyweight champion. At the time this was originally going to be George Foreman, until Muhammad Ali took him out and won the title. Still, Wepner was able to have the shot against Ali and proved that he was able to go against the odds of 40-1. Wepner did not actually win, but he was able to last into the 15th round and was knocked out with only 19 seconds left on the clock. After seeing this, Stallone was inspired and transferred some of that inspiration to Rocky and the events during the climactic match against Creed. While the¬¬¬¬¬se fighters were given credit for inspiring Rocky, I believe the biggest influence to Rocky was Joe …show more content…
Now while loan sharking was not necessarily huge during the 1970s, it was being used in Philadelphia at the time. This is because Angelo Bruno, the Gentle Don, was the boss of the Philadelphia crime family at the time. He preferred to avoid violence, as his nickname suggests, and liked to use older methods of money making such as loan sharking or bootlegging. So it would be definitely possible and probable that some unskilled muscle such as Rocky could end up helping out the loan sharks. What is even more characteristic, though, is how well the movie depiction of the loan-sharking world seems to portray the era of the Gentle Don. In one scene, Rocky is sent to collect, and though he is supposed to break the man’s finger if he cannot pay, the kind hearted Rocky does not do it. When his boss finds out, rather than taking it out against Rocky, he just tells Rocky to let him do the thinking instead, which seems like pretty weak reprimanding from a crime family. Even Paulie, Rocky’s friend who sets Rocky up with his sister Adrian, wants to go work for the boss rather than work his current job in the meat processing plant. This is in part because working for the boss, known as Tony Gazzo, seems to pretty good from what we see in the movie. The other half of the story is that Paulie is going crazy in the meat processing plant he works in. This is
Roberto Clemente once said “I want to be remembered as a baseball player who gave all I had to give.” One could easily say that Roberto Clemente left everything he had on the baseball field, when he played. Roberto Clemente was originally born in a fairly large city in Puerto Rico. Clemente came from humble beginnings. His father was a foreman at a sugar cane plantation, while his mother did little odd jobs such as running the grocery store on the same sugar cane plantation. Clemente even worked on the plantation to help bring in money for his family of nine and to also buy a bicycle. While growing up, Clemente was focused on baseball and track. He even won medals for javelin throwing.
Did you know that Joe Montana grew up in a town where many other great quarterbacks grew up for example Dan Darino and become one of the best to ever play. Joe had a amazing life he won many awards and become very famous over the years. He has a beautiful wife and two kids. Joe montana is one of the greatest football players to ever play.
One year later Paul Vario’s brothers Vito and Lenny, gave Hill a union card at the bricklayers local. This meant that Hill could run errands for the mobsters and get paid $190 a week for a job he didn’t have to show up to. Once he was presented with this opportunity, Hill dropped out of high school and worked for the gangst...
John Wayne was a psychopath who authorities should not have let out on parole and released him early of his sentence. He murdered 33 people and enjoyed every single death. No normal human being would enjoy killing someone.
“A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.” Jackie Robinson went through many struggles from whites, since he was the first black baseball player. Robinson was an excellent ball player who exceeded at every level. He had a magnificent Batting Average and spoke against racism. Robinson played while dealing with threats from fans and other teams. Jackie Robinson, the first black baseball player, set many records and legacies for Americans to think about.
The classic gangster film focusing on a host of norms defined by some of the first gangster films. This genre originated as an escapism from the negative depression era. People would flock to see the gangsters go from rags to riches with their glitzy lifestyle and beautiful women. As Shadoian puts it, “The gangster’s fizzy spirits, classy lifestyle, and amoral daring were something like Alka-Seltzer for the headaches of the depression” (Shadoin 29). Not all this came easily for the gangsters though, bloodshed is defined as a part of business with guns a constant motif. Despite these negative outcomes, it’s easy to see how this genre was such a great elusion from the everyday where the American Dream seemed like it might not even exist anymore.
Can you imagine being discriminated because of your color? Jackie Robinson was an African American who was born on January 31, 1919 in Cairo, Georgia. He is the youngest of five children and was raised in relative poverty by a single mother. Jackie and his family moved to California in 1920. They tried buying a house in California but they couldn’t because of their color. With help of a niece, Jackie's mother bought a house in a white neighborhood. (Robinson) (13) When Jackie was eight he got into a fight with a white little girl. When the girls father came out and saw Jackie he threw rocks and stones at him because he was black. (Robinson) (13) Throughout Jackie’s life he had to go through many obstacles, mainly segregation, and he set the example that it doesn’t matter what color
“I’m not concerned with your liking or disliking me… All I ask is that you respect me as a human being.” Jackie Robinson, one of the greatest baseball players of all time. Jackie played for the Brooklyn Dodgers number “42.” You might not recognize that number because nobody can wear number 42 it is retired and not to be worn because of Jackie Robinson. Jackie Robinson is a hero because of his braveness,determination, and integrity.
Today was a huge milestone for sports history. Jackie Robinson just signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers. He is the first African American to play in major league baseball breaking the color barrier within baseball. Jackie is really opening the door here for many African American athletes all around. Robinson was was an aggressive man, outraged at injustice, and quick to stand up for his rights. He learned how to exercise self control when answering insults, violence and injustice with silence. He modeled unselfish team play, earning the respect of his teammates.He was an aggressive man, outraged at injustice and quick to stand up for his rights but had to exercise that self control which got him more respect. His family felt the prejudices throughout
There are mafia families all over the world, some of which run their businesses in the countryside. The mafia is mostly a big city organization because of what goes on in the city:" crime , police , corruption and unholy alliances between politics and business" (Cummings and Volkman 5). Basically wherever the money is there will be a mafia family nearby. New York City is considered to be the main grounds of the mafia world in which they earn up to "thirty billion dollars each year" ( Cummings and Volkman 6).
“Raging Bull” (1980) is not a so much a film about boxing but more of a story about a psychotically jealous, sexually insecure borderline homosexual, caged animal of a man, who encourages pain and suffering in his life as almost a form of reparation. Martin Scorsese’s masterpiece of a film drags you down into the seedy filth stenched world of former middleweight boxing champion Jake “The Bronx Bull” LaMotta. Masterfully he paints the picture of a beast whose sole drive is not boxing but an insatiable obsessive jealously over his wife and his fear of his own underling sexuality. The movie broke new ground with its brutal unadulterated no-holds-bard look at the vicious sport of boxing by bringing the camera into the ring, giving the viewer the most realistic, primal, and brutal boxing scenes ever filmed. With blood and sweat spraying, flashbulbs’ bursting at every blow Scorsese gives the common man an invitation into the square circle where only the hardest trained gladiators dare to venture.
Society becomes so rationalized that one must push himself to the extreme in order to feel anything or accomplish anything. The more you fight in the fight club, the tougher and stronger you become. Getting into a fight tests who you are. No one helps you, so you are forced to see your weaknesses. The film celebrates self-destruction and the idea that being on the edge allows you to be beaten because nothing really matters in your life.
Bobby Flay is one the world’s most famous chef,but just like everyone else he started out as a normal child just trying to make it in life. Born on December 10. 1964. Robert William Flay was raised in New york city by his Irish American separated parents who passed down the red hair and freckles to their son Bill and Dorothy Flay as a young child bobby use to organize his mom grocery list, made his own after school snack with a unique twist each time. He even ask for his own easy bake oven as a child, But he was not very interested in school. He went to a few catholic schools before dropping out at age 17 in tenth grade. After dropping out of school he managed to get his first professional job in 1982. Flay’s father was the manager of the
Barker, Jennifer. "'A hero will rise': the myth of the fascist man in fight club and Gladiator." Literature-Film Quarterly 36.3 (2008): 171+. Literature Resource Center. Web. 9 Dec. 2013.