Yo, Adrian
In literature, there are archetypes of certain “heroes”. There’s the “Orphan Hero”, like Harry Potter, who solves his problems with his heart. There’s the “British Hero”, like Sherlock Holmes, who solves his problems with his mind. Then there’s the “American Hero”, like Rocky Balboa, who solves his problems with his fists.
That’s accurate — mostly.
What makes Rocky different from the archetype of a scrappy lackwit who fights and does what he has to in order to survive is not what you might think. He doesn’t adapt an attribute from the “British Hero”, and take their mind. Instead, he adapts an attribute from the “Orphan Hero” and takes their heart.
We don’t know whether or not Rocky is an actual orphan — I don’t recall his parents ever being mentioned. However, one might not have to read too far into his character to see the Italian Stallion in this light. Rocky is an outsider, even in his own field. At the start of Rocky, our titular hero has just been beaten by a lesser boxer. He’s getting older, he’s broke, and he’s constantly injured, but Rocky doesn’t really care. This isn’t because he’s dumb, it’s because he just keeps on trying — he goes the distance.
Let’s run a quick character analysis here:
What does Rocky want? To fight Apollo Creed, to get the girl, to fight the big fight.
What does Rocky need? That one’s a little harder. Let’s look at his wants again.
Why does Rocky want to fight the heavyweight champion of the world? Not for a fancy title or recognition, but because he wants to be his OWN best, not the world’s best. He wants to fight because he wants to fight, not because he wants glory.
Back to hero archetypes for a second. Remember ancient Greek heroes? They were defined by doing a heroic act that affected their nation, but they were very flawed — Odysseus was sneaky, too cunning for his own good; Achilles was proud and glory-obsessed, inadvertently leading to the death of Patroclus, his totally-not-boyfriend. Our modern-day heroes, superheroes, are less like the Greeks and more like the Christian hero, Jesus. Superheroes have no discernible flaws and work for the good of others, even at their own expanse, like Superman, Wonder Woman, and the like.
Back to Rocky Balboa. Rocky wants to fight Apollo because, well, he wants to. He wants to do what he loves — to fight, and fight well — not because of fame, glory, or pride. Rocky’s not a Greek hero, but he’s not a superhero, either. He has flaws: Rocky’s not the sharpest tool in the shed, and he starts his first movie by being totally beaten up. They are discernible flaws, but not tragic ones.
Here’s the distinction: Rocky wants to fight, but he doesn’t want to win. He wants to go the distance. Hear me out. Rocky is as down-and-out as down-and-out can be. He breaks people’s thumbs for a living. His best friends are Pauly and his turtles. But still, he doesn’t want to WIN, he wants to go the distance — to know that he can stay on his feet with the current heavyweight champ, to do his own best.
That’s what Rocky needs. He needs to accept him himself. He needs to prove to himself that he’s a good boxer, good enough to go toe-to-toe with Apollo Creed. And to get the girl in the end, of course.
By the way, Rocky doesn’t win the fight, but in the end, it doesn’t matter. He got what he wanted, and what he needed. And yesterday, I celebrated the fourth of July with my favorite American Hero during a Rocky movie marathon.
— Erica
The Interns Karamazov 