Media Analysis: Rocky III

Move #1: Suspend Judgement

Rocky III is an interesting film that at a glance is about a boxer going through a journey of training and hardship to beat his opponent in a boxing ring. But within its initial layer, there is also a hidden theme of loss, motivation, fear, desire, and the fiery symbol of human hope. It’s an emotional rollercoaster that we the viewer can almost relate to, and could even apply it to our lives.

Move #2: Define specific Parts and how they are related

In the film, there are many specific and important parts that we could write pages on, but there are three important events in the film that relate to the whole of the film. First is in the first fight, when Rocky loses to Mr. T, and sadly Rocky’s mentor/coach experiences a heart attack. As we progress through the film we see that this event completely diminishes Rocky, he is a wreck. But then a previous opponent, Apollo, finds him and helps him get through this loss and helps him find himself again and get back in shape. This leads to the second important part, the training montage that Rocky goes through, it shows that through that all that pain, we get Rocky Balboa back, and he trains and readies himself to have a rematch against Mr. T as well as prove to himself and his master that he still has the eye of the tiger. Lastly, another important part is when he finally defeats Mr. T and reclaims his title as Heavyweight Champion of the world. We see the Italian Stallion make a return with hope and the eye of the tiger. Rocky goes from a broken man who fears Mr. T and feels lost without his mentor, to a man filled with hope and the indomitable spirit to beat Mr. T.

Move #3: Looking for patterns of repetition and contrast and for the anomaly (The Method)

The repetition we see in the film is how Rocky is unmotivated and fears losing more to Mr. T. In the film we even see when Apollo is trying to train Rocky, Rocky stops running and looks off to the horizon, Apollo turns to Adrian and tells her, he is done. That’s when we see that Rocky lost it, he is done, he is the closest to giving up. But in his fear, he finds himself, and he begins his training to fight Mr. T. But in the second part of the film, we see the repetition of hope and the constant feeling of not giving up.

Move #4: Make the Implicit Explicit

In life, we all have desires and dreams we want to complete, but there are always bridges, mountains, rivers, and opponents that seem like we cannot defeat, and cannot overcome. But through that fear, through that pain, through that constant mental battle, we fight, we achieve, and push forward against all odds. Rocky 3 and the Rocky movies do that, they show and motivate people to push further than human limits, and with hope and belief, limits are boundless.

Move#5: Keep from reforming Questions and Explanations

Who’s gonna be Rocky’s next opponent? How is he gonna pick himself up? Well, we know that in the new films, Rocky is a coach, sadly he doesn’t box anymore due to old age. But he is training Apollo’s son Creed to be the next best champion of the world. Luckily, next year we are getting a new movie, Creed III and there is a lot of hope that the film will be another amazing film.