Showing posts with label tragic hero. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tragic hero. Show all posts

Saturday, March 03, 2012

Why Rocky Balboa the movie- I, II, a must see.




"All I wanna do is go the distance. 
Nobody's ever gone the distance with Creed, 
and if I can go that distance, you see, 
and that bell rings and I'm still standin',
 I'm gonna know for the first time in my life,
 see, that I weren't just another bum
 from the neighborhood."  Rocky Balboa.

Rocky Balboa is an interesting story. He is a left handed boxer, (not considered good) who doesn't  get opportunities at his early professional career. Then one day he suddenly gets one chance to prove what he is and he uses it the best way he can.

The Back story to this movie plot is that  Sylvester Stallone was struggling as an actor himself and he wrote this script to resurrect what was till now a mediocre career. And 30 years since the first movie every Rocky movie was in its own way a comeback initiative for Sylvester Stallone.

So why is Rocky (I and II) something that we should watch.

It is movie which is about the persons self worth. His self respect.  



His family - a girlfriend/wife or a close friend/brother in law would have been with him no matter what and are very close to him. This support system is very important and one must always value it. 

It is also about simple mind, positive attitude, determination and Hard work.

And even though it may seem or look like a boxing movie it is actually a movie about passion.

It is a story of a passion to prove to the world and more to himself that he is a man. And the reason this is important, is because he wants to earn the respect. Its not about winning, its about wanting to win and standing your ground to win against all odds.

His odds are what many professionals must be going through at their jobs.


  • People thinking you are past your prime. - new hungry breed is ready
  • You do your job well, but you are talented. You could have been a star.
  • You earn money and yet are never quite able to save it. It always seems like a paycheck to paycheck situation.
  • People look at your past but can never think that you have the skills now to make something good happen for the future.
  • You have yourself accepted the fact that things can not be better than they are.
What Rocky does to you is pull you out of this rut and tell you/ force you to stop being such a bum.

He is only a man I tell ya. He will break.







So when in self doubt, a good dose of Rocky (back to back) can be helpful.  There is only one more thing I would like to say about Rocky. And it is not about the training montage, (with fantastic music) or the final fights. And that thing is Adaptability. If you can just take this from this movie, its still good.

(All images are for representation (source google) . I dont own any images)

By Ninad Tatke.




Sunday, February 21, 2010

What is the take away for Hanuman in Ramayan?

It was evening when my friends started a very interesting conversation with me about take aways / profit for various characters in Indian mythological epics. Obviously every character in Mahabharat has a take away expect for Bhisma and every character from Ramayan has a take away except for Hanuman. And look at the parallels. Both had central roles to play in the story line. Both of them had to remain bachelors (one because of a vow, the other one because of a choice) . Both were long lasting ( one could control his death and the other is believed to be immortal). Both were men of words, (never made a vow which they broke). And yet on the face value of it they had no take away.  They are sort of Snape in their appearance (the tragic hero who never gets his due in Harry Potter).


But they have take aways. May be the sort of take aways, we materialistic people do not even comprehend. So we are not concerned. A Hanuman or Bhisma may be a misfit in today's corporate world but their take away was Spiritual enlightenment through either Bhakti route (devotion) or Karma route (work dedication). I guess we have to take away the blinkers to see the take aways of some dedicated people.