"Yo Rock"

I hate to see people dogging my favorite film of all time.

Rocky is a great film. Despite what CNN had to say, calling it disgraceful that it won the Best Picture Oscar in 1977 versus Taxi Driver, All the President’s Men, etc. I’m here to say that Rocky as Best Picture was not a disgrace, but rather a deserving win.

Sure it’s an old story, but what about some of the great characters and the fact that in the end (spoiler alert) he doesn’t actually win. Film critics would have us think that we are somehow mentally deficient if the think a film we actually enjoy is also good. That seems to be part of art that gets missed. Good art can be unpleasant and challenging, but good art of any type can also make us smile and restore our hope.

A friend of mine has me challenged to start thinking of entertainment and art as separate things. The definition that I am working with is that art is dialogical in nature. It comes from the “I thou” perspective and is trying to communicate something that goes both ways. Entertainment on the other hand is monological, and does not really care about the audience as people but only as consumers. It seeks something from the audience, but not at an emotional level. Anyway, if I ever get into a Ph.D. program in Communications I think this is going to be my dissertation.

On the other end of the spectrum, the Razzies had it right. Material Girls is terrible at best. I was glad the girls borrowed and did not pay for the film. Which by the way they immensely enjoyed.