Perhaps it is coincidence, or maybe even providence, that the seventh film in both the Rocky and Star Wars franchises are in theaters now, nearly 40 years after they first made cinematic history.

In the case of the original Rocky, art actually imitated life. Just as Rocky Balboa, a no-name club fighter from Philly, beat the odds and went the distance with the champion of the world, Apollo Creed, the little, low-budget film that could did very well at the box office (nearly $500 million in today’s dollars) and won the Oscar for best picture in 1976.

I happened to be in Philadelphia shortly after the Star Wars release in 1977. Somehow, as a 10-year-old kid, I had not heard of what would become the most successful box office franchise of all time. Lining the sidewalk for what seemed like at least a city block, were people waiting to get in to the theater. I remember seeing “Star Wars” on the marquis and asking my uncle, what it was about. He was amazed at the question.

Needless to say, shortly thereafter our family went. And from the moment the John Williams-written theme boomed into the theater and the giant words appeared on the screen, I was in rapt attention for what turned out to be a great ride. The film took in over $300 million at the box office, which would be $1.2 billion in today’s dollars, when the population of the United States was 100 million fewer. It was a phenomenon.

Why were these two films about the down and out guy triumphing and good winning against all odds so right for their times and why are they still resonating now, decades later? Well certainly nostalgia plays a role, but art is not created in a vacuum.

Those themes, of course, have played into the story of America since its inception, from the Pilgrims at Plymouth Rock colonizing the barren New World to the Founders at Independence Hall declaring a new nation.

Needless to say, shortly thereafter our family went. And from the moment the John Williams-written theme boomed into the theater and the giant words appeared on the screen, I was in rapt attention for what turned out to be a great ride. The film took in over $300 million at the box office, which would be $1.2 billion in today’s dollars, when the population of the United States was 100 million fewer. It was a phenomenon.

Why were these two films about the down and out guy triumphing and good winning against all odds so right for their times and why are they still resonating now, decades later? Well certainly nostalgia plays a role, but art is not created in a vacuum.

Those themes, of course, have played into the story of America since its inception, from the Pilgrims at Plymouth Rock colonizing the barren New World to the Founders at Independence Hall declaring a new nation.

Perhaps it is not surprising that Americans turned to a Hollywood actor for their next president to shake off the fear and uncertainty of the 1970s. After all, Tinseltown still believed in and was selling hopeful stories like Rocky and Star Wars.

As the decade was drawing to a close, former California Gov. Ronald Reagan announced his candidacy in a television address, not sitting behind a desk, as Carter had a few months earlier, but standing confidently in front of one. He was telling new story, which was really the old story of America.

“Someone once said that the difference between an American and any other kind of person is that an American lives in anticipation of the future because he knows it will be a great place,” Reagan observed. “Other people fear the future as just a repetition of past failures.”

The Gipper (Reagan’s nickname from a popular movie role) was not willing to accept the latter for the land he loved. The boy from the Midwest had made good, living out the American dream first in Hollywood in 1940s and ’50s and going on to become governor of the most populous state in the union in the 1960s and early ’70s.

“I don’t believe that” the United States has reached its zenith and must inevitably decline, Reagan said. “And, I don’t believe you do either. That is why I am seeking the presidency. I cannot and will not stand by and see this great country destroy itself.”

The American people believed in the Californian’s hopeful vision for the country and elected him to office in a landslide: 44 states to Carter’s 6.

As the former actor, took the stage at his inauguration, he pronounced, “We have every right to dream heroic dreams…after all, why shouldn’t we believe that? We are Americans.”

During Reagan’s time in office both the Rocky and Star Wars’ franchises continued to flourish, with films released from each in 1982 and 1985. However, now the victorious, hopeful dreams they were selling were becoming a reality, as Americans went back to work, and the economy soared to unprecedented heights.

“I don’t believe that” the United States has reached its zenith and must inevitably decline, Reagan said. “And, I don’t believe you do either. That is why I am seeking the presidency. I cannot and will not stand by and see this great country destroy itself.”
The American people believed in the Californian’s hopeful vision for the country and elected him to office in a landslide: 44 states to Carter’s 6.

As the former actor, took the stage at his inauguration, he pronounced, “We have every right to dream heroic dreams…after all, why shouldn’t we believe that? We are Americans.”

During Reagan’s time in office both the Rocky and Star Wars’ franchises continued to flourish, with films released from each in 1982 and 1985. However, now the victorious, hopeful dreams they were selling were becoming a reality, as Americans went back to work, and the economy soared to unprecedented heights. (For more from the author of “Why Americans Crave the Return of ‘Rocky’ and ‘Star Wars’ Now” please click HERE)

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