"All I wanna do is go the distance"

If any film has gone the distance, it's Rocky (1976), which spawned one of the longest running franchises in film history. Released in America's bicentennial year, Rocky, based on an original screenplay by then-unknown writer and actor Sylvester Stallone, surprised everyone. Shot on a shoestring budget by director John Avildsen, the film became a blockbuster and Academy Award-winning best picture, In addition to spawning a lucrative franchise and spin-offs, Rocky propelled the careers of Stallone and Talia Shire, raised interest in boxing and sports movies, and placed Philadelphia and its architecture in the popular consciousness. Rocky has always been a contested text, raising questions about race, gender, and class in America, as well as debate about genre, storytelling, and film art--questions which are addressed at length in this rich collection of essays. As the contributing scholars show, Rocky and its sequels retain their power to rouse audiences well into the twenty-first century and continue to inspire audiences, athletes, and filmmakers.

Philip L. Simpson is vice president of Academic and Student Affairs at Eastern Florida State College on the Space Coast of Florida. He serves as co-chair of the Stephen King Area for the Popular Culture Association, chair of the Endowment Committee for the Popular Culture Association, and editorial board member of The Journal of American Culture. He has published numerous books, book chapters, and journal articles on film, literature, popular culture, and horror, as well as short fiction. Kathy Merlock Jackson is a professor of media and communication at Virginia Wesleyan University, where she teaches courses in media studies and children's culture. She is the author of over a hundred articles, chapters, and reviews and has published fifteen books. She is a former editor of The Journal of American Culture and a past president of the Popular Culture Association. She serves on the editorial boards of The Journal of American Culture and The Journal of Popular Culture and is co-chair of the Animals and Popular Culture Area of the Popular Culture Association.