This seems like the logical second franchise for me to feature in this category, after the ROCKY franchise, since it follows the same “underdog defeats the champion” plotline. There’s also the fact that John G. Avildsen, director of Karate Kid 1-3, also directed Rocky 1 and Rocky 5. But, far from just being a teen…
I have some Black friends who have criticized the Rocky movies, saying this was basically a fictional way for “the White man” to symbolically dominate boxing in the movies during a time when the heavyweight division was dominated by Black fighters in real life. And I can’t deny that there can be some racial subtext…
