Shany American Dream

Shany American Dream 

Shanylka Pagan 

Mr. Monahan 

Intro to Film Studies 

21 November 2018 

The 'American Dream' is the idea that every US citizen or people in general coming to America should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative. Most of the time when I think of the 'American Dream' I connect it to immigrants who come to the US for a better way of living and have the opportunity they've always desired. Many people think the movies Rocky and Sugar are examples of the "American Dream' as both films showcase the main characters fighting to be successful through sports. 

The film Rocky is directed by John G. Avildsen and stars Sylvester Stallone as Rocky. Rocky is Italian and is the child of immigrants. In the beginning of the movie he starts of as a low-ranking boxer earning just $40 for one fight. In the film it shows that he lives in an apartment in a very bad condition and the neighborhood he lives in is evident he is in the lower working class. Boxing is his job and what he does for a living, he also works for a loan shark as a collector, which means he engages in what some people consider "mafia style work". He is seen as a "tough guy," however throughout the movie he is showcased as a compassionate guy. In one scene he walks a bad mouthed girl from his neighborhood home which shows he is caring. To be honest, I did't enjoy this film as much because it wasn't something that interested me and I'm not a big fan of action movies. 

Sugar is a film directed by Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden. The main character Miguel Santos or "Sugar" is played by Algenis Perez-Soto. He is a man from the Dominican Republic that plays baseball and is a pitcher. His dream is to make it to the big leagues as he plays for the San Pedro de Macoris. I really enjoyed this movie because it showed how he was trying to make his dream come true but of course there were obstacles that got in his way. I also liked how they showed scenes in where he spoke Spanish because it hit close to home.

Each film really dives into the idea of the "American Dream" when each man in both movies get their big break. In Rocky, Apollo Creed, current heavyweight Champion of the World invited Rocky to fight him in a very important match. The original competitor who was supposed to fight Apollo Creed got injured in training. Since Rocky was an underdog boxer, Apollo thought it would make for an exciting show. At that time, Apollo was the best boxer of all time. In Sugar, Miguel, who is the main character, moves up to the United States minor leagues and got the chance of coming to America. His first training starts off with the Kansas City Knights and then proceeds to move on to their sub organization, the Swing. If we're comparing both movies to which one fits better with the American Dream in my opinion is Sugar because he was a man coming to America for success, through his hard work and determination, despite not making it to the actual major leagues. Rocky in a way would fit the term "American Dream" but he didn't work hard to be the best boxer, he was just trying to make boxing his career. This is a reason as to why Sugar and Rocky were both different. 

Both films are similar because they both have to adjust to their goals while going through other stuff. In Rocky, he worked really hard to try and beat Apollo but he came to the realization that that probably wasn't going to happen. Rocky then just decides to last all 15 rounds of the fight, still standing strong. In the movie Sugar, Miguel gets injured and comes to the conclusion that there is more to life than just playing baseball. When he goes back to playing, another player named Salvador from the Dominican Republic was better than Miguel. After changing his goal around, Rocky became more focused on dating and relationships while Sugar became more focused on his life in New York. Rocky had his eye on Adrian, a woman who was the sister of his friend Paulie and worked in a pet shop. After Rocky fights Apollo Creed, he confesses his love for Adrian. After feeling threatened by Salvador, Miguel moves to New York and gets a job. He meets new friends and even joined a baseball team composed of people who have played in the major leagues. Living in New York, Miguel was able to be successful and accomplishing his dream.

Rocky and Sugar are two films that showcase the idea of the American Dream. Rocky's goal was being a decent boxer and proving everyone that doubted him wrong. For Miguel, it was coming to America to pursue his baseball passion. Both men were successful without being millionaires and it was all because of their hard work and dedication.