He had an important role in later editions of “In The Heat of the Night” and a couple of action flicks. But of course, what he is known for is being Apollo Creed in the Rocky movies. It is an iconic character. While he probably got more screen time in the first three Rocky movies I think Creed is most prominent in Rocky 4. Rocky 4 was clearly not the best of the Rocky movies. Because of that I think people miss the major point of that movie. You see the message in the first three Rocky movies was some version of Rocky being able to overcome obstacles. We like to see that because we want encouragement to overcome obstacles. It is a message that easily resonates with us. But the message in Rocky 4 is more than overcoming obstacles. And Creed is the one who delivers the set up for the message. While he is trying to convince Rocky to train him for the fight with Drago, he tells Rocky that he cannot change.
Think about who Creed is at this point of his life. At one point, he was recognized as the greatest boxer in the world. But age has caught up with him. If Rocky had not beaten him someone else would have. That life is over. But Creed refuses to let that life be over. Fighting Drago is his attempt to get back to that life. But as the fight in the movie showed he was not ready to come back. His miscalculation is tragic as he dies in the fight with Drago. Creed refuses to change and he dies.
Contrast this with Rocky. Rocky already had to make changes in Rocky 3. Here Balboa discovered that his slugging style cannot beat a better slugger in Clubber Lane. He had to learn how to be a boxer in order to win. Rocky was willing to make adjustments and it allowed him to beat Lane in Rocky 3. In Rocky 4, he also has to make adjustments but of a different kind. He has to learn to stop hating the fans of his opponents – the Russian people.
Remember in the movie that the Soviet government did its best to harass Rocky during his training. He had reason to hate them and to resent the Russian people. He undoubtedly went into his fight with that anger and hatred. But at the end of the fight, he learned not to hate the fans who booed him. And the Russian fans learned not to hate him. Yeah, I thought it was a bit cheesy. But it fit with the theme of the movie. Either we change or we die.
I think about that message today. No, we do not have the cold war the movie was set in. But we have our polarized society. How many on the left and the right spend their time hating and thinking about how to defeat their opponent? I get it. Those on the right are convinced that those on the left are wrong and vice versa. Is it possible that the other side has some things right? It seems that the partisans on the left and right do not even consider that possibility.
Makes me wonder if we can learn the lessons of Rocky 4. Can we in the United States change so that we are no longer relying on politics of hate? Can we learn how to work together instead of tearing down each other? I have my doubts we can make those changes. To many have an interest in maintaining the hostilities between the partisans in the United States. Americans have to intentionally work hard to overcome those forces if we want to change. Rocky 4 tells us we must change or die. It is a lesson well worth learning. And will we learn that lesson. I hope so.