Creed: legacy franchising, race and masculinity in contemporary boxing films

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis article explores the ways in which director Ryan Coogler’s 2015 film Creed reactivates the Rocky franchise and provides an actualization of the themes of race and contemporary masculinity inherent in American boxing cinema. By defining Creed as a legacy film, a method of franchise nostalgia concerned with inheritance, we explain how the movie constitutes a passing-of-the-torch ritual in Hollywood. If Stallone’s Rocky gave audiences a glimpse into Italian-American working-class identity and Cold War politics distilled in the boxing ring, Coogler’s Creed delves into contemporary black identity and inner-city experience in Philadelphia. We trace a brief genealogy of mainstream American boxing films in terms of how they portray masculinity and racial identity and then explore the particular narrative and symbolic elements that are transferred from Rocky to Creed. Via this case study, we describe a wider industry trend in Hollywood in which burnt-out or dormant franchises are revitalized for contemporary global audiences.