US Soft Power through Hollywood during Cold War: Rocky IV

Abstract

Power has always been a concept around which many have been pondering, in a sense of trying to achieve it. International relations have mostly been about power, according to realism, amongst other shifts in the international politics, so it is crucial to understand it. Since the world, after the World Wars, shifted from violence and wars, a new power remerged, called soft power, which now relies more on the global influence, and not on hard means of power like. Soft power is best described as imposing influence on the other states, through different canals like movies, student exchanges, media, etc. USA, as a superpower, employed soft power as a mean of spreading their political and ideological influence, especially during the Cold War. One of the tools of soft power employed, was through pop culture of the 1980s, via Hollywood industry and creation of USA-themed big-grossing movies, with great actors and popular topics. US movie industry focused on creating plots of the movies which would indirectly exert influence on the wider masses, in Europe, USSR, and other countries. One of those movies is Rocky saga, which are the movies about a boxing US hero, who is unbeatable, and poses as a symbol of US power. This movie, with a focus on Rocky IV, is a great example of how USA employed soft power through Hollywood industry, and the acceptance of the movie in the 1980s by the global mass is a great example of how influential soft power can truly be.