Stew Bolno: Rocky, Joe Frazier, and art

“I have met the enemy and he is us.”

It’s a punch line from the comic strip Pogo; one that went out of print syndication on July 20, 1975. I believe it’s an appropriate adage that defines the recent Rocky Balboa/Joe Frazier kerfuffle. I recognize I’m not the first person to pass on those words of wisdom.

I maintain a unique knowledge, history, and understanding about the decisions to move the Rocky statue to the top of the stairs at the Art Museum and to place Joe Frazier in the former Rocky space, presently on the lower corner of the property. I’m against it.

My position may not be the popular one but I’m prepared to provide reasons and rationale for my crankiness on this issue.

I feel obligated to present the combination of credentials for my claim; here goes:

• I bleed Philly. I was born and raised here. I’ve obtained first-level familiarity with Wynnefield, East Mt. Airy, West Oak Lane, Oxford Circle, Germantown, West Mt. Airy, Roxborough, and Manayunk. Currently, I live in Center City. I was a student, graduate, and presented university level courses at Philadelphia institutions. 
• I’m a long-time sports fan, with periods as a partial season ticket plan subscriber for the Phillies and 76ers. I root for all our teams.
• I am highly appreciative of “The Arts”. I may not donate the level of cash to call myself a “supporter” of the arts. Yet I’m certainly a customer, one who purchases admission tickets to Philly theater and fine arts exhibits on a regular basis.  
• I have watched boxing matches of heavyweights; including Cassius Clay/Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Kenny Norton, Leon Spinks, Larry Holmes, George Foreman, and Mike Tyson among others. I don’t expect most people to recognize all of those names, but any serious heavyweight boxing fan, from the 1960’s through 1990 will.
• On March 8, 1971, I persuaded a few buddies to attend the first of three Muhammad Ali/Joe Frazier battles at one of the movie theaters offering a closed-circuit showing of the event, emanating from Madison Square Garden in New York City. It was a classic battle between two great warriors.
• I viewed “cinema” Rocky I, along with scores of others, during its first release in 1976.  I saw, sensed, and felt the audience reaction…in the moment.  With them, I enjoyed the once in a life-time experience of engaging with scores of people; who rose from their seats to offer a long round of applause to a screen running credits, at the end of the movie. It was an inspiring and emotionally overwhelming moment in space and time.

For those possessing minimal or no awareness about this current Philly/Rocky controversy, here’s a brief overview presented in chronological order:

• Rocky, the only one of its kind, was released in 1976 and won an Academy Award for Best Picture. The surprise hit beat out four other high-quality movies that captured the public’s attention as well.
• Rocky was a phenomenon; with a universal message of courage, love, and achievement. People around the world have been impacted by the story for over 50 years.
• Pressure was placed on the Philly Art Museum poohbahs to place the Rocky statue at the top of the stairs. For years there was dissension. Art aficionados balked because the statue is no way close to “great art”. However, the movie is, as demonstrated by the decades-long endurance of the fictional story.
• A Solomon-like decision was made to place the statue at the bottom and side of the stairs to accommodate tourists and pilgrims.
• I suspect, because of a predicted onslaught of visitors to Philly during the semiquincentenial, those in power decided to move Rocky to the top of the stairs, so people may “taste the experience” of the movie scene. This action creates a vacuum at its former location. 
• Family and fans of Joe Frazier, whose statue now appears at the athletic site in South Philly, have lobbied to move his image to the vacated space. There appears to be minimal resistance to this action.
• Predictably, local “activists” and family members have complained the process has a racial angle to it, placing a black human being champion below that of a fictional character. Their position is that Joe was real and a key scene of Rocky’s training technique was inspired by Frazier’s regimen. Out of respect, Stallone hired Joe for a wee-bit part in a cameo-type role.
• Both will now reside at the Art Museum location.

As stated at the top of this essay; I believe it’s better to leave the statues where they presently stand. Here’s why:

• The low-level Rocky statue does not qualify to appear at center stage. Conversely, the story, movie, and emotional impact upon millions of people around the world, for over five decades, has earned it a seat at the table. 
• Joe Frazier, being a guy who migrated to our city, and became a great Philly fighter, deserves his recognition. However, his superior level of success is encased within one area: boxing. The fact that his statue is featured at the sports complex is well deserved and appropriate. Alas, akin to the Rocky statue, it is not great art. 
• Yes, Rocky is fiction and Joe Frazier was a red-blooded man. Their skin tone is irrelevant to their success. Stallone’s Rocky, as well as Frazier’s skill, is about personal desire, determination, and beating the odds.

I’m not going to lead a campaign or protest. I have no desire to make this issue a big deal. However, could we, just once, let sleeping dogs lie? If you need more convincing, here’s a quote by a “certified smart guy”, William F. Buckley:  “A conservative is someone who stands athwart history, yelling Stop, at a time when no one is inclined to do so, or to have much patience with those who so urge it.”  

Regardless of one’s political leanings, there’s a place for that type of message.

The Rocky/Frazier/Art Museum issue isn’t and shouldn’t be political. Wise people wouldn’t have made it such.