American culture has always been fascinated with the underdog, particularly when it comes to sport. The majority of sports fans will always side with the underdog, if only in the instance that their home team is not involved. This feeling transcends down outside of sports as well. Society often pulls hard for disadvantaged or underprivileged individuals who come up against strong powers in culture. These thoughts may come from the often-mentioned American Dream, which supports the idea that each and every person in the country has the opportunity to become successful. Since this turns out to be far from reality, when that possibility does come along for an individual, society tends to throw all of its support behind him or her. This is the main reason why the underdog hero happens to be one of the most successful and utilized themes in modern-day film. Rocky Balboa, in the film Rocky, plays the role of the underdog, making his way from the lowest of social class to a benchmark of success. However, to win the hearts of the viewer and tap into this compassion for the underdog, the filmmakers had to initially portray the character as someone who had the heart for success, but never got a shot to prove himself. They showed that Rocky was from a lower social-economic class in several ways, including the neighborhood he lived in, the people he associated with, and the type of work that he did.
             A prime example of the filmmakers portraying Rocky as a disadvantaged man occurs early in the film, during the bar scene. The scene begins as Rocky enters a run down tavern, in a poor-looking neighborhood after a long day. He notices a drunk passed out outside on the sidewalk, picks him up, and carries him inside. This gives the viewer the first impression that Rocky has been to this establishment many times in the past and is familiar with the surroundings. This impression repeats as Rocky enters the bar and is recogniz
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