I have been reading my National Post today, and there are a selection of articles about the fall of the Berlin wall. Historically Ronny Reagan gets the most credit for "Mr Gorbachev, tear down that wall", while many historians completely overlook one of the most powerful forces contributing to the collapse of the Iron Curtain; and that is Sylvester Stallone. This theory was first introduced to me by my favourite sports pundit ESPN'S Bill Simmons. Like the "Oracle of ESPN" one of my favourite movies of all time is Rocky 4. I watched as Rocky Balboa single handedly sparked the fire that collapsed the Soviet Union. That speech, "if I can change...and you can change...everybody can change!!!" That inspiring, tear jerking melody by Prophet Stallone personified the first crack in the Berlin Wall. Do you believe for a second that they did not watch Rocky IV at the Kremlin? I bet they had group screenings of it! Within a month of the release of Rocky IV, a panicked Gorbachev appointed the revolutionary Boris Yeltsin to a powerful post in the Politburo, and so the seeds of demise were planted.
"There are cheers now for Rocky Balboa! Suddenly Moscow is pro-Rocky!"
The pressure from that force of nature was too much for the Iron Curtain to bear.
If the cheers for Rocky Balboa were not enough, the death blow to international communism was Rambo III; where Rambo single handedly takes on an entire Soviet combat battalion in Afghanistan. The Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan began literally the exact same month as the theatrical release of Rambo III! Seriously, Rocky 4 leads the big promotion of Boris Yeltsin, and then Rambo III coincides with the exact month of the Soviet withdrawal? Two independent extreme coincidences are rarely a coincidence. It points to evidence of cause and effect.
I want to personally thank Sly for liberating Eastern Europe from the iron grip of communism.
"One man against 3 Commandoes, who do you think he is, God?"
ReplyDelete"No, God would have mercy, he won't!"
The Soviet withdrawal started about 10 days before the theatrical release of Rambo 3. That means for the entire writing, filming, production and promotion were all finished before Soviet tanks started to flee. Was the Kremlin privy to an advanced screening?
ReplyDeleteScrew Reagan, Rocky and Rambo tore down the wall!
Tango and Cash hit the theatres about a month after the Berlin wall fell. Also it appears that Sly was filming stop or my mom will shoot at the time of the actual coup outside the Kremlin.
ReplyDeleteCome to think of it, thank heavens that the Soviet Union collapsed before they could complete production on "stop or my mom will shoot". That could have undone all the progress created by Rocky IV and Rambo III.
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