Respond to the two questions in the comments section below:
In "Class and American Boxing Films" Aaron Baker writes:
"Jake LaMotta's social dysfunction arises from his confusion about his racial, class and sexual identities."
From your viewing of Raging Bull, provide one example (i.e. describe a scene, use of a camera/ sound/ lighting technique) that conveys the protagonist's crisis of identity.
Later Baker writes,
"Rocky and Raging Bull (1980) feature protagonists who believe passionately in their ability to single-handedly transcend social categories such as class and race. Stallone's film endorses that goal, while Scorsese's presents Jake LaMotta as achieving a kind of Christian transcendence for finally accepting its impossibility."
From your viewing and the Guglielmo and Dyer readings, does the film's protagonist fail to overcome these social categories? If so, why?
First of all, I do not understand the relationship between articles and the film. The articles discussed about whiteness and white people in the society in US. I do not see this in the film. All I see in the film is about Jack La Motta autobiography. If the film was supposed to mention about whiteness, I do not see it at all. The only parts that it may mention about racism is when Joey and Jake used that m...? word (I think it is italian word for eggplant from previous movie). Or how Jake could not get over his fight with a black man and how he won but not Jake. I think the film failed to show a clearer explanation or representation of whiteness in Italian culture in America.
I believe Lamotta fails to overcome his social categories to which he’s trapped in. Throughout the film he wants to win the title his way, the honest way. However the only reason he gets a title shot is because he took a fall in a fight for the mafia. He breaks the vow he made to himself and is unable to transcend his social class like Rocky was. Before the fall we see him breaking through, but after the fall, even though he later wins the title, he’s never the same person. What we witness is someone who begins to climb the latter, makes it to the top and then plummets to the ground. At the end of the movie Lamotta is pretty apathetic about his life and think it’s a joke. He’s alone, with no wife, no children, no brother, no title, and no money. He didn’t make it to the top like Rocky, he failed.
In the movie i dont see any social categories being overcome. I dont see him trying to over come racial boundries or financal money. The movie didnt seem to me about anything except his own personal demons and inner conflicts.
Unlike Rocky, Raging Bull isn’t a “pull yourself up from your bootstraps” type film. His rise and fall is depressing as he never quite pulls himself up again like Rocky. Jake frequents classy nightclubs after he has success in the boxing world, but he never quite overcomes his lower class upbringing. He seems uncomfortable in this scene and has problems interacting with powerful figures who could help him get a shot at the Middleweight title. His initial refusal to accept help from the mob boss and his blatant defiance against him, shows his failure and refusal to attempt to rise in social standing.
As for whether or not Jake overcame class and race social categories, I don’t think so. For one, the issue of race was not brought to the forefront as a problem faced by Jake. However, my understanding of this is based on the idea of race as a color category. If, however, I look at his race as suggested in Guglielmo’s piece as Southern Italian American and not color specific, that changes things a little. Although race and class did not seem to be as important an issue as Jake’s inner conflict, they still were represented in the film. However, I don’t think Jake’s character overcame these social categories. Despite his resistance to do business with the mob, he still circulated and was a part of the Italian-American community. He visited places such as the dance hall and Copacabana that were frequented by Italian-Americans. As for class categories, we see him rise in the terms of his wealth, but then see him lose it all. Despite his success in boxing he never saw himself as deserving and as a result created the chaos in his life that caused him to lose everything.
Lamotta’s character is once on top, but he never gets back there – Rocky did. I did not recognize any conflicts with race (yes he did fight Sugar Ray Robinson – but I didn’t see that as a racial issue) or class/financial standing. He seemed as if he did not want to change his ways – he thought he was the best – and it was his way or nothing. He did not want to take any crap from anybody; he saw things that were not there (Vickie cheating) and failed to change his views, so she left him. To me, he did not really overcome anything; he was a great boxer but let it all go.
From the readings of Guglielmo, I feel that Jake could have succeeded with his in overcoming the social categories but did not fully because he let his impatience and self pitty get in the way of his goals.
I don’t think that La Motta grew at all in the film. He did not transcend and see past the insecurities he displayed in the beginning of the film. The only regret he had ever showed was when he saw his brother Joey come out of the market and ignore him. Even then, he was still full of bravado. I disagree that La Motta’s character ever transcended anything. He still performed at the end of the film, while not in the ring but at night clubs. The material was still based on him being a middleweight champion. Stagnancy would be a more appropriate term rather than transcendence.