Raging Bull: A Story of Physical and Psychological Self-destruction in Boxing

Arturo Leyva

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ajss.20200804.11

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Raging Bull: A Story of Physical and Psychological Self-destruction in Boxing

Arturo Leyva

Published in American Journal of Sports Science (Volume 8, Issue 4)

Received: 12 August 2020 Accepted: 5 October 2020 Published: 26 October 2020

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Abstract

This paper proposes a new reading of Martin Scorsese’s 1980 film Raging Bull. It departs from established academic interpretations that focus on the main protagonist, the former middleweight champion, Jake LaMotta, and his toxic or overtly violent masculinity. Instead, while such interpretations touch upon important aspects of the film, the common claim by philosophy of film scholars that theirs is the only valid reading of Scorsese’s work is dubious. Arguing against elitist interpretations that border on calls for prohibition of the film, this contribution presents a new approach to Raging Bull. It is informed by sociological and ethnographic accounts from the US-American boxing milieu in the 20th century. This approach makes it necessary to ground an interpretation of Raging Bull in the actual circumstances of boxing in the United States where two views on the urban gym in social hot spots have been established. Those views are as follows: (i) the gym is perceived as something like a safe space and frontier against the outside world with all its troubles, and (ii) the gym is perceived through the lens of the various ideologies and socio-economic problems that permeate it on a daily basis and control much of what goes on inside. This sympathetic interpretation is supported by LaMotta’s autobiography, which served as a foundation for the film and supports the conclusion that there is a constant dialectical process between Jake’s violent behavior and the moral codes he was taught to obey, particularly those relating to the traditional institution of the family, whose rules govern Jake, even in total isolation.

Published in	American Journal of Sports Science (Volume 8, Issue 4)
DOI	10.11648/j.ajss.20200804.11
Page(s)	81-88
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Philosophy of Film, Sport and Culture, Raging Bull, Adaptations

References

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[2]	Eco, U. (2015) How to Write a Thesis. Cambridge and London: The MIT Press.
[3]	Rausch, A. J. (2010) The Films of Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro. Maryland: Scarecrow Press.
[4]	Gerber (2005) Raging Bull. Houston Post. 19 December 1980, p. 1E, reprinted in Hayes, K. (2005) Martin Scorsese’s Raging Bull. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 137–139.
[5]	Seitz, M. (2005) From ‘Musclemen’. The Progressive. February 1981, pp. 50–51, reprinted in Hayes, K. (2005) Martin Scorsese’s Raging Bull. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 139–141.
[6]	Stefanic, V. (2005) Raging Bull is a Gritty, Brutal Masterpiece. Tulsa World. 20 February 1981, p. C7, reprinted in Hayes, K. (2005) Martin Scorsese’s Raging Bull. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 145–147.
[7]	Pollack, J. (2005) Raging Bull. St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 20 February 1981, p. 5D, reprinted in Hayes, K. (2005) Martin Scorsese’s Raging Bull. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 143–145.
[8]	Wuntch, P. (2005) De Niro Packs a Mean Punch: Stunning but Unsentimental, Raging Bull Scores a KO. The Dallas Morning News. 19 December 1980, p. 1C, reprinted in Hayes, K. (2005) Martin Scorsese’s Raging Bull. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 142–143.
[9]	Scott, J. (2005) Raging Bull: No Punches Pulled. The Globe and Mail. 15 November 1980, p. 3, reprinted in Hayes, K. (2005) Martin Scorsese’s Raging Bull. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 135–137.
[10]	Serrano, A. (2015) The spectacle of redemption: guilt and violence in Martin Scorsese’s Raging Bull. Studia Gilsomiana, 4: 131–148.
[11]	Wilson, M. H. (1999) “Raging Bull” in Brunette, P. Martin Scorsese: Interviews. University Press of Mississippi. pp. 88-89.
[12]	Kelly, M. P. (1980) Martin Scorsese, the First Decade. Redgrave Publishing Company. pp. 32.
[13]	McCormack, P. (2005) "Women in Raging Bull: Scorsese’s use of determinist, objective, and subjective techniques," in Martin Scorsese’s Raging Bull, Hayes, K. Ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 92–115.
[14]	Cook, P. (1982) Masculinity in crisis. Screen, 23: 39–46.
[15]	Wood, R. (1986). Raging Bull: the homosexual subtext. Movie, 31, 108-14.
[16]	Grist, L. (2007) Masculinity, violence, resistance: a new psychoanalytic reading of Raging Bull. Atlantis, 29: 11–27.
[17]	LaMotta, J. (1997) Raging Bull: My Story. Boston: Da Capo Press.
[18]	Hoffman, S. G. and G. A. Fine (2005) The scholar’s body: mixing it up with Loïc Wacquant. Qualitative Sociology, 28: 151–157.
[19]	Wacquant, L. J. D. (1992) The social logic of boxing in Black Chicago: toward a sociology of pugilism. Sociology of Sport Journal, 9: 221–254.
[20]	Trimbur, L. (2011) 'Tough love': mediation and articulation in the urban boxing gym. Ethnography, 12: 334–355.
[21]	Gospodinov, G. (2015) The Physics of Sorrow. Rochester: Open Letter.
[22]	Becker, J. (1976) Der Boxer. Rostock: Hinstorff Verlag.
[23]	García, R. and D. Spencer (2013) "Introduction: carnal ethnography as path to embodied knowledge," in Fighting Scholars: Habitus and Ethnographies of Martial Arts and Combat Sports, García, R. and D. Spencer, Eds. London, New York and Delhi: Anthem Press, pp. 1–18.
[24]	Bourdieu, P. and L. Wacquant (1992) An Invitation to Reflexive Sociology. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
[25]	Tosches, N. (1997) "Introduction," in Raging Bull: My Story, LaMotta, J., Ed. Boston: Da Capo Press, pp. vii–xii.

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Arturo Leyva. (2020). Raging Bull: A Story of Physical and Psychological Self-destruction in Boxing. American Journal of Sports Science, 8(4), 81-88. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajss.20200804.11

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Arturo Leyva. Raging Bull: A Story of Physical and Psychological Self-destruction in Boxing. Am. J. Sports Sci. 2020, 8(4), 81-88. doi: 10.11648/j.ajss.20200804.11

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Arturo Leyva. Raging Bull: A Story of Physical and Psychological Self-destruction in Boxing. Am J Sports Sci. 2020;8(4):81-88. doi: 10.11648/j.ajss.20200804.11

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@article{10.11648/j.ajss.20200804.11,
  author = {Arturo Leyva},
  title = {Raging Bull: A Story of Physical and Psychological Self-destruction in Boxing},
  journal = {American Journal of Sports Science},
  volume = {8},
  number = {4},
  pages = {81-88},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ajss.20200804.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajss.20200804.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajss.20200804.11},
  abstract = {This paper proposes a new reading of Martin Scorsese’s 1980 film Raging Bull. It departs from established academic interpretations that focus on the main protagonist, the former middleweight champion, Jake LaMotta, and his toxic or overtly violent masculinity. Instead, while such interpretations touch upon important aspects of the film, the common claim by philosophy of film scholars that theirs is the only valid reading of Scorsese’s work is dubious. Arguing against elitist interpretations that border on calls for prohibition of the film, this contribution presents a new approach to Raging Bull. It is informed by sociological and ethnographic accounts from the US-American boxing milieu in the 20th century. This approach makes it necessary to ground an interpretation of Raging Bull in the actual circumstances of boxing in the United States where two views on the urban gym in social hot spots have been established. Those views are as follows: (i) the gym is perceived as something like a safe space and frontier against the outside world with all its troubles, and (ii) the gym is perceived through the lens of the various ideologies and socio-economic problems that permeate it on a daily basis and control much of what goes on inside. This sympathetic interpretation is supported by LaMotta’s autobiography, which served as a foundation for the film and supports the conclusion that there is a constant dialectical process between Jake’s violent behavior and the moral codes he was taught to obey, particularly those relating to the traditional institution of the family, whose rules govern Jake, even in total isolation.},
 year = {2020}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Raging Bull: A Story of Physical and Psychological Self-destruction in Boxing
AU  - Arturo Leyva
Y1  - 2020/10/26
PY  - 2020
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajss.20200804.11
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T2  - American Journal of Sports Science
JF  - American Journal of Sports Science
JO  - American Journal of Sports Science
SP  - 81
EP  - 88
PB  - Science Publishing Group
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UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajss.20200804.11
AB  - This paper proposes a new reading of Martin Scorsese’s 1980 film Raging Bull. It departs from established academic interpretations that focus on the main protagonist, the former middleweight champion, Jake LaMotta, and his toxic or overtly violent masculinity. Instead, while such interpretations touch upon important aspects of the film, the common claim by philosophy of film scholars that theirs is the only valid reading of Scorsese’s work is dubious. Arguing against elitist interpretations that border on calls for prohibition of the film, this contribution presents a new approach to Raging Bull. It is informed by sociological and ethnographic accounts from the US-American boxing milieu in the 20th century. This approach makes it necessary to ground an interpretation of Raging Bull in the actual circumstances of boxing in the United States where two views on the urban gym in social hot spots have been established. Those views are as follows: (i) the gym is perceived as something like a safe space and frontier against the outside world with all its troubles, and (ii) the gym is perceived through the lens of the various ideologies and socio-economic problems that permeate it on a daily basis and control much of what goes on inside. This sympathetic interpretation is supported by LaMotta’s autobiography, which served as a foundation for the film and supports the conclusion that there is a constant dialectical process between Jake’s violent behavior and the moral codes he was taught to obey, particularly those relating to the traditional institution of the family, whose rules govern Jake, even in total isolation.
VL  - 8
IS  - 4
ER  -

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Author Information

Arturo Leyva

Department of Teaching and Learning, Florida International University, Miami, Florida, The United States

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APA Style

Arturo Leyva. (2020). Raging Bull: A Story of Physical and Psychological Self-destruction in Boxing. American Journal of Sports Science, 8(4), 81-88. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajss.20200804.11

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ACS Style

Arturo Leyva. Raging Bull: A Story of Physical and Psychological Self-destruction in Boxing. Am. J. Sports Sci. 2020, 8(4), 81-88. doi: 10.11648/j.ajss.20200804.11

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AMA Style

Arturo Leyva. Raging Bull: A Story of Physical and Psychological Self-destruction in Boxing. Am J Sports Sci. 2020;8(4):81-88. doi: 10.11648/j.ajss.20200804.11

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ajss.20200804.11,
  author = {Arturo Leyva},
  title = {Raging Bull: A Story of Physical and Psychological Self-destruction in Boxing},
  journal = {American Journal of Sports Science},
  volume = {8},
  number = {4},
  pages = {81-88},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ajss.20200804.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajss.20200804.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajss.20200804.11},
  abstract = {This paper proposes a new reading of Martin Scorsese’s 1980 film Raging Bull. It departs from established academic interpretations that focus on the main protagonist, the former middleweight champion, Jake LaMotta, and his toxic or overtly violent masculinity. Instead, while such interpretations touch upon important aspects of the film, the common claim by philosophy of film scholars that theirs is the only valid reading of Scorsese’s work is dubious. Arguing against elitist interpretations that border on calls for prohibition of the film, this contribution presents a new approach to Raging Bull. It is informed by sociological and ethnographic accounts from the US-American boxing milieu in the 20th century. This approach makes it necessary to ground an interpretation of Raging Bull in the actual circumstances of boxing in the United States where two views on the urban gym in social hot spots have been established. Those views are as follows: (i) the gym is perceived as something like a safe space and frontier against the outside world with all its troubles, and (ii) the gym is perceived through the lens of the various ideologies and socio-economic problems that permeate it on a daily basis and control much of what goes on inside. This sympathetic interpretation is supported by LaMotta’s autobiography, which served as a foundation for the film and supports the conclusion that there is a constant dialectical process between Jake’s violent behavior and the moral codes he was taught to obey, particularly those relating to the traditional institution of the family, whose rules govern Jake, even in total isolation.},
 year = {2020}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Raging Bull: A Story of Physical and Psychological Self-destruction in Boxing
AU  - Arturo Leyva
Y1  - 2020/10/26
PY  - 2020
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajss.20200804.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.ajss.20200804.11
T2  - American Journal of Sports Science
JF  - American Journal of Sports Science
JO  - American Journal of Sports Science
SP  - 81
EP  - 88
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-8540
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajss.20200804.11
AB  - This paper proposes a new reading of Martin Scorsese’s 1980 film Raging Bull. It departs from established academic interpretations that focus on the main protagonist, the former middleweight champion, Jake LaMotta, and his toxic or overtly violent masculinity. Instead, while such interpretations touch upon important aspects of the film, the common claim by philosophy of film scholars that theirs is the only valid reading of Scorsese’s work is dubious. Arguing against elitist interpretations that border on calls for prohibition of the film, this contribution presents a new approach to Raging Bull. It is informed by sociological and ethnographic accounts from the US-American boxing milieu in the 20th century. This approach makes it necessary to ground an interpretation of Raging Bull in the actual circumstances of boxing in the United States where two views on the urban gym in social hot spots have been established. Those views are as follows: (i) the gym is perceived as something like a safe space and frontier against the outside world with all its troubles, and (ii) the gym is perceived through the lens of the various ideologies and socio-economic problems that permeate it on a daily basis and control much of what goes on inside. This sympathetic interpretation is supported by LaMotta’s autobiography, which served as a foundation for the film and supports the conclusion that there is a constant dialectical process between Jake’s violent behavior and the moral codes he was taught to obey, particularly those relating to the traditional institution of the family, whose rules govern Jake, even in total isolation.
VL  - 8
IS  - 4
ER  -

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