How Americans Celebrated the Bicentennial — With Fireworks, a Freedom Train and Farrah
WASHINGTON (AP) — In 1976’s “ Rocky,” heavyweight champion Apollo Creed arrives for the title fight dressed as George Washington, reenacting the crossing of the Delaware as models costumed as the Statue of Liberty lead the way. After entering the ring, Apollo switches into an Uncle Sam costume. “I want YOU!” he roars as he points to Rocky Balboa, the far less flamboyant palooka he’s chosen for this bicentennial bout in Philadelphia. Then the two boxers pound the daylights out of each other. It’s as accurate a representation of the American bicentennial vibe as has ever been put on film — plenty of fireworks, but not much thought about how 200 years of independence led to this. I was 13 years old in 1976. Kids my age — the tail end of the Baby Boom, or the vanguard of Generation X — grew up skeptical of the government. We had outlasted the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal, with the occasional moment of joy — the moon landing, say — to break the gloom. The …
