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In the Shoes of Dave Blase: Cycling, Cinema, and Social Class in Peter Yates’ Breaking Away

2020; Routledge; Volume: 37; Issue: 10 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/09523367.2020.1828363

1743-9035

Thomas Bauer, Maxence Pascal Philippe Leconte,

American Sports and Literature

Peter Yates’ Breaking Away (1979) is a riveting example of sport biopic. Indeed, Yates’ film focuses on the story of Dave Blase, a Hoosier who competed in the Little 500 cycling race during his time at Indiana University. By completing 139 of the 200 laps by himself, the student brought the victory to his fraternity, the Phi Kappa Psi. Of course, if the film respects the location – the shooting was entirely conducted in Bloomington – it changes the time period by fifteen years, switching from 1962 to 1978. More central to our study, this biopic immerses the spectator back in the rural universe of 1970s’ America, with a particular emphasis on the pervasive violence, real and symbolic, between classes – especially those between the towners or ‘cutters’ and the elite studying at Indiana University. By replacing this biographical film in its political context, by underscoring its cultural universe and the social values on its era, this article strives to decipher – beyond the simple aesthetic considerations – the socio-historical significance of cycling.