There are a lot of discussion about motivational music for gym exercises. Some time ago, I did some Google searching and it looks like there are at least one poll about top ten training songs of all time on every self respected fitness-related blogs or forums. I wrote one post in Finnish about that. http://rautahumppa.blogspot.fi/2012/04/treenimusat.html
But how about the motivational motion pictures? The ones where the protagonist is waving heavy armour and shiny spears wearing only in bronze colored tan, fresh scars and bulky muscles. The masterpieces of the American film industry. Of course the bodybuilding scene of the 80's brought many unforgettable moments to our popular culture. The films such as Rambo, Rocky, Terminator, Predator, Commando and Conan with all their sequels for just mention a few.
The film industry has always shown some interest in healthy human bodies. The Tarzan movies from 1930's are good example of that. In Kubrick's Spartacus (1960), sweaty Kirk Douglas raised up his trident without any shirt. Or maybe he was the one with sword, I can't recall.
Today, the skinny actor or actress has no problem to get his or hers 6-pack in shape with all those personal trainers and luxury 10000 square feet gyms. And the rest can be done with high tech CGI. The film adaptation of Frank Miller's 300 is one of those special films. Of course you can say it's terrible nonsense and somehow makes a statement that only physical performance is all that matters. With the courage and honour of course. But then again, I managed to perform 2 hour cross trainer exercise while watching the movie. How's that for a motivational one?