Ali: Trying to separate the man from the myth


The new movie “Ali” opened this past weekend to
mostly favorable reviews.

Starring Will Smith as Muhammad Ali, the movie
version of the boxing hero`s life promised to portray
the man with all of his complexities.

But the question about films that deal with
larger-than-life public figures is always the same: Are
we being entertained or are we getting a true picture of
the man?

Over the past two decades, Hollywood has given us
dramatic portraits of Malcolm X, Mahatma Gandhi, Ike and
Tina Turner, Jackson Pollock and Richard Nixon.

All of these movies were criticized for either
deifying or demonizing their subjects and falsifying
history in the process.

When a film`s central figure is a sport icon, then
our skepticism is even greater.

For those of us who followed Ali`s career from the
time he won a gold metal at the Rome Olympics in 1960
through his championship years and into his decline,
seeing the movie for anything other than entertainment
would be a mistake.

If you have added to your first-hand knowledge of Ali
by watching the 1996 documentary When
We Were Kings”
and reading the 1999 David
Remnick biography “King
of the World”
then, to be honest, you know what
there is to know about the champ.

Most analysts agree that Ali was the greatest fighter
of them all. As boxing journalist Mark Kram wrote, Ali
“had the speed of a welterweight and a pair of Rolls
Royce engines for legs.”

But opinions vary widely about Ali the man. Some
think him a knight in shining armor.

“Ali” director Michael Mann regards Ali as one of the
seminal figures of the era.

“The heroes, depending on how you thought, were Cesar
Chavez, Che Guevara and Muhammad Ali,” Mann said.

To Spike Lee, Ali was “a shining prince.”

“He was like God. What cannot be underestimated is
the effect he had on black America.”

Others consider Ali a fool.

New Yorker Magazine journalist and boxing
aficionado

A. J. Liebling
, called Ali “Mr. Swellhead Bigmouth
Poet.”

And many had mixed feelings about Ali.

Remnick, Ali`s biographer, wrote: “Ali is an American
myth who has come to mean many things to many people.
He`s a symbol of faith, a symbol of conviction and
defiance, a symbol of beauty and skill and courage, a
symbol of racial pride, of wit and love.”

Kram, who covered Ali for a dozen years, believes
that as a fighter he merits an exalted place in boxing
history.

As for Ali`s place in social history, Kram is
less flattering
. Ali possessed, Fram said, the
“political insights of an infant.”

“I liked Ali. I still like him. I just can`t get over
the bright light of manipulation that runs through his
life,” Kram added.

Kram`s observation is worth special note: Is Ali, at
this late stage of his life, being manipulated again?

Ali has a new Hollywood role that might be more
significant than his advisory position on his own film.

Jack Valenti, president of the Motion Picture
Association of America, has

recruited Ali
to be a pitchman to explain America
and its war to the Muslim world.

Valenti, who

oversees a group
called Hollywood 9/11, thinks that
Ali is the right man to carry the American message to
the Middle East. Hollywood 9/11 wants Ali to convey to
doubters that Muslims in America live a free life and
practice their religion according to their own
individual wishes.

And Ali is to impress upon Muslims that the U.S. war
is not against Islam but against murderers who kill
innocent people.

Ali has tentatively agreed to do a one-minute public
service announcement to be broadcast over networks like
Al Jazeera.

Others in Hollywood 9/11 have serious reservations
about using Ali.

“Is he someone who is universally respected?” asked
Victoria Riskin, president of the Writer`s Guild of
America West.

Riskin warned that with or without Ali`s help,
Hollywood 9/11 has a long, hard task ahead.

“This is a long process. It is not just something you
put a Band-Aid on very quickly and you say that`s it,”
Riskin said.

Just because Ali is instantly recognizable all over
the world doesn`t mean his opinions will be valued.

Time will tell if Ali and Hollywood 9/11 will have a
serious impact of American-Middle Eastern relations.

The expectations seem more pie in the sky than any
fantasy that has ever come out of Tinseltown.

Joe Guzzardi [email
him], an instructor in English
at the Lodi Adult School, has been writing a weekly
column since 1988. It currently appears in the


Lodi News-Sentinel
.