I was watching a documentary on Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier the other night. I had always upheld the utmost respect for Ali as a dynamic black man who stood for his people and proved to the world he was the best boxer. I developed this image of him being the ultimate respected athlete because I've seen so many inspirational articles, posters, and just overall references about him being the epitome of hard work and determination, but I had never questioned his integrity. In the documentary, I saw a side of Ali that the media doesn't often portray concerning the heavy weight champion of the world. He held racist beliefs similar to the Ku Klux Klan. He taunted his at one time friend, Joe Frazier, calling him an Uncle Tom, a gorrilla, and other degrading and humiliating things. At one point he showed up at the hotel Joe and his family were staying at and fired gun shots in the air while they were out on the balcony. The people interviewed in the documentary thought it was very peculiar that the media did not pick up this story when they were almost always underfoot whenever either of the boxers were involved. The "interesting" aspects of Ali, did not include his malicious, narcissistic side. The media showed his cocky attitude in doses to entertain the public. In the papers and on t.v., Ali represented the liberal black community and the anti-war movement, thus the media showed only that of what would uphold this reputation and omitted the things that could potentially tarnish it.
"The effect is censorship which, journalists practice without even being aware of it... Only retain what's interesting..."
1 comment:
Interesting example to support your selected quote.
-Starfush
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