Ali (2001)

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Ali was released on December 25, (2001), in the USA. The American drama film was produced by Columbia Pictures. The movie storyline was written by Stephen J. Rivele, and directed by Michael Mann. The movie was based on the life story of Muhammad Ali, a man who is considered the greatest boxer of all time[1].

Plot

In 1964, a young pro boxer named Cassius Clay just won the Olympic gold medal. His upcoming fight is against Sonny Liston. Clay increases his practice load in training and explicitly mocks the opponent by making funny rhymes in winning the crowd over. As the fight results show, Clay defeats Liston and becomes the Heavyweight Champion. After achieving fame for his boxing match and appearance in supporting the African American, Ali (who changes his name from Clay to Muhammad Ali) is drafted into the army in the Vietnam war. He decides to not taking part in the war and for that reason, he is sentenced to jail, stripped of all his titles, and rejected from the boxing tournament. However, after several years, Ali acquires the Supreme Court approval and finally sets out to the boxing tournament.  Even though he loses his prime boxing years time, Ali still wins the boxing championship at 32 years old while his opponent, Foreman, is a 24-year-old boxer[2].

Black Empowerment

The movie does not show Ali as a great boxer, but as a brave African American who dared to speak for equity and the same rights for everyone. He asks everything about white supremacy as the scene shows where Ali says "why the media would beautify everything white, and do the opposite with everything black. This came at a time when black men were not supposed to stand straight and look white people in the eye"[3]. He also defies the draft although some people considered his act as unpatriotic, he answers there is no need to fight them as he says "No Viet Cong ever called me nigger"[4]. Still, Ali has shown what it meant to be a minority in a majority group and everyone has their rights to live and make their own decision as he says "I don’t have to be who you want me to be. I’m free to be who I want"[5].

References