The 2001 boxing-oriented film, “Ali,” which was directed by Michael Mann and starred Will Smith, Jamie Foxx, and Jon Voight, among others, delves on the life story of the controversial former heavyweight champion of the world, Muhammad Ali. The film’s setting begins in 1964 just before Ali defeated Sonny Liston for the championship belt, up to the middle part of the 1970’s when Ali recaptured the belt by dethroning the previously undefeated champion, George Foreman. In addition, the film attempts to capture the life dilemmas and conflicts that Ali underwent during the aforementioned years, including his stance on Islam, his refusal to be drafted in the Vietnam War, the banishment from the sport due to his political beliefs, and his defeat against Joe Frazier. In this regard, what is evident is the film’s use several tools, such as lighting, music, ambient noises, and camera angles, and manipulates these to convey the film’s intended themes. Moreover, the sport of boxing is used by the film to promote more profound ideologies that Ali believes in, in that the film ceases to be about boxing per se, but more significantly about personal and social struggles, and Ali’s desire to change the American society.
Without much knowledge and interest in the sport of boxing, much less with Mr. Ali, it is normal to view the said boxing superstar with a sense of detachment. Aside from the personal feedbacks and occasional random articles read in the Web, there is admittedly very little knowledge on who Ali was outside of the boxing ring and the media that consistently followed him during his prime. In this aspect, it can be said that the film, “Ali,” made it possible for the younger generation sets of viewers to time-travel and know firsthand the degree of charisma, the passion towards greatness and his fervor to fight for what Ali believes in, both socially and spiritually.
Based on the arguments mentioned in the preceding paragraph, it is evident that the main agenda of the film is to advance a theme, which is Ali’s pursuit to fight for the equal rights of the African Americans and Muslims. This is especially relevant when considering the existing social turmoil in America during the era of Ali’s best years as a boxer. In this context, Ali seems to corroborate this argument when faced with the threat of imprisonment, in the lines, “Fine, you go right ahead. I’ve been in jail for 400 years. I could be there for 4 or 5 moreyou won’t even stand up for me here in America, for my rights and religious beliefs” (Ali 1:23:10). From this statement, what is clear is the racial tone embedded in it, especially in the words ‘400 years,’ which understandably refer to the length of time that African Americans have been regarded as second-class citizens of the United States.
Other than presenting a theme on racism, “Ali” also pursues religious equality, in that the film aspires for its viewers to change their perceptions towards Islam from a religion of violence and viciousness into a religion espousing peace and equality among mankind. It is for this intent that several scenes are depicted showing famous Black Muslim leaders such as Malcolm X, and scenes where Ali was seen clandestinely listening to a Muslim prayer meeting (Ali 27:14). Ali confirms the accuracy of this scene in an interview, wherein he states “I’d sneak into Nation of Islam meetings through the back door. I didn’t want people to know I was thereLater on, I learned to stand up for my belief” (Early 9). As such, by correlating Ali’s maturity on his spirituality and sense of social equality with Islam, the film advocates a principle that it was because of Islam that Ali was able to achieve the said virtues.
Judging from the arguments mentioned in previous paragraphs, it can be surmised that the film “Ali” used the sport of boxing as a tool to educate the viewers on the fallacy of bigotry. In the same manner, boxing is also used to enlighten the American society that there will always be individuals who will want to make the world a better place, especially if his or her own community is replete with examples of racial and religious oppressions. In this context, Ali is the tool or medium used by the film to advance these social struggles. This method is effective mainly because of Ali’s strong personality, strong sense of humor, and mass-based acceptance that seems to extend beyond race, religion and geography. This is explained by Ali himself in a 1975 interview, when he narrates “You can go to Japan, Chinaand South American countries and, man, they know me. I can’t name a country where they don’t know me” (Early 5).
In the same manner, the depictions of Ali’s struggles and eventually conquering social obstacles such as racism and religious prejudice is an effective way to impart positive behavior to the viewers. This is true especially when considering the principle of Social Cognitive Theory, which states that “depictions of liked characters experiencing either rewards or punishments for their actions will influence viewers to be either more or less likely to perform those behaviors themselves” (Nabi and Clark 407). Hence, it truly seems that the film has been effective in teaching the viewers on the errors of prejudice, considering the global esteem generally regarded to Ali and his legendary place as ‘the greatest’.
Effective Cinematic Tools in “Ali”
The scene depicting Ali’s fight against Foremen at the end portion of the film is replete with excellence in cinematography. Most significant of this part is when Ali is about to enter the fight arena, with the camera positioned at his back (Ali 1:51:48). In this scene, it can be observed that lighting is dimmed at a level which allows Ali’s white robe with black lettering, which is his trademark, to illuminate the screen. This method of lighting, especially since it is played in slow motion, adds to the effect of excitement and of a feeling that something special is about to unfold. This sense of exhilaration proves to be true, given that it is the last scene in the film—one where Ali is victorious against an undefeated champion, which also evidently serves as the denouement to all the conflicts that had transpired in the entirety of the film.
However, in the above-mentioned scene the most evident of which is the use of music to convey an intended message. In this respect, the most notable is the use music to convey excitement, similar to how a fighter must have felt upon entering an arena where he will either be destroyed or be esteemed as the greatest of all time. Such is the case in the given scene wherein a steady throb of drum beats can be heard, synchronous to that of a man’s heartbeat, and sharing the same audibility as the roaring crowd in the stadium. What must be stressed in this aspect is that music “serve to direct attending toward the activity level of characters as well as their apparent strength and ‘goodness’music can accentuate various qualities of visual activity and thereby enhance their perceptual salience” (Boltz, Schulkind, and Kantra 594). As such, based on the said argument it can be said that the music in the said scene amplifies the persona of Ali at the moment when he is about to face the greatest challenge of his career. The steady drum beats then are not suggestive of Ali’s heartbeats alone, but also of all the spectators who are shouting his name and perhaps even the film viewers who are anticipating a victorious battle.
Also, there seems to be a deliberate effort to present the film in a most reliable or accurate in real-life terms. This is because of the seeming avoidance to employ special cinematic effects which would have adulterated the film’s authentic tendencies of portraying the real Ali as a person. This may also be the reason why Ali’s defeat was shown in the film, again minus special effects, to plainly allow the viewers to ‘see’ Ali not as a super-human, but one like us—with his own weaknesses and problems. In this sense, it can be said that “Ali” is a truthful portrayal of the boxer as a human being.
Conclusion
The struggles experienced by Ali and his ultimate victory are symbolic of every individual who has experienced hardship and inequality. In this sense, “Ali” then is not merely a commercial film about sports, but more importantly is aimed at promoting social virtues such as racial equality and freedom of religious choices. While these social dilemmas seem normal in other societies, it is alarming that these abuses on basic human rights are perpetrated in the United States, notwithstanding of its being prided as a bastion of racial equality. Hence, while Ali the person has indeed searched for ways to better his social environment during this era, “Ali” the film also teaches the present generation on the errors of having a ruling racial sector who deems it their God-given duty to curtail the human rights of other races.
Works cited
Boltz, Marilyn, Schulkind, Matthew, and Suzanne Kantra. “Effects of Background Music on the Remembering of Filmed Events.” Memory and Cognition 19.6 (1991): 593-606. Print.
Early, Gerald. “Muhammad Ali as Third-World Hero.” The National Humanities Center 9.1 (2002): 1-13. Print.
Mann, Michael, dir. Ali. Columbia Pictures, 2001. Film.
Nabi, Robin, and Shannon Clark. “Exploring the Limits of Social Cognitive Theory: Why Negatively Reinforced Behaviors on TV may be Modeled Anyway.” Journal of Communication 58 (2008): 407-427. Print.
