The Great White Hope
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Movie Reviews of The Great White Hope
Movie Review: loosely based on true events
Summary: 3 Stars
Neither this movie, nor the play it was created from were
directly based on true events. The work is loosely based on
events in the life of boxer Jack Johnson. But major portions
of the story diverge greatly from the story of the real man.
Thats not a bad thing in that movie tells a compelling story
by changing the facts, but the side-effect is that it distorts
the history of the real man.
The film gives a really distorted picture of the life of a boxer
in that era. The typical boxer was a drunk surrounded by
hangers-on, prostitutes and women attracted by money and
celebrity. It wasn't really any sort of world of romance and
deep love as shown in the film. It was about greed, violence
and the "rewards" (the women) of being a champion.
Where the movie misses the point totally is in not understanding
that root problem wasn't just racism, but a business and media
culture who were totally willing to use racism and racial
conflict as a way to sell tickets and newspapers. Jack Johnson
(and the search for the great white hope) was a godsend for
the boxing establishment. By combining racial conflict
with sports, interest in boxing and newspaper coverage of
boxing went way up. It was never how he was openly living
that was the problem (even in 1910), it was the decision of
the newspapers to focus in on how he was living.
Also, despite all the outrage and the ill-treatment of Jack
Johnson, he kept both the title and his freedom until age
(not racism) caught up with him. The film spreads the old
lie that the fight in Cuba was thrown. It was not. He lost
because he was old and his lifestyle (like all boxers of that
era) had caught up to him.
The acting in the film is first-rate, but the story doesn't
hold up. Its a 1960's era political film that makes valid
points about racism and hypocracy of that time. But these
days, the issues at hand are atheletes who are either made
into saints or devils at the whim of a few reporters.
All to sell papers or get viewers. While the reality of these
mens lives isn't reported at all.
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