Given the number of posts I’ve done on him over the years, I think it could go without saying that I think Mike Tyson is one of the more intriguing characters to come around during my lifetime. That’s why I’m thoroughly geeked about the release of the documentary film about him. I don’t know when the general release is, but I know I’ll probably be there opening weekend.
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I’ll be in line on opening weekend, too. You know, I hope that someday someone teams up with Iron Mike and writes a hell of an autobiography. With most autobiographies, you have to worry about the veracity and openness of the author.
But with Mike, I feel like it would be quite the opposite. I really don’t think he’s gotten enough credit for being open, honest and raw about himself and his life. In some ways, I wonder if it would be too much for people. Too off-putting.
Yeah, I think that’s why he’s so interesting to me: for as much as people make fun of the way he talks, I think he’s actually quite insightful.. One wonders if under another set of circumstances, Mike Tyson could’ve been Mike Dyson.
If emotionally disturbed people fit your idea of compelling, there are countless numbers of folks on street corners around the city available for your amusement.
A great documentary was HBO’s Thrilla in Manila. It’s almost obscene to mention a film about Tyson in the same category as one featuring Frazier or Ali.
yeah, i wish we had HBO so i could’ve seen it. from what i understand, it’s kinda following in the steps of Ghosts of Manila, by Mark Kram.
at one point, tyson had the potential to be mentioned in that company; in hindsight, when he probably the heavyweight division, it was probably at its weakest point — at least, considering times when the division was competitive.
MIB, I guess we’ll just have to respectfully disagree. I think Mike Tyson is one of the most compelling sports figures of our era, without question. That “Thrilla in Manilla” was great doesn’t make the upcoming Tyson doc any less so. We’ll let the audience be the judge of that one.
But being emotionally disturbed doesn’t make a person any less interesting. In fact, to me, it amps up the interest.
Also, I think Iron Mike’s openness about his failings, some of which are indeed the result of mental illness, adds a lot to the public conversation about those issues. Lots of people have struggled with those demons but few have been so honest about it.
I guess my thing is: with all the other Tyson stories and documentaries out there, what will be in this particular joint that will stand out? There are only so many psychoanalyses and allegorical narratives about rising and falling one can hear before the novelty wears off. Yes, he beat Robin Givens a$$. Yes, he lost to Buster. Yes, he did time in the pen. Yes, he got some strange a$$ tattoos. Yes, he bit off an ear. Yes, he threatened to consume children. I get it.
What else is there?
i think the fact that Tyson is narrating it — telling his own story — is what makes it so much of a draw. At this point, I could almost write a serviceable biography, but I’m curious to hear what he himself has to say about it. And like Blackink said, the fact that Tyson is forthcoming about his demons in a way that most people aren’t makes it a draw too.
Then there’s the fact that we – I can only speak for myself, but I know I’m not the only one – were SO intoxicated by his power; the fact that he was, in fact, or at least really did seem to be the Baddest Man on the Planet makes the story that much more of a draw. Yeah, Ali was The Greatest and he belongs to everybody, but Mike was our champ; his ascent came during our coming of age. We were too old to believe in fairy tales, but not old enough to be jaded. You plug a young, frighteningly powerful, seeming force of nature into that nexus, and you get true believers. That’s why I know people who STILL TO THIS DAY swear that Tyson in his prime was the GOAT. I’ve never thought that type of foolishness, but I understand why people did. It’s as much about Tyson the mythology as it is about Tyson the fighter. In retrospect, maybe moreso.
But thinking about it a little more, I think Tyson, short of a religious experience, was one of the last things we thought we could really and truly believe in. Not everybody, obviously, but many of us. Or at least me.
I’m going to say something harsh, blackink. Anyone who believes Tyson deserves consideration amongst the top 10 heavyweights of all time is ignorant about boxing. P-e-r-i-d. I’ll admit, his raw strength was mesmerizing for about 15 seconds — until it became apparent he was going up against has-beens and never-wases. It turns out he just wasn’t that skilled as a boxer. A ham-n-egger kicked Tyson’s ass, and that never happens with a truly great boxer in their prime. Can you imagine a pumped up middleweight taking out a Holmes or Louis in their primes? Did Tyson ever rally back to defeat anyone?
Out of the ring, Tyson made a spectacle of himself. He was, and still is a freak show. In a way, I feel sorry for him, because I believe he suffers from a low grade mental illness. But he’s also a bully and a coward (as demonstrated by several people, boxers and non-boxers alike). And that I can’t look past. He’s not even a G; just a punk with a personality disorder. Or maybe someone who never grew up. That’s why it’s really difficult for me to wax romantic about Mike Tyson’s unfulfilled potential, or find philosophical depth in anything he has to say. The probability that he’s psychotic renders moot whatever morsel of insight he can possibly glean from reading Mao or Nietzsche in a jail cell.
I don’t deny a lot of people still find his persona entertaining. A lot of folks are sick like that.
So Ave, I just peeped this movie on the ‘Net. I yield to your better judgement on this one: the movie was the whip. Having Mike offer personal, vulnerable, and emotionally charged commentary as opposed to some other dude provide empty, third person storytelling definitely set it off.