Beast. Monster. Savage. Psycho. The glowering menace of Mike Tyson
has spooked us for almost two decades. And still we remain
fascinated. Why? Ellis Cashmore’s answer is disturbing: white
society has created Tyson as vengeance for the loss of privilege
produced by civil rights.
Cashmore’s eviscerating analysis of Tyson’s life and the culture
in which he grew up, rose to prominence and descended into disgrace
provokes the reader into re-thinking the role of one of the most
controversial and infamous figures of recent history. Told as an
odyssey-style homeward journey to Tyson’s multi-pathological
origins in the racially-explosive ghettos of the 1960s, Tyson’s
story is part biography, part tragedy and part exposition. His
associations with people like Al Sharpton, Don King and Tupac
Shakur shaped his life; and events, such as the O J Simpson trial
and the Rodney King riots, formed a turbulent background for the
Tyson psychodrama.
Over the course of an epic boxing career, Tyson was transformed
from the most celebrated athlete on earth to a primal, malevolent
hate-figure. Yet, even after being condemned as a brute, Tyson
retained a power – a power to captivate. Cashmore reveals that the
sources of that power lie as much in us as in Tyson himself.
Cuprins
Acknowledgments vii
one INTRODUCTION: I WILL KILL YOU. DO YOU UNDERSTAND THIS? 1
two IF YOU’D BE KIND ENOUGH, I’D LOVE TO DO IT AGAIN
13
three ARE YOU AN ANIMAL? IT DEPENDS 29
four LIKE WATCHING A SERENGETI LION RIP INTO A WARTHOG 43
five HIS VITAL ORGANS IN EXCHANGE FOR FORGIVENESS 60
six GOD’S PLANNING TO SCREW HIM 87
seven TO RAPE THE VIRGINAL BLACK PRINCESS 108
eight IN HANDCUFFS IN THE BACK OF A POLICE CRUISER 131
nine THEY BELIEVE WHITE MEN HAVE HAD TO PAY FOR BLACK SUCCESS
144
ten TIME TO LEAVE THE WHITE MAN’S WORLD 162
eleven FACTS ARE LOST IN THE PRECONCEPTIONS OF RACIAL GRIEVANCE
191
twelve GIVE HIM ENOUGH TIME AND THE NIGGER WILL COME OUT IN HIM
AGAIN 213
thirteen THE DEBT OF THE GHETTO BOUND 231
fourteen YOU’D STILL LOOK AT ME AS A SCUMBAG 245
Bibliography 256
Index 260
Despre autor
Ellis Cashmore is Professor of Culture, Media and Sport at Staffordshire University
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