An inside look at PBS's ‘Muhammad Ali’ and who gets to tell the story
Summary
Ken Burns' latest four-part documentary, “Muhammad Ali,” premiered Sunday, Sept. 19 on PBS and runs for four nights. Jeffrey Brown visited Burns at his studio for a behind-the-scenes look at how he makes his films, and the larger context and conflicts in telling America’s story in a time of racial reckoning. This report is part of our arts and culture series, “CANVAS.”
Five Facts
Who
is Ken Burns and what is he known for?
What
are some of the reasons Burns wanted to cover Ali?
When
did Muhammad Ali become a civil rights icon?
Why
is telling Ali's story important, according to this interview?
How
might this documentary add to viewers' understanding of the American experience?
Focus Questions
If you could request an in-depth PBS documentary about one historical American figure, who would you choose, and why?
What are your thoughts on Ken Burn's response about making a film about Muhammad Ali as a white male and the issue of 'who gets to tell the story'?
Media literacy:
Why do you think this piece was largely about the making of the documentary, and not the subject of the documentary itself?
For More
You can watch Ken Burns' Muhammad Ali series
here
. You can watch the trailer below:
This year, director Regina King released a fictionalized retelling of Ali's significance in the civil rights movement called One Night in Miami. You can learn more about that film in
this lesson
.
