Tyson

“It’s like a Greek tragedy. Only I’m the subject.” Those were Mike Tyson's first words after seeing James Toback's movie for the first time. The two have known each other since 1985 and sat down to shoot a heartbreaking documentary of the Mike Tyson of old and the Mike Tyson of now. It was a highly personal experience for sure, you can feel it in every word that comes out of Tyson's mouth, as well as in every frame shot by Toback. The film is a must see for boxing fans and regular people alike.

I must admit I have always been interested in the enormous fascination caused by Mike Tyson. It's easy to see why that happened after watching this movie. What I find much harder is the meaning behind this modern Greek tragedy. What can Mike Tyson's life story teach us? What went wrong? What could have been prevented? Was there really any hope for him, or was he really doomed from the beginning?

 

The public perception of Mike Tyson is that of an animal, a monster unleashed upon the world, a demon spreading havoc everywhere around him. The gentle Tyson is virtually a complete unknown. Few people realize the huge depth of his persona, the incredible emotional range he is capable of. The roller coaster ride his life was is our best proof of that. He is textbook bipolar, that's true. But that can't be all there is to it. Think for a moment that Lennox Lewis was born in Mike Tyson's place. Would things have been the same? For some time I was tempted to think that Mike Tyson was a real life character from Coen's Fargo, and some time I still think that there's just a lot of randomness that brought him along this path so far. There is nothing to learn from this except that life is sometimes cruel and people succumb eventually to the evil around them - there's simply nothing to do about that and you have to accept it as it is. Life can kick you around like a piece of trash, pay attention to that! Is that everything we can learn from Tyson's story?

I think there's more to it. I think Mike Tyson might have been the most highly sensitive persons to have ever walked the face of our planet. All this man needed in his life was love - simple, true, unconditional love - and he needed a lot of it. He never received it, not from his parents who abandoned him, not from Cus who saved him from the streets only to turn him into a ferocious animal, not from the women in his life and most certainly not from the bloodthirsty public who managed to drive him to the point of believing he doesn't deserve it. Tyson had to fell into the lowest of lows in order to receive a breadcrumb of compassion, he had to become a ghost of his former self, an emotional and physical wreck in order to be seen as a human being. Could Tyson have done anything to prevent this? No. Could it have been prevented? Yes. This is the lesson we need to learn. Most of us are born with thick skin, we are not that sensitive, but there are people in this world that are more fragile than the most. They might hide behind huge muscles and intimidating looks, behind fake self confidence and arrogance sometimes. Pay attention to them, try to see each and every person for what they are, because there is a little bit of good in everyone. And sometimes there is a lot of good that just needs a little help to be revealed.