The Great White Hype (1996)
The Great White Hype is a 1996 American sports comedy movies directed by Reginald Hudlin. A satire of racial preferences in boxing the movie is, and was inspired by Larry Holmes's 1982 fight with Gerry Cooney (who was known as "The Great White Hope") and Mike Tyson's 1995 return fight vs. Peter McNeeley.[1]
Plot
When the champ's promoter, Reverend Sultan, decides something new is needed to boost the marketability of the boxing matches, he searches and finds the only man to ever beat the champ. The problem is that he isn't a boxer anymore and he's white. However, once Reverend Sultan convinces him to fight, he goes into heavy training, while the confident champ takes it easy, and falls out of shape.[2]
Controversy
Racial and ethnic slurs fly everywhere in Reginald Hudlin's scattershot comedy, with whites insulting blacks, blacks insulting whites, and even people insulting others of their own race, but the insults are so even-handed they wind up cathartic rather than rude. With a gleeful script by Tony Hendra and Ron Shelton, not to mention a gamely funny cast, this raucous film comes close to what it's after: delivering a race-conscious "Spinal Tap" for the world of sports. [3]
The champ has a bad attitude toward his sport -- he's lazy and doesn't train and then uses a racially motivated tape to psych himself into a fighting rage.[4]
There is also many racial slurs, some also given by black person to another black person, here is some of the dialogue :
Rev. Fred Sultan: if there isn't a white heavyweight out there for you, I'm going to create you one.
James Roper: [Confused] "white heavyweight?", The words don't even go together, it's like saying "black unity"
James Roper: Hey, we ain't duckin' you man. You're just so black we can't find you!
James Roper: I'll beat him with my blackness.
