Un-Covering Stories You Never Heard Of: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s On the Shoulders of Giants and The History of (African-)American Basketball
Drawing from various disciplines from cultural history to semiology and communication studies, this article examines the part played by documentary films in the re-writing of the history of American basketball, focusing on former-player-turned-historian Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s 2011 work, On the Should...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Institut des Amériques
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| Series: | IdeAs |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/ideas/16977 |
| _version_ | 1797223241068052480 |
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| author | Yann Descamps |
| author_facet | Yann Descamps |
| author_sort | Yann Descamps |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Drawing from various disciplines from cultural history to semiology and communication studies, this article examines the part played by documentary films in the re-writing of the history of American basketball, focusing on former-player-turned-historian Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s 2011 work, On the Shoulders of Giants: The Story of the Greatest Basketball Team You Never Heard Of. Indeed, this documentary film directed by Deborah Morales raises many questions regarding the treatment of African-American athletes in the writing of the history of American sport. First, this article focuses on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s political life and works, and especially his conscious effort as a historian to highlight forgotten stories and give them back their true historical dimension. Then, it shows how this documentary film turns the New York Renaissance team into a political myth which crystalized the politics of their time—the 1920s—as well as the new political concerns and efforts of the African-American community at the time of the filming of the documentary. Last, it questions the part played by documentary films in de-invisibilizing the history of African-American athletes, their filiation with autobiographies, and the politics of self-representation as a political instrument. In sum, this article uses Abdul-Jabbar’s work to reflect on a conscious, transmedia effort by African-American athletes, historians and scholars alike, to redefine the communication scheme and rewrite American and African-American history. Sport and athletes happen to play a key part in this process, as they have used their media exposure to push this very political agenda. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T13:34:05Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-603885169be34056929bde6c9f85b937 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1950-5701 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T13:34:05Z |
| publisher | Institut des Amériques |
| record_format | Article |
| series | IdeAs |
| spelling | doaj.art-603885169be34056929bde6c9f85b9372024-04-04T09:24:54ZengInstitut des AmériquesIdeAs1950-57012310.4000/ideas.16977Un-Covering Stories You Never Heard Of: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s On the Shoulders of Giants and The History of (African-)American BasketballYann DescampsDrawing from various disciplines from cultural history to semiology and communication studies, this article examines the part played by documentary films in the re-writing of the history of American basketball, focusing on former-player-turned-historian Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s 2011 work, On the Shoulders of Giants: The Story of the Greatest Basketball Team You Never Heard Of. Indeed, this documentary film directed by Deborah Morales raises many questions regarding the treatment of African-American athletes in the writing of the history of American sport. First, this article focuses on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s political life and works, and especially his conscious effort as a historian to highlight forgotten stories and give them back their true historical dimension. Then, it shows how this documentary film turns the New York Renaissance team into a political myth which crystalized the politics of their time—the 1920s—as well as the new political concerns and efforts of the African-American community at the time of the filming of the documentary. Last, it questions the part played by documentary films in de-invisibilizing the history of African-American athletes, their filiation with autobiographies, and the politics of self-representation as a political instrument. In sum, this article uses Abdul-Jabbar’s work to reflect on a conscious, transmedia effort by African-American athletes, historians and scholars alike, to redefine the communication scheme and rewrite American and African-American history. Sport and athletes happen to play a key part in this process, as they have used their media exposure to push this very political agenda.https://journals.openedition.org/ideas/16977documentary filmsportAfrican-American historypolitical mythself-representationempowerment |
| spellingShingle | Yann Descamps Un-Covering Stories You Never Heard Of: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s On the Shoulders of Giants and The History of (African-)American Basketball IdeAs documentary film sport African-American history political myth self-representation empowerment |
| title | Un-Covering Stories You Never Heard Of: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s On the Shoulders of Giants and The History of (African-)American Basketball |
| title_full | Un-Covering Stories You Never Heard Of: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s On the Shoulders of Giants and The History of (African-)American Basketball |
| title_fullStr | Un-Covering Stories You Never Heard Of: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s On the Shoulders of Giants and The History of (African-)American Basketball |
| title_full_unstemmed | Un-Covering Stories You Never Heard Of: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s On the Shoulders of Giants and The History of (African-)American Basketball |
| title_short | Un-Covering Stories You Never Heard Of: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s On the Shoulders of Giants and The History of (African-)American Basketball |
| title_sort | un covering stories you never heard of kareem abdul jabbar s on the shoulders of giants and the history of african american basketball |
| topic | documentary film sport African-American history political myth self-representation empowerment |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/ideas/16977 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT yanndescamps uncoveringstoriesyouneverheardofkareemabduljabbarsontheshouldersofgiantsandthehistoryofafricanamericanbasketball |