Change Your Image
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Reviews
The Nine Lives of Marion Barry (2009)
Review
Marion Barry was a political figure in Washington D. C., where he spent 4 terms as mayor of the city, and 3 terms on the city council of District Ward 8. During his life as a politician, Marion Barry made great strides for the African American community in his first term as mayor, however, his reputation has been tarnished by his scandals and affairs outside of office. "The Nine Lives of Marion Barry," a documentary produced by Julie Goldman in 2009, offers a great perspective on Marion Barry's life, emphasizing the good that he did for D. C., as well as the bad. Not only does the documentary shed light on Marion Barry's life and time in office, it also proposes the question, how should Marion Barry be remembered? After watching the documentary, I believe he should be recognized as a man who originally was a hero, however put himself in the position of a villain.
In 1965, when Marion Barry began his political journey, D. C. was 70% Black, yet the government was dominated by white men. Barry wanted to get African Americans in government jobs, so he rallied his community and started the organization "Pride," which helped get hundreds of Black people jobs. He quickly became a leader in the African American community in D. C., and in 1974, he was elected to city council. He continued to inspire his community, and soon after became mayor in 1979. During his stint as mayor, he continued to give Black people hope for the future, which is something they previously hadn't had in their government. In 1982, he ran for his second term and did achieve his goal in getting other African Americans in government jobs. However, while he was working as mayor, the city around him was suffering from the crack epidemic, and Barry's drinking problem began to become visible to the public. Barry began to work less and less, making minimal impact for his city, and in 1990, he was arrested for possession of cocaine. The African American community sympathized for him though, and he was reelected in 1994 for mayor. Due to his previous actions, D. C. instated the financial control board which took away much of the power Marion had. With essentially no power, Barry retired from politics in 1998. He later ran again for city council of District Ward 8in 2004, and was elected, but again, caught with drugs.
During Barry's career, he made great efforts towards improving the African American community in his first few terms, but afterwards, his problems outside of office spiraled out of control, and overall, I think his drug problems in office have a greater effect on his image and reputation than his efforts as mayor. If he were to continue what he was doing in his first term as mayor, I would have seen him as a hero, but he didn't make many changes during his last terms as mayor and his scandals brought down his reputation, causing me to see him as a villain.