Manny Pacquiao vs Muhammad Ali” by mario_d is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0
Ding! Round one – BOOM! Within minutes, the fight is over!
The photo shown above is a fight between Muhammad Ali and Manny Pacquiao. As a huge fan of Muhammad Ali, I wanted to share this powerful photo of him in the ring. I chose this photo for several reasons. Although Muhammad Ali was the greatest professional fighter of all times, he was more than a boxer. He was also a philanthropist and social activist. He was a great fighter in the ring and outside of it. Outside of the ring, he fought for what he believed in.
The audio file Jazzy Eve of Heavy Seas by Wired Ant was the perfect pairing to me for this photo. The audio starts out with a ding followed by a big BOOM!! After the boom, there is this metallic chiming sound as if someone got punched so hard that the only thing they see are stars as they lie flat on the canvas. The song repeats this cadence a few more times before going into a sweet melody of trumpet sounds with the crashing weaves heard in the background. The audio file reminded me of Muhammad Ali’s boxing career but also his life as a man.
Muhammad Ali gave more to this world then just his boxing career. He also gave the world a legacy that will live forever.
“A man who views the world the same at 50 as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life.”
Muhammad Ali 1942-2016
Hi Deidra!
While I am not much of a dedicated boxing fan, I find this image of Muhammad Ali quite interesting. When viewing the image on its own, I can see the high energy of the moment, the power of both athletes on full display. Is the punch going to connect, or is Ali going to manage a quick block and counter attack? Those who know of this match most likely know what is going to happen next, but from an outsider’s perspective, that question hangs in the air upon seeing this moment frozen in time.
And then I played the audio. By itself, it sounds like a track one might expect from a horror film: the eerie moment when all seems to be too calm before the terror strikes. The repeating “booms” could throw the audience off, not knowing when the horror will make itself present.
When paired, the two change drastically in meaning. The steady tempo of the music draws the frenetic fight energy away and suggests a more meditative mood. The gray scale image grounds the music in reality and together the sweeping waves and shot from the past fuse to draw me into a more contemplative mood. It directed me to consider not just the moment, but the lives of those seen.
My primary concern with this post was the links not being accessible for the audio file that was chosen. Thankfully, the title of the audio and the name of creator were both provided in the paragraph that followed, which gave me the chance to be able to properly look up this source. Otherwise, this was a well constructed post and gave me a lot to consider with how an image and audio can change meaning upon being paired.
Hello Deidra!
I am not sure if it was a mistake on my end or not, but I heard the audio first. The music sounded like rain to me, how it can start so suddenly but can slow down or pick up at any moment. I enjoyed the chimes in the back as the rhythm swayed with the brass instruments (a trumpet, maybe)? Towards the end, the drums returned, and it felt as though the song was fading away like a summer storm.
But then I took a good look at your chosen image and blog post, and boy did it change! Those first few drums I heard? That became that first strike Muhammad Ali felt (or may have inflicted). The rhythm became a boxer’s dance as they glided across the floor in an effort to best the other person. For a moment, the ending of the song also felt like the beginning of the match. Perhaps these two legendary boxers are still engaged since there is no referee in the song to stop them.
I don’t know too much about Muhammad Ali, but I know that my father told me he was the Greatest. One of these days, I will sit down and read up about him!