Excerpt from Term Paper:
The central issue in the film is definitely not racism or even the society of the time, although that background is recreated well to get the film. Instead, the film presents “a potent sampling of Charles’ devils, faults and addictions to go with the attraction, talent and strength of character” (McCarthy 3).
The film is extremely successful in the way it recrets the music of the time and reveals how Charles developed as being a singer, and it also gives a good account in the man along with the different aspects of his personality and behavior. Where the film is less successful is in the way that tries to clarify these contrasting elements by linking them to one celebration, the time when young Ray saw his brother pass away in an crash. Ray seems responsible as they did not step up to save his brother, nevertheless in truth having been very fresh himself but not really capable to do very much when facing such a terrible accident. Beam goes blind a couple of years following this event and seems to discover his loss of sight and other problems as abuse for his failure. The filmmakers regrettably return to this kind of incident in the childhood time and time again, suggesting that virtually many methods from his womanizing to his drug dependency can be tracked back to this type of event. This places far too very much power in this one episode and also has a tendency to seem extreme as the film uses flashbacks to that particular event because an explanation to get virtually almost everything. As upsetting as the event was, that cannot be known as the only formative influence upon Ray Charles or while so important that this causes this all problems.
Charles is seen as someone who was not simply greatly motivated by the distinct musical designs he read, styles that he identified ways to incorporate, but who was also affected by the events and currents taking palce in his time. Being a black gentleman, he was controlled by the same racism as other black males, with a single difference being the degree to which it was observed in the places he had to try out and in the way in which audiences responded to him. He traveled from the clearly segregated associated with Gerogia to Seattle, where the racism was still evdident although often less overt. The music business today seems highly integated, at least with the level of the performer, but this was not the case in the 1950s or 1960s. A black musician like Beam Charles would have a successful recording, and it will be covered by a white musician and then performed more within the radio. The film hints at many of these problems and is always ready to respond to an instance of racism or any other moderate directed at it is main subject. The recreatio of the period is congratulations but always not as compelte as it mgiht be, and the main body system of the film is music rather than political or sociable. The film is most good when it does concentrate on the music and the performance, but it hints at many of the challenges of the time and just how they damaged black artists like Ray Charles.
Works Cited
Atkinson, Michael. “It’s a Disgrace About Beam. ” The Village Tone of voice (26 March. 2004), forty two.
Hackford, Taylor swift. Ray. General Pictures, 2005.
McCarthy, Jake. “Ray. inches Variety (12 Sept. 2004), 3.
Scott, a. O. “Portrait of Genius, Colored in Music. ” The newest
