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Most of America only really knows two things about Marion Barry: he was once the District of Columbia's mayor, and he seemingly can't stay out of trouble with the law. With yesterday's HBO premiere of the new documentary, The Nine Lives of Marion Barry, it's likely that many people have gained a broader sense of who Barry was and what he once represented for the District. But even with the additional context provided by the film, it's less likely that all that many people will become more sympathetic to the aging local politico and his persistent troubles.
The documentary, produced and directed by filmmakers Dana Flor and Toby Oppenheimer, jumps between Barry's 2004 run for the Ward 8 seat on the D.C. Council he still holds, and earlier, key years in his development as an activist and politician in the District. From his time as a rabble-rouser in the highly segregated D.C. of the 1960s to his first election to the newly formed D.C. Council in the mid-1970s, and eventually his four terms as mayor, the documentary tries to put Barry's emergence in the context of a city whose residents were impoverished, disenfranchised and looking for a strong voice to speak on their behalf.
It is that moment in Barry's life that has allowed him to remain an almost untouchable figure in District politics - even with all the drugs, corruption and womanizing. His constituents and supporters glorify what Barry once was, and he uses it as a means to excuse his many faults, both in and out of office. His 2004 challenger, Ward 8 activist Sandra Seegers, remarks at one point, "[Barry is] still running on his glory days. He plays on people's sympathies."
The documentary manages to avoid passing judgment on Barry, opting instead to juxtapose the Barry that was and the Barry that he became. The effect may end up being a real condemnation of the Mayor for Life, though. Early on, Barry was a promising activist and public servant, bravely standing up for District residents in an era when political and racial segregation was still the norm. Now he's, well, a guy who balances getting elected and staying out of jail. His fall from grace is that much more painful to watch because he fell so far, has tried to get back up but just can't seem to get his footing anymore.
Ultimately, the point of the documentary isn't just that the man matters, but also the political and historical context in which he came to be. Barry remains electable both because Ward 8 voters remember what he once represented and because the conditions in which they live haven't changed all that much since before Barry first came to office. (Why, one asks, wouldn't this serve as a condemnation of Barry's efficacy as an elected official?)
Eventually, with a new generation of voters and a new sense of possibility, politicians like Barry will cease to be useful. Much to our chagrin, that time hasn't yet come, but it will.
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The sad thing is that Barry has done so much damage to the cause of DC self rule and African-American progress in general. He has become the poster boy for anyone who want to argue that DC is "not ready" for self-rule. (Of course, you can have corrupt, womanizing politicians in places like Illinois and South Carolina without anyone arguing that they are "not ready" for self-rule.)
Just the same, Barry's antics are a consistent embarassment. A recent low point was the interview in which he defended hiring his girlfriend because "that's just the way we do things in DC" and "you people don't understand how we do things here." Thanks, Marion, for once again making your city look like a tinhorn dictatorship.
a-freaking-men, virginia. well put.
Home Rule Shmome Rule...
Who cares about what I may or may not have done to destroy this city.
The real question is - how good did I look circa 1976?
The answer is - stunning?
Did anyone see that photo of me dressed like a cowboy riding a horse down Pennsylvania Ave.?? Now that is sexy.
How about the picture of me and some floozy where I'm wearing the yachting cap given to me by Judge Smails on the occasion of the christening of his sloop "The Flying Wasp"?
I was surprised that the woman he smoked crack with wasn't a prostitute -- that's what I'd always heard, and same with my buddies who watched it with me.
Marion Barry is DC's Robert Mugabe
Don't you mean Idi Amin?
Silly suburbanites, stay in Rosslyn and Chevy Chase.
I thought it was an interesting documentary, but didn't really succeed in explaining Barry. What we learned was that he's been womanizing, doing drugs, and drinking for decades. And that each time he's accused of doing any of that, he always acts personally offended at the accusation and says it's all a lie. And when it turns out it's all actually true and he's been lying through his teeth, his defenders still see him as doing no harm and being the victim.
And whatching the interviews with Effi Barry was both saddening and infuriating. Saddening b/c she was an astoundingly beautiful woman who was clearly devoted to Barry and his career. Infuriating b/c Barry regularly cheated on her and lied to her, and yet had the gall to cry at her funeral about how much he loved her and how much she meant to him. It's hard to understand how deeply he loved her when he was out chasing any skirt that passed by.
The two key moments in the film: One woman who says Barry just doesn't know how to gracefully exit the scene; and Barry's godson who was defending Barry from accusations about continued drug use, and the look on his face when he acknowledged the rumors were true and Barry had lied to everyone yet again.
I like your comment. I felt the same way watching this last night.
He had such potential, SUCH potential. He basically led the city out of ruin and then let it crash & burn right at the finish line. So sad, yet people do not want to admit that he despite all of the good in his heart, he really did let the city of DC down in the end.
I was also deeply touched by the last scene with his godson, I felt that was the most pivotal moment in the film.
I wonder when (or if) he'll ever admit to having "the virus." It's pretty well known, and I guess I'm surprised they didn't really touch on it in the film.
are you saying Barry has AIDS?
As a former DC resident transplanted to San Francisco, I miss all the little wonderful things that make that city not function.