Malcolm X (1992)

I have been working on a book for some time now titled "The Deification of the American Niggah: Whole Lotta Lies Don' Make No Truth". The thesis is of the book is that the severe bigotry and injustice experienced by Negroes in America has been replaced by an equally inaccurate and unjust expectation of perfection. There is an attempt to correct the errors of slavery, prejudice and brutal discrimination by recreating reality in an equally tragically inaccurate set of expectations. Blacks have been miraculously transformed from ignorant, vile, sub-humans to noble, perfect, superior beings that have been unjustly suppressed for reasons of racist ambitions, greed, envy, etc. Neither of these depictions is accurate and both misconceptions degrade the social and economic ascendance that is the answer to the issues of black society.

This film and its writers, producers, directors, critics, etc. are an example of the extremes to which myth has attempted to transplant error. The protagonist is depicted as a humble, gifted, noble and superior hero who conquered white oppression through "self-enlightenment". In reality, Malcolm Little was a felon, a convict and a miscreant who sought advancement through narcotics, prostitution and illegal gambling. His "enlightenment" through the spiritual experience of the Nation of Islam (Black Muslims) was depicted in his statement about President Kennedy's assassination "Â…the chickens would come home to roostÂ…." Malcolm's association with the Black Muslims ended in his own brutal assassination by other peaceful, enlightened members of the Nation of Islam.

But Spike Lee directed this movie as a tribute to a hero who transcended racism though enlightenment and moral superiority. This is a terrible film not only because of its betrayal of reality but because it perpetuates the myths that are as evil as the bigotry and persecution that it assaults. There are no mythical heroes just as there are no sub-humans among the black races. Miraculous transformation of history does no more to elevate society than prejudice does. Greater lies cannot correct other lies.

Richard Pryor made the best statement on reality I have ever heard. Its majesty lies in its simplicity and accuracy. On a trip to Africa he attended a large community celebration of ethnic music, dancing, revelry, etc. As he sat among the hundreds of revelers he thought to himself, "Now look around you. Do you see any Niggahs here?" He answered to himself, "No, there aren't any. There never were any. Just people. That's all there ever were." In the same way, if the filmmakers as well as the multitudes of activists who advocate societal betterment would just see that all they have to deal with are people, the issues could begin to be resolved. Fantasies like this movie only prolong the hatred and incomprehension.

Fmovies: "The nation was founded in the late '20s by traveling salesman Wallace D. Fard, whose preachings combined Islam with an Afrocentric cosmology. He taught that blacks are descended from Shabbaz, a tribe that came from the moon 66 trillion years ago, and that whites were the laboratory concoction of Yakub, an evil scientist."

FROM: http://slate.msn.com/id/1075

9/10ths of the way into this movie, I was thinking "I can't believe it. Spike Lee actually has the balls to tell this story truthfully" and expose the Nation of Islam for what it really is: a lying, racists, hate cabal, that murdered Malcolm X.

But just short of the end, he (Spike) just had to throw it in; The Nation Of Islam could not have murdered Malcolm X without help from "The Man". In this case, as usual; the CIA. Forget that there are no actual facts behind this claim, it just NEEDED to be thrown in.

I'm tired of Hollywood re-inventing history. You think the Nation of Islam is just another religious sect? You think Louis Farrakhan is just another " religious" leader? You need to consider that this anti–Semite claims that white people were created in a laboratory in Mecca around the year 1000, and are all decedents of the devil. Look it up, I'm not kidding.

http://slate.msn.com/id/1075

Why is none of this mentioned in the movie, I wonder?

Malcolm X cannot truthfully be said to be one of Spike Lee's best films, but it was an important step for him, perhaps the most important one of his career. This biopic, and Spike's fifth full-length feature, makes only partial sense as a follow-up to his greatest classics, Do The Right Thing, Mo' Better Blues and Jungle Fever, the three films in which he created and developed his unique voice and made a name for himself as one of the most prominent independent filmmakers in the US; Spike's own voice can barely be heard in Malcolm X, and his usually immediately recognizable trademarks are tough to point out. The reason is that for the first time in his career Spike Lee took a step back, and he is not the dominant personality in the film; the dominant personality is Malcolm X himself, and Spike let Malcolm's voice be heard throughout the film louder than anything else.

So Malcolm X is less a work of art and more a statement than Spike's previous films. It's scope is immensely larger than anything he did before – it does, after all, span 200 minutes – and is therefore, naturally, not as tight and focused as Do The Right Thing or Jungle Fever; but in Malcolm X Spike tackles head on the very subjects he treated with symbolism and subtlety in those films, and it was therefore a natural and important progression for him, and a logical continuation of those movies, and in it he proved that he has more than one voice. In a biopic, and for that matter, in any docu-drama, the most important factor is for the director to care about the subject, and I'm yet to see a director who's more passionate about his subject than Mr. Lee.

Malcolm X boasts a huge ensemble casts, with wonderful performances by Delroy Lindo, Angela Bassette, Al Freeman Jr. (in a harrowing performance as Muslim extremist Elijah Muhammad) and Spike Lee himself – but the movie is still entirely Malcolm X's, and therefore Denzel Washington's. Spike's protégé gave a lifetime performance in Mo' Better Blues two years earlier, but he surpassed it with his gut-wrenching portrayal of Malcolm X, which earned him an Oscar nomination (unfortunately lost to Al Pacino in Scent of a Woman) and based him as one of the best actors of his generation.

Although Malcolm X is not Spike Lee's best film, it's an important film that needed to be made, and it's a good thing that Spike was the one to do it. More than it's an impressive, moving, beautiful movie – and it is - Malcolm X's story is a story that must be heard, and this biopic is a film that, truly, every cultured and intelligent person needs to watch.

Malcolm X fmovies. Malcolm X is one of the most influential, positive, and empowering movies I've ever watched. I knew little of Malcolm X before watching this film. Now, I've seen it a total of 10 times. I've also downloaded and read many of Malcolm's greatest speeches, " Ballot or the Bullet" is an example of one. As is visible, this movie has touched me in many ways. Denzel Washington's performance of the ex-Muslim leader is amazing. The only thing more amazing is the fact that he lost out in the Oscar race to Pacino, who portrayed a less important figure, by far. Angela Bassett, a beautiful black actress, plays his wife, Betty Shabazz, in a magnificent role. Delroy Lindo, Albert Hall, Al Freeman Jr., Theresa Randle, and Spike Lee himself all play great roles in the movie. Spike Lee was right. I found this movie to be more informative than two six hour days of any school, grade school, middle school, high school, and/or above.

I think the major success of Alex Haley with this movie is that he tells the story of a dynamic person known as 'Malcolm X' with such a skill that no man from any part of any society get his feelings hurt. I think it is a commendable effort from Alex Haley, Spike Lee and Danzel Washington that they made a hero out of Malcolm X. I think he deserved it because he was the man who was not after money or popularity......he changed his statements, his way of life , even his faith as he knew that those were true. The theme of the movie is very clear that Malcolm X was not a hardliner rather he was always open for truth. Secondly, it also emphasized though in the end that negotiations and reforms is a better way than the violence. But yet it also gave the message that the ruling races reap the violence which they breed themselves; sometimes in the hegemony of their power or sometimes due the wrong interpretation of their religious verdicts. I think it was right to hit at the ' Black organization known as nation of Islam' and Elijah Muhammad. Muslim community is itself greatly indebted to this movie because Elijah Muhammad's teaching were very far from Islam. The real Islam practiced worldwide does not believe in the continuance of prophet-hood after Muhammad (P.B.U.H)and the Black supremacy by Elijah Muhammad was a ridiculous idea as Islam does not believe in Nationalism. Any Muslim anywhere in the world whether black or white are equal in Islam's teachings. It was great to see the scenes of pilgrimage to Makkah ....... these were not unnecessary ......because they helped us to understand the sudden change in the teachings of Malcolm X. Denzel's acting is really superb and also that of Al Freeman Jr. I think this movie is an invaluable resource for the people who want to take an insight into the Malcolm X's life.

Reaching his apex of greatness, Spike Lee created a perfect biography of the Black Nationalist leader. In the title role, Denzel Washington literally becomes the character. From the opening, when he accurately accuses the white man of all the injustices that the white man has perpetrated, to his conversion to Islam (and rejection of his slave surname), to his eventual assassination, the movie is top-notch in every respect.

Having read Malcolm X's autobiography, I can affirm that the movie followed it very closely. Reading his autobiography will actually help you understand him even further. As will his indication that African-Americans bled for the white man in Korea, Japan, Italy, etc., so why shouldn't they bleed for their freedom at home? Anyway, "Malcolm X" is a perfect movie in every way.