2)Norman Jewison, the director of In the Heat of the Night (1967) was originally asked to direct a biopic on Malcolm X. Spike Lee argued that only an African-American could make this important film. In the end,Warner Brothers went with Lee, what do you think of Lee’s argument? 3)What were the most powerful scenes in the film? Was there any memorable dialogue?
4)During the film Denzel plays Malcolm Little, Detroit Red, Malcolm X, and el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz. Discuss his evolution and the key moments in each phase.
5)After reading the two reviews below of Columbia University historian Manning Marable’s new biography, Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention, contrast Marable’s depiction of Malcolm X with Lee’s portrayal of him. Also, look at NYT review by Toure’.
http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2011/04/25/110425crbo_books_remnick?currentPage=allhttp://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/19/books/review/book-review-malcolm-x-by-manning-marable.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
5) What do you think of the way Spike Lee started the film with video footage of the 1992 beating of Rodney King, while Denzel Washington, as Malcolm X, spoke in the background condemning white racism?
6) What do you think of the way Lee ended the film making a comparison between Malcolm X and Nelson Mandela? Is that a valid comparison?
I did not particularly enjoy the film.Some scenes were hard to hear, especially scenes with ambient noises. Therefore, I may have missed some great lines of dialogue. One great line in the film was said by the police cop at the protest outside the hospital. "That's too much power for one man to have." I found this quote to be true. Malcom X was too powerful. He was able to command a group of men to march in order. He had men around him that were willing to die for him. Therefore, his split with the nation of Islam placed him in danger. The Nation of Islam knows how dangerous he is to the survival of their organization. They had to assassinate him in order to get rid of him. Also, I found the opening scene very memorable. Although I don't have any particular quotes from that scene. The video footage of the police brutality made me understand the causes of the LA Riots. I remember seeing videos of Koreans protecting their shops with heavy firepower but never the original footage of the beating of Rodney King. I understand why some Blacks held violent protests.
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ReplyDeleteAlthough one may argue that figures such as Thurgood Marshall and Bob Moses are more important to the civil rights movement, Malcolm X has his own place in the civil rights history. Unlike Thurgood Marshall, Malcolm X was under constant media attention and served as a pillar of support for the African Americans at the time. His aggressive, militant attitude awakened black pride within the African American community and raised the self-esteem of African Americans all across the country.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Spike Lee's claim that only a black director can make this film. The story of Malcolm X is the story of a champion of African Americans. Blacks would be the ones having the most ease empathizing with the ideas in the film. I think the story of an African American should be told by an African American.
The most memorable scene for me was Malcolm X's enlightenment in the prison. That was the moment that Malcolm Little became Malcolm X and it showed how much respect Malcolm had for for Elijah Muhammad. This was the most dramatic change of all the phases of Malcolm X. Elijah Muhammad's phrase "I have come to give you something which can never be taken away from you: I bring to you a sense of your own worth" struck me as the most important phrase in the film.
When Malcolm X started out as Malcolm Little, he was an ignorant nobody who had a sense of inferiority to the Whites. This was most clearly shown through his multiple attempts at straightening his hair to look "white". Malcolm's epiphany in the prison was the moment that truly gave birth to the Malcolm X we know today. He changed from a self despising black to a man who is proud of his origins. It this then that he developed a sense of anti-white sentiment for the wrong doings against his people. Lastly, Malcolm's transformation to el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz was more of a ideological shift. He abandons his aggressive militant stance on the civil rights issue and is more accepting of integration into the American society, much like the ideas of MLK. el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz promoted peace and love as opposed to Malcolm X's militant ways.
I really enjoyed the film, and thought the film was very powerful as a whole. The scene Henry mentioned, with Malcolm's ability to disperse the crowd with a single gesture - that was one of the most powerful scenes. I also found Malcolm X's speech in the beginning powerful as well ("I charge the white man..."). Malcolm X's spiritual awakening in prison was also very powerful, both the scene in prison and the pilgrimage to Mecca.
ReplyDeleteI liked how Spike Lee made parallels between the beginning and the end of the film - Malcolm X's father had to get the family out from a burning house, and after Malcolm X grew up and had a family, he also had to deal with his house burning. Also, when Malcolm X was still young and living in Harlem, he went to a lot of clubs and danced, and at the end, it shows him mature and grown up, walking through another club. The contrast between these scenes shows just how much Malcolm X has changed over his lifetime - from a young hustler to criminal to minister. Finally, I think the assassination scene was really good. You could tell how tired Malcolm X was, and how he suspected he was going to die. The gunfire and subsequent chaos was well done, as well as the silence afterwards. It really gave Malcolm X's death a sense of finality.
Malcolm X was a great film that really shows the transitions that he went through. In the beginning he was willing to go through all that pain just to straighten his afro while towards the end, he was a separatist who believed in Pan-Africanism, much like his father who believed in the principles of Marcus Garvey. Memorably, in one scene, he had said "the only thing I like integrated is my coffee." In the words of Marable, he went from being a "petty criminal and drug user to a long-term prisoner to an influential minister to a separatist political activist to a humanist to a martyr." All of these transitions can clearly be seen in Spike Lee's film.
ReplyDeleteMarable claims that Malcolm was a homosexual. Using a letter that Malcolm had written to Elijah Muhammad, he claims that his did not have a great relationship with his wife Betty and that he was a misogynist. Marable claims that Malcolm had a "habit of leaving for days or months immediately after [Betty had given] birth..." However, this side of Malcolm is not seen in Spike Lee's film. Rather, in the film, his love for Betty can clearly be seen (from his sudden proposal through the phone and visit to the museum, to his phone call to Betty from the hotel). Memorably, in the scene right before their house was burned down, he was staying up with a weapon to keep watch while his wife and children were sleeping. He wanted them to be safe. Spike Lee chooses to omit this other side of Malcolm in order to protect his glorious image-an image that most people have when they hear the name "Malcolm X".
One scene that I thought was extremely memorable was when he was leading a mass of people to the police station and then to the hospital. After finding out that the victim who was beaten was okay and alive, as promised, he dismissed the mass with the stroke of one hand. With one hand raised, he was able to control the large mass of people and direct them to march the opposite way. Memorably, one white police officer had said, "that's took much power for one man to have." From just this scene alone, one can imagine the great amount of power that Malcolm has come to grasp. One can see that he has become a leader that people look up to for directions.
Overall, this film was very insightful. It did a fantastic job of showing the different phases that Malcolm went through and how he became the Malcolm X that everyone knows today.
Although the film did a good job of portraying Malcolm X's evolution as he aged from a young adult to a man, I feel as though it selectively omitted several details about his life in order to emphasize his importance. It was interesting however, to see Malcolm start out as a young pimp and later become a minister and orator. I particularly enjoyed the scenes of Malcolm's childhood because most of what I read in textbooks are about his days as a public speaker, the film gave me an insight on Malcolm's background and personality. The most lasting scene for me was in the prison when Malcolm's future mentor scolded him for trying to imitate the hair of whites, it was the beginning of Malcolm's change and was extremely powerful. I enjoyed the movie as a whole even though I disagreed with some of Malcolm's claims. Spike Lee did a good job making this film into a story, not a documentary. His clever filming choices and use of historical photos and recordings drew parallels between his retelling and history. Also his use of the camera did an amazing job at portraying what was going through Malcolm's head as he was being threatened by phone calls, the way it spun made it seem like his world was turning upside down and the constant ringing of the phone emphasized that. The film was enjoyable, but I wished that Spike Lee made Malcolm a bit more like his real self.
ReplyDeleteToday in our debate everyone talked about racism as a thing of the past, something that our ancestors did but that we shun with humanist passion. However, I am persuaded that this is not the case. I am persuaded by the incarceration and wealth gap statistics, as well as moving trends in voting rights laws and affirmative action court decisions, that institutionalized racism continues to shape a great deal of American politics and civil life. Spike Lee captures this in his opening scene of his Malcolm X biopic. He doesn't open his exhaustive, three-hour film with a shot of X's handsome, intimidating, fiery oratory. Rather, Lee enacts a deliberate connection between the riots occurring in the year of his film's production, and its subject, although 30 years removed.
ReplyDeletePerhaps Lee's film is a gross idealization of a flawed individual. Malcolm X, in his transition from Malcolm Little to drug-dealing, pimp Red, to Malcolm X, to ultimately el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz, had his shortcomings. Manning Marable's biography is brave enough not to shy from these, and delves into the misogyny that largely defined X's relationship with his wife. However, Lee's film manages to present the inspiring Malcolm X, focusing rather on the evolutionary character of its subject than on his flaws.
As he did with the Rodney King footage, Spike Lee aimed to directly link Malcolm X's legacy to ongoing struggles for racial equality. In connecting X to Nelson Mandela, Lee traces a valid link between to active human rights champions. The director here gets to crux of his biopic: Malcolm X's legacy is precisely, like Mandela, his championing of human rights. Leading Civil Rights leaders like Thurgood Marshall, Bob Moses, and John Lewis did much more to improve the conditions of black people in the near future. But their ultimately revisionist aims (Lewis is currently a member of the US Congress and has been since 1987) have not brought about the conditions they prophesied fifty years ago. In the lack of an actually existing black nationalist or truly powerful human rights organization, it is tough to say that Malcolm X's legacy directly effects us in 2014. However, the importance of his work and thought, the magnitude of the love expressed in it towards the end of his life, is a paramount lesson for all young people to learn. The next time I am on Malcolm X Boulevard I will smile, rather than remembering vaguely that somewhere I learned that man was dangerous.
4)During the film Denzel plays Malcolm Little, Detroit Red, Malcolm X, and el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz. Discuss his evolution and the key moments in each phase.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the film, Malcolm X undergoes an evolution. He starts off as a young African-American kid in the midst of white kids. He is smart and dedicated to his studies. He dreams of becoming a lawyer until his favorite teacher tells him:"this is no career for a ni**er" This is an example of institutionalized racism at its finest because he continues with: "you're good with your hands. Why don't you become a carpenter instead?"
Because of this incident, Malcolm becomes delinquent. He starts to do drugs and commit robberies. He carries around a gun and perpetrates violence. He becomes Detroit Red which is his gang name. Eventually he gets caught and is sent to jail. In jail, he resists the police and is put in solitary confinement. He also suffers from drug withdrawal. Then he meets Baines who introduces him to the Nation of Islam and the teachings of Elijah Muhammad. He is also told to better his mind. Eventually, Malcolm memorizes the dictionary.
When Malcolm is released from prison, he changes his name to Malcolm X. He changes his name because while in prison Baines had told him that Little was his slave name. They wouldn't know their real names until they went back to Africa. Thus, since it is unknown, they use an X until they find out their real name. When Malcolm spoke, he always credited Elijah Muhammad: "The Honorable Elijah Muhammad teaches us that....". However because of his eloquence and the attention he was getting, some in the Nation of Islam were jealous. Elijah Muhammad defended him until Malcolm made a terrible comment about President Kennedy's assassination against Elijah Muhammad's orders. Malcolm was forbidden to speak in public for the next 3 months. However that very night there was a planned attempt on his life by the Nation of Islam. He was told of the attempt by Sidney, Baines' son. This led to a permanent break with the Nation of Islam.
Malcolm now wanted to learn more about Islam and just travel outside of the country. He visited various Arab cities and went on a pilgrimage to Mecca. He shared bowls and utensils with whites and mixed with different ethnicities. He was stunned by the sheer amount of camaraderie between everyone. This experience caused him to mellow down his rhetoric. He was no longer as violent or hating as before. Whereas before he had called fellow civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. "Uncle Toms" now he apologized and asked that they all work together to find a common solution for the problem facing the black community. Unfortunately he died before he could effect much change.
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ReplyDeleteThe following comments were made by Angela Lin ---Personally, I really liked the film, Malcolm X. The beginning of the film was extremely striking, as Malcolm X says, "I charge the white man for being the greatest murderer on this earth. I charge the white man for being the greatest kidnapper on this earth. I am not an American, you are not an American. We are VICTIMS of America. We've never seen democracy. All we've seen is hypocrisy." As the film began in such a manner, I was immediately shocked by how different Malcolm X (or when he was younger, Malcolm Little) was: He underwent tremendous pains to straighten his hair to look more 'white.' He was a party boy, as emphasized by the five or so minutes long dance that I felt was completely unnecessary. He was, as a little boy, told that "a lawyer is no realistic goal for a ni**er" and called the term so many times that he thought it was his name. This sets up the stage for his change later in the film. Throughout the film, I also really enjoyed Spike Lee's directing and film effects. on Malcolm X
ReplyDeleteGoing into the film I was prepared to hate Malcolm X. He seemed to be an angry, resentful, and hypocritical man. However, as I was immersed in the violence and injustice of the era, I began to sympathize with Malcolm more (reading about beatings and riots in the textbook isn't the same as seeing it). I admire his ability to take charge, his leadership and strength. He refused to be a victim. I agree with the fact that he does not have nearly as much direct impact as thursgood marshall or bob moses, but he was a symbol for people and raised the sense of pride in the black community. He became a role model and hero for many young black children, and I think that is a great accomplishment.
ReplyDeleteI would say that other leaders like Thurgood Marshall and Bob Moses were more important in the long run because they actually changed policies that were oppressing the black community. However, Malcolm X was important as well because he gave the black community a sense of pride that they might not have gotten through Thurgood Marshall or Bob Moses. Because part of Thurgood Marshall's plan to get rights was to use the system and the people who ran the system, namely whites, treated blacks as inferior, the blacks might not have gotten the sense of pride that Malcolm X gave them. Malcolm X being charismatic, tall and powerful was inspiring and showed the black community that they were not inferior and they had their own culture.
ReplyDeleteIt was probably easier for an African American director to make the film because Malcolm X was an inspiring figure that might not have appeared so to other people. Having an African American director would bring a kinder image to the screen.
Throughout the film, Malcolm became less and less angry and militant. He went from being a person who wanted to become someone he could not to someone that was proud of who he was. However, I found a lot of the movie to almost depict a side of him that stuck from when he was Detroit Red. There were hints of Malcolm being a gangster. I could see this through the bodyguards and the way that Elijah Muhammad was a womanizer and wore sunglasses online. This made me think that in the end Malcolm did not really change as much as Spike Lee would want us to believe but instead just changed the way that he expressed his ideas.
I really liked the way Spike Lee made the film. There was a lot of impact in the beginning where Malcolm X spoke out against racism since it showed that the ideas that Malcolm X was fighting for has not been fulfilled and that it's still relevant today (or when the film was made). Also, the way that real clips were inserted throughout the movie really brought the movie home because it showed that this was a real story and said that Spike Lee had not just created the plot out of thin air. It also made Malcolm X more a martyr since the clips made Malcolm X much more real. Comparing Nelson Mandela, a modern hero, to Malcolm X also helped perpetrate this view.
All in all, I felt as if this was a highly biased film but fr the purpose of giving the general public a new view of Malcolm X, it was highly effective. It hard to bring militant Malcolm X from the textbook with the martyr in the movie together and I think that was what Spike Lee was trying to do.
I really enjoyed watching the film because it was interesting to see the immense change that Malcolm X went through during his life. The film was full of powerful scenes. There was the scene where Malcolm X led an army of blacks to the hospital; there was the beginning scene of the American flag fading into an X as Denzel Washington said, "I charge the white man..." These scenes were excellent, in my opinion, in portraying why so many were enticed and willing to follow Malcolm X - he was a powerful and intimidating orator.
ReplyDeleteSpike Lee also did a great job in directing the film - I thought the end, where it flashed between real footage (of Dr. King for example) and the film. The voiceover of Ossie Davis added more to the image of Malcolm X, really cementing his legacy.
However, Lee left out the other side to Malcolm X, that Manning Marable points out. Marable says that Malcolm X was a misogynist. Yet, the film paints him as a loving husband, though a bit neglectful at times. I would have preferred if Spike Lee had included this side to Malcolm X. However, I do like the lasting image and legacy of Malcolm X with his leadership and orating skills that the film leaves us with.
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ReplyDeleteSpike Lee’s decision include the footage of the beating of Rodney King was a good one. The Rodney King beating was a current event at the time this movie was produced, so to a viewer in a theater in the 90s, it paralleled Malcolm X’s struggle and message to the injustices of what was going on in the present. The viewer will therefore watch the movie not as history past and gone, but something that directly affects them in some way. The footage, in conjunction with the soundtrack and burning flag emphasized Malcolm's speech and already sets up his character as someone passionate, nearly incendiary. After this opening, we are introduced to Zoot-Suit Malcolm undergoing a painful relaxing treatment to straighten his hair.
ReplyDeleteDuring a scene in Malcolm’s zoot suit era, he is joined at dinner by West Indian Archie who reminds him to never sit with his back to a door. As a hustler, Malcolm’s life and livelihood is threatened by other creditors (West Indian Archie himself) and the police, who eventually catch him off guard with perm solution in his hair. However, at the end of the movie, Malcolm X is fully aware he is going to die. By refusing to postpone his speech despite constant death threats, Malcolm does not turn his back to the door, but rather faces it head on without any intent to defend himself. As a young hustler, and even after his house is burned down not 20 minutes before the end of the movie, death is something to always be on his guard against. However, as he nears the end of his life, he assumes the role of martyr, and gives his speech in Harlem until he is shot.
Like most people, the most memorable line of dialogue for me was “That’s too much power for one man to have,” delivered by a policeman after Malcolm commands an army of African Americans in order to have a Nation of Islam member taken to a hospital after being beaten by the police. The policeman’s comment proves to be true as hateful sentiment toward Malcolm rises within the Nation because they believe he holds too much power, is too present in the media, and is an overall object of jealousy.
Memorable scenes included any scene that flashed back to the burning of Malcolm’s father by the KKK and his death (after being tied to railroad tracks). Eventually, the flashbacks converge and scenes of Malcolm escaping a burning house as a little boy are cut with scenes of him escaping his house with his wife and children. Even when he is shot onstage, his children stare paralyzed, as if they haven't quite grasped the situation.
Overall, the movie made good use of cinematography (i.e. panning to a mirror during one of Malcolm's phone conversations and then bring a nearby seemingly inconsequential lamp in focus to show the vague shape of a recording device in the lampshade), and even cast Denzel Washington perfectly--who, what he may lack in a few inches on his height, bears an uncanny resemblance to Malcolm X himself.
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ReplyDeleteSpike Lee's film was definitely an interesting film that painted Malcolm X as a likable and inspiring figure. Near the end, I was emotionally invested in him and his family.
ReplyDeleteHowever, this does not detract from the fact that Malcolm X was an extremely controversial figure; he rose from a life of crime to become an important part of the Nation of Islam. His influence and work differed from Bob Lewis and Thurgood Marshall's, which was at a more institutional level, perhaps.
The film really emphasized how Malcolm X, instead, changed how African Americans viewed their role in society with his powerful and charismatic speaking skills. While he was with the Nation of Islam, X was "radical" and discussed strictly separatist ideals. This was strikingly clear in the scene when he blatantly tells a white woman that there is nothing she can do to improve the African American cause. However, after his pilgrimage to Mecca, he realizes that although whites have caused a lot of pain and suffering for black people for centuries, race does not affect someones moral character and becomes more open to the ideas of Martin Luther King Jr and other civil rights leaders. Throughout all this, however, Malcolm X influences black people to give themselves more power and this is clear in the ending of the film; the Nelson Mendala voiceover explains how X was able to transcend the label of "negro," and establish his identity as separate from societal constraints.
All this is lends to Malcolm X's controversial but throughly influential legacy.
One thing that really struck me was the parallels between Malcolm X and his father. Both were civil rights activists and speakers, both had their houses attacked, and both were eventually struck down by enemies. The scene where Malcolm X's house is bombed was so similar to the bombing of his childhood home that at first I thought it was another flashback. Another powerful scene was that of Malcolm X dispersing his men with one hand during their spontaneous protest, and a white policeman commented that "That's too much power for one man to have". Malcolm X gained a lot of attention (as shown by numerous scenes of him surrounded by reporters) with his absolute view of complete separation between whites and blacks. He claimed that "The only thing I like integrated is my coffee". and accused activists like MLK who wanted integration of being "chicken-begging Uncle Tom" and "so-called leaders". Contrast this to the Malcolm X after his pilgrimage and his break from the Nation of Islam. One particular memorable scene was of him sharing a bowl with a white man. Malcolm realized that if different races could be united under worship, then perhaps integration wasn't so unthinkable after all. Lee ends the film with Nelson Mandela repeating the last lines of one of Malcolm's speeches. Significantly, instead of having Mandela deliver the final words, Lee uses a footage of Malcolm saying the last four words "by any means necessary". Whereas Mandela didn't want to be seen as issuing a call for violence, Malcolm held no such reservations.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that I thought was very interesting that occurred as Malcolm evolved over the later course of the film was the source of his personal direction. During the third stage of his life (as Malcolm X), he derived his personal direction and the reasoning behind his actions from Elijah Muhammad and the Nation of Islam. Although his ideas did eventually grow beyond those expressed or required of him by the Brotherhood, before he became el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz and drew direction from himself, his public expression was defined by participation in the Nation of Islam. For me, this raised the question of how to interpret Malcolm's life's work, especially that which he created before his final transformation, which arguably brought the 'real Malcolm' to the fore. Because he produced the vast majority of his work during the period in which he worked for the Brotherhood, but only later stood up to express what seemed to be his own feeling, I wondered whether Malcolm's Brotherhood speeches could really be considered the work of Malcolm X, rather than the work of Malcolm X filtered through and dictated by the BOI. Of course, he did stray from the restrictions of the BOI later on, but it seems to me that it is very important for anyone who studies Malcolm X's work to understand the context in which it was done.
ReplyDeleteLooking at the film from a purely educational standpoint, I would also have liked if Spike Lee had included more about Malcolm's more controversial reputation. Instead of completely ignoring all the issues that were brought up, he could voice his opinion on the validity of these problems through Denzel Washington's part in the movie. After reading Manning Marable's piece on Malcolm, I believe that I have a better understanding of Malcolm as a person. Though I personally can not decipher whether Marable or Lee has a better argument, both their points are valid. Even the world's greatests have their flaws. Lee was very focused on portraying Malcolm in a positive light, even calling him a martyr. However I challenge this title because Malcolm himself was conflicted on what his real cause is. Was his cause to advocate for active revenge from the African Americans of the time or was his cause to promote the peace of the Islam community. Though Lee somewhat combines these two ideas, it always seemed like there was an internal struggle for Malcolm. On stage, he preached for nonviolence but off, he was willing to go beyond peace to achieve his goals. Thus I believe Lee's attempt to portray him as a martyr failed as Malcolm himself was a conflicted man.
ReplyDeleteHowever, looking at this as an independent film, I think Spike Lee did an amazing job of depicting Malcolm X. The structure of the plot really breaks down Malcolm X's life into multiple parts. The constant reference to the murder of Malcolm's father really shows how big of an impact that it had on Malcolm both positive and negative. In the beginning, Lee emphasized how the murder made Malcolm more accepting of white superiority. In the latter part of the movie, Lee highlighted how the murder fueled Malcolm's desire with rage. In fact, Lee includes the burning of Malcolm's home to draw a parallel to this event. Lee also uses this parallel technique at the end to compare Malcolm X with Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela, two respected individuals in African American history. The look on Washington's stern face alone was enough for the viewers to understand his determination and fight for equality. The absence of the upbeat music from the first quarter of the movie shows Malcolm's maturity. The lack of words during the protest outside of the hospital scene showed his influence and power over his followers. In this case, the actions spoke louder than words.
Thus, as an educator, Lee might have fallen a hair short but as a film director, he has risen above all.
Overall, I enjoyed the movie. Although there are a few aspects of Malcolm X’s life that has been left out, I thought that was okay because it reflects the creative liberties Spike Lee had in creating the movie. Perhaps if Norman Jewison continued to make the movie, then the film would have been more academically accurate because he is more likely to portray Malcolm X in a more unbiased light. However, it was the right thing to do to let a black man direct the biography of Malcolm X, especially because Malcolm argued for black power for a large part of his life.
ReplyDeleteThe major theme in the entire movie was growth. When he was a young man, Malcolm Little was a pimp. During this stage of his life, Malcolm indulges in his desires, such as dating a white girl, Sophia. Also in this point of his life, Malcolm travels to Harlem and is known as Detroit Red. At Harlem, Malcolm runs numbers for a man named Archie, but will eventually break ties with him after a dispute. Although not very apparent, Malcolm grows in Harlem, learning about the dangers
After Malcolm is arrested and jailed for stealing, he is introduced by Baines to the ideas of the Nation of Islam. After having an epiphany, Malcolm decides to devotes his life to the Nation of Islam, and when he eventually leaves jail, he wins the support of Elijah Muhammad, the leader of the Nation of Islam, and changes his name to Malcolm X, with the X symbolizing the fact that he does not know his real surname because his ancestors were forced into coming to America. While as Malcolm X, he preached about black separatism from white society, increasing his fame as his sermons. However, this fame leads to jealousy from other members of the Nation of Islam. This, along with the increasingly different views of Malcolm and Elijah Muhammad, eventually resulted in Malcolm’s split from the Nation of Islam. After undergoing an Hajj, Malcolm X becomes known as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz. This version of Malcolm is much more peace seeking and is more willing to work with people, even those he called “house niggers.” Malcolm’s growth is dramatic: he grows from a pimp with a bleak future into one of the most famous black speakers of his generation.
There are many brief scenes in this movie that show the talent Spike Lee has in directing a controversial film. The scenes that I am focusing are the ones that bring meaning to Malcolm X's life: the moment in jail when he first meets Baines, the riot outside the police station and hospital after the beating of a black man, and when he ultimately gets shot in the Audubon Ballroom in the end. Each of these scenes show a contrast between how normal of a human he was as well as how powerful he was as a human.
ReplyDeleteThe major transformation that Malcolm underwent in jail was when he met Baines and changed his ways from a Red criminal to studying everything he could. That moment in the jail shower showed Malcolm that he was trying too hard to be white and should fight for the rights and ideas of blacks. I remember the part where the jail preacher was asked the question, by Malcolm, about whether Jesus was white or black, showing that Malcolm was a changed man. He believed in intellectual studies and focused on devising ways for blacks to set their own path instead of following and taking in for granted everything that the whites say. His shift in ideals as portrayed in the movie was quite elegant because of how Malcolm had at first argued with Baines, but afterward, accepted his teachings about the Nation of Islam and started to follow its leader, Elijah Muhammad. It was not an overnight journey, but rather a trek that took Malcolm a few years in the books. Malcolm was just a human that found the path that he had now wanted to go down in his life.
In the scene in which a "brother" was beaten, Malcolm led a group of protesters to the police station and later the hospital. I was amazed at how obedient the group was, as if they had massive respect for Malcolm. With just the flick of a hand, he could quell an entire group of protesters and with another flick of his fingers, he could call off the protest. These actions were almost superhuman because of how well everyone followed Malcolm's silent orders. The men would follow Malcolm without question. In addition, Malcolm had his own group of men in the Nation of Islam who would stand by his side at all means, as if he were a god to them.
Ultimately, Malcolm's group of people that followed him dwindled to a small number when he broke with the Nation of Islam. Furthermore, he now had enemies who wanted to make sure that he was dead. Every night, Malcolm would be scared of getting killed and would reflect back on his dad and how the KKK had terrorized them by fire-bombing their home. These flashbacks foreshadow what actually happens–his home gets fire-bombed as well. Spike Lee's transition of how this event affected Malcolm's life was smooth, showing his movement to a hotel and then his death later at the Audubon Ballroom. Although Lee is a talented director, I feel that the scene where he gets shot could have been more realistic; when Malcolm gets shot, no one runs up to him to save his life, but only after do two people go up, which at that time, is too late to revive him. Malcolm X was human after all.
Overall, Spike Lee did an amazing job as director and showed the multiple sides of Malcolm, and his transition into and out of power. The music and camera angles used by Lee all come together perfectly to tell the story of Malcolm X, one that is usually not taught as in-depth as the movie goes. Lee even goes to show that although Malcolm had died in 1965, another one has risen, Nelson Mandela, who is educating the children of Africa about how they should believe in their own power. This was one of the most powerful films that I have ever watched.
At the beginning of the movie, I felt that the movie was a bit slow as it went through the earlier stages of Malcolm’s life. As the movie got to the core of Malcolm’s evolution, it became much more exciting because it was Malcolm’s dramatic changes that make him such an interesting character; it was these changes that make him so controversial, but at the same time, they allow us to see the real Malcolm. People tend to believe that there were many different Malcolms, but I believe that Malcolm’s going through all these changes ultimately makes only one Malcolm. It is the Malcolm who we can see as an average person, someone willing to admit that he may have been wrong and therefore tries to improve himself as a person.
ReplyDeleteOverall I really liked this movie because it gives a very clear representation of Malcolm during the four stages of his life. I especially liked the scene in which Malcolm orders a march to the hospital after Brother Johnson is beat up by the police. This scene gave me a clear idea of Malcolm’s power and control. Just as Manning Marable suggests, “he got under everyone’s skin.” On the other hand, I think Spike Lee could have included Malcolm’s problems with his wife because the movie shows their relationship to be much more different than how Marable interprets it. In the movie, Betty plays a significant role in convincing Malcolm that Elijah isn’t as great as Malcolm thinks he is. She is shown to be the wife who is always there for her husband, but Marable says otherwise, saying that Malcolm even wrote a letter to Elijah regarding the problems he has with his wife. If Lee shows the couple’s relationship to be problematic, the movie may have a much more different atmosphere to it. This would highlight more of Malcolm’s struggles outside of the cause.
The following comments were made by Si Si Zimmerman-- The opening of the movie was really powerful. Having Malcolm X's speech over the footage of Rodney King as the opening of the story was so impactful and set the stage for why Malcolm X had such animosity towards whites and became militant in the face of such cruelty towards black people. Though what happened to Rodney King occurred after Malcolm X's time that violence was common in the 60's and what happened to King showed how there is still racism and need change even after the civil right movement.
ReplyDeleteI also liked seeing the change in Malcolm when he was in the jail as he goes from a Red, a criminal, to becoming immersed in the nation of Islam. And as he has his spiritual awakening to Islam he no longer wants to assimilate and become more white, but rather wants to separate from white people all together.
I think Malcolm X is a really interesting figure because he is quite different from many other leaders of cIvil Rights at the time such as Martin Luther King who is more commonly taught. King advocated for civil disobedience and peaceful protest where as Malcolm X was militant. In the move Malcolm calls King and civil rights activists like him "house negroes" because they wanted to integrate with rather than distance themselves from white culture. I enjoyed watching the film because it gave another perspective of the time of the different approaches all trying to gain rights for African-Americans but in such radically different ways.
Although I generally enjoyed the movie, I felt that Lee's structure of the film could have been better at some points of the movie. Although I understand the film's emphasis on Malcolm's evolution as a man, I feel that his post-criminal life should have been focused on much more heavily than his short life of crime. I was never truly bored while watching, but I feel that I could have been much more interested had Lee focused more on Malcolm's later life. Of course, this would basically entail a generic Hollywood plotline of a villain turned exalted hero, and I commend Lee for wanting to portray Malcolm as much more than that.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, certain other cinematic decisions by Lee came across extremely well. The decision to open the film with footage of Rodney King being beaten while Malcolm gave a speech offered an instantaneous connection between the original audience of the 1990s and the Civil Rights Movement. The last scene of the film was even better; the huge crowds of grieving people ushering Malcolm into martyrdom, the classroom of children declaring their faith in a better future, and the comparison the Nelson Mandela was very emotional and almost brought me to tears. Another minor cinematic effect by Lee that I felt worked extremely well was the camera spinning around Malcolm's head while phones constantly rang with death threats around him, perfectly portraying how he felt at the time.
Spike Lee's Malcolm X was definitely an intriguing and interesting film to watch. It provided a realistic depiction of the life of Malcolm X, throughout all his multiple transformations. We first see Malcolm walking through the streets of Harlem wearing a zoot suit. We see his interactions with Sophia, a white woman, and his involvement with drugs and robbery. We see his conversion into a Muslim, and finally his breaking off with the Nation of Islam. Although Spike Lee does a great job portraying Malcolm's life, he left out some aspects, as Manning Marable suggests in her book. She claims that he is a "virulent misogynist and a horribly neglectful husband". In the movie, we don't see these characteristics manifested in Malcolm X. He is portrayed as a loving husband, as shown when he decides to stay in the hotel and leave his his wife and kids in the house because he doesn't want to attract attention to them. Although his commitment to the Nation of Islam (at first) does not enable him to tend to his children, we know that he does care deeply for them and it is not his intention to neglect them. Marable also suggests that the real reason why Malcolm broke off from the Nation of Islam was that Elijah Mohammed refused to send men to assassinate members of the LAPD even though Malcolm wanted to, which we never saw in the movie. Overall, I enjoyed Denzel Washington's portrayal of Malcolm X, who acted with a lot of poise and emotion. However, I would have liked Spike Lee to focus more on the later aspects of Malcolm's life such as his breaking off with the Nation of Islam and his being the founder of Organization for African-American Unity, which is what most people know about him. Many people don't really focus on the early parts of his life, such as his drug dealing. Cutting out some parts from his early life would ultimately make the movie shorter. Overall, though, I enjoyed watching this movie, and learned a lot about his character and personality that I would not have learned from simply reading a textbook.
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ReplyDeleteThe following comments were made by Tiffani Ren---I really loved that first scene with Rodney King, with Washington's (powerful) voiceover of an actual Malcolm X speech!!!!! I was shocked when I saw that it was 1992, and that suddenly brought the world and reality of the movie much more closer to home.
ReplyDeleteOne of the most striking scenes was the solitary confinement (I read an excellent New Yorker article about it a long time ago and the really actually TORTUROUS effects of it has stuck with me ever since---http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/03/30/090330fa_fact_gawande);I was horrified as I watched him in complete darkness, reduced to huddling in the corner and I wanted to cry as the guard yelled out one last time, asking him what his number was, and Malcolm, gasping through his parched lips, said "8228" and I saw the significance of it all, that "Detriot Red" was broken down and reduced to a NUMBER.
I really loved the contrast between him and his mentor (just in their walking!!! his mentor had his hands folded behind him stoically, while Malcolm's hands were swinging jauntily back and forth). Also that wonderful moment they were reading the dictionary, and there was a really really biased definition of black and white ("harmless, honest") and you could just see Malcolm's expression twist, when he finally realized, there was something WRONG here!!
I really loved this interaction between them later: his mentor goes "Why are you ashamed of being black?" And Malcolm, indignant, interjects "who ARE you", and he replies "Who are YOU? imprisoned in your own mind. You don't know who you ARE! Little is the name the white man gave you!".
And later, he suddenly undergoes a revelation, and stands in a dark hallway, and prays with his mentor, except he can't make his knees give in and kneel, and he mutters "I don't know what to say to Allah". It's so poignant, his transformation from Detroit Red to a pious man, except there's some things that he can't make himself do because of what he once was, a PROUD man, but he WANTS to change.
I really loved the moment his house was burned down, because it suddenly cut back to the moment the KKK burned down his parent's house, (the movie had been returning to that poignant moment a lot!!) but this time suddenly, it cut to his own house, burning, him carrying his own crying children out, It just showed how much the past linked to the present (reality of the movie), AND IT'S JUST MINDBLOWING AND HEARTBREAKING AT THE SAME TIME IT'S SO GOOD!
One thing I wish Lee could have done differently was his portrayal of his marriage and how he glossed over Malcolm's supposed misogony. There was a banner while he was making speech, and it reads "we must protect our most valuable property--our women" There's SOME GREAT OBJECTIFICATION GOING ON HERE. Like, in the LBJ play, it didn't show the explicit adultery by king, but it showed it, and I really appreciated its honesty.
I really really loved the film but I wish it'd give a more nuanced portrayal of Malcolm and his marriage. no one but spike lee could have produced this exact masterpiece (no one has his exact same mindset/opinion of Malcolm, but perhaps it has a little to do with the fact that he's black, because) but I believe that I would have greater appreciated more if Lee had showed his relationship at home in a
that wouldn't have diminished his impeccable record and image and ideal as an activist; rather, that would have given us a truer image of him.
The following comments were made by Muhamed Rahman---I personally enjoyed the film. At times I was at odds with Malcolm X's mentality, but for the most part I was at awe when it came to his rhetoric and overall stature (especially seeing actual photos and clips of him). Although it can be argued that Thurgood Marshall or other similar figures more credit for the advancement of the Civil Rights movement, Malcolm X formed a black identity movement that focused solely on racial injustices. As seen in the film, the power of the masses were in his hands, no other figure had enough power to nonviolently scare the FBI or CIA. I also agree with Lee that the movie should be from the perspective of someone who could in some way empathize with the movement. I do not agree with his turning of Malcolm X into a Jesus figure who had the greatest intentions, but the world against him. The most powerful scene was the one at the hospital. No matter what Malcolm did, he got his way, and the police could not stop him because he was so good at abiding the law. All the police could do was mock him by wiretapping.
ReplyDeleteMalcolm's evolution really made me think about what I was doing.
The greatest transformation was his prison transformation, where he walked in being regarded as "satan" to being an intellectual under Elijah Mohammed. Elijah Mohammed was truly the best thing to happen to Malcolm and also Malcolm's worst mistake. He treated Mohammed as a prophet who could say no wrong. That mentality made me feel that Malcolm was blinded by religion and too involved in the demonization of others to cultivate his own people. His acceptance of death shocked me in a way I cannot describe. He refused help and his lethargic stature would make one think he just wanted to die. Perhaps he cared more for the movement than himself at this point, being hated just as much as he was liked. I cannot speak to his loving attitude in the movie because that love was too perfect. It wasn't a romance, but a typical "I really want to help you, and if I could I would, but please help me" situation on a greater scale.
Rodney King served the purpose of connecting the African American population to Malcolm X. It allows the viewer to grasp the gist of the movement quickly, due to how recent the event was. Comparing Malcolm X to Mandela is justified because they are both glorified figures who had their fair share of rights and wrongs. I wouldn't necessarily compare their jail times, but their overall message was fairly similar.
I really enjoyed the film, especially the phenomenal directing and camera maneuvering on the part of the director, Spike Lee. He really captures the passion and intensity while highlighting the chaos surrounding Malcolm X. Using camera techniques such as moving the camera continuously around Malcolm to highlight the stress, disorientation and frustration of the moment. Although the dialogue was partially inaudible at times due to substantial noise in the background of the scene, Lee does a great job of showing us the intense transformation of Malcolm little into Malcolm x. Warner Brothers made the right decision selecting lee to direct the film. I believe Lee has validity in his argument that an African American director should direct the biopic on of the greatest African American heroes. Spike Lee's understanding of the emotions and sentiments behind the movement shine through and lead to many multiple scenes throughout the film. Although one could argue that figures such as Thurgood Marshall and Bob Moses did more for the cause of African American civil rights, Malcolm's expressive militant attitude and his ability to inspire, made him a symbol of hope and without him the movement would not have been as strong to support the work of Thurgood Marshall and Bob Moses. Overall the film was very worthwhile, and it provided great insight into the mind of one of the greatest civil rights leaders, and i believe the comparison to nelson Mandela at the end of the film is justified.
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ReplyDelete(Tina Zhu, late because I mixed up the two blogging dates)
ReplyDeleteAlthough I learned briefly about Malcolm X from our textbook, the film exposed me to different philosophies and ways of rebellion than the more wellknown nonviolent league of leaders such as MLK and Booker T. Washington. I enjoyed watching his growth throguhout the film. He made radical changes by experiencing prison, Islam and blatant racial discrimination. From a zoot suit extravaganza to monklike political figure, he earned the trust of his people and maintained a healtier lifestyle (in my opinion). The filmmaker's constant inserts of real television exerpts adds to the authenticity of Malcolm X's dramatic yet gradual change. He wavered in his stance but fought strongly once he decided to fight for African American rights in America. He was first ignorant of the times and freely flirted and dated white women. With the Nation of Islam he became intolerant of interacial activity. Once he made a group of his own ideals after breaking away, he became tolerant in an understanding way. It seems to represent the entire timeline regarding the mindsets of African Americans during the time. He was by no means perfect but he was true to himself.
One particular part of the film I found disconcerting after learning about Malcolm X's background was his warm relationship with his wife. In truth his relationship did not go as well in his life. The trust the couple holds reminds me of scenes of HBO's John Adams. Adams's wife often advised him in politics. In relation, Betty X was the one who convinced Malcolm X to separate from the corrupt Nation of Islam for the better of their family. Wives of political figures often take the role of controlling and calming their husbands. I understand the director wanted Malcolm to be held in a white light and he suceeded beyond any wildest perception.
Lise Ho
ReplyDeleteI thoroughly enjoyed Malcolm X. The film Malcolm X gave a very interesting view on the overall life of Malcolm X. I loved how the film did not skim over the young Malcolm X and how it emphasized the Malcolm X's transformation from a womanizer to a prisoner to a Muslim preacher to a black preacher. The beginning scenes of Malcolm playing around with the white woman names Sophia really irked me and it really made me question how Malcolm X could have been as influential as he was. However, after Malcolm was put in jail for his robbery as "Red", he was able to change due to a fellow inmate who preaches to Malcolm of being proud to be black.
One of the most powerful scenes was the scene where Malcolm as a jailed prisoner attacked the notion of whether or not God/Jesus was white. Even today, many churches portray Jesus as white, and perhaps, as Malcolm says, "God is Black". In addition, Spike Lee's decision to use a mere dictionary via the Muslim inmate to help Malcolm see the truth was very interesting because prior to this film, I had never thought of the dictionary as a tool of racism during that time period. The definition of white as innocent and black as evil plays a significant impact in his life.
Although I loved the portrayal of Malcolm X's passion and transition into a well-versed preacher, I was not a fan of Betty Sanders. I was more interested in the preaching he was doing rather than his relationship with Betty Sanders which was rather inaccurate as Malcolm was not always the loyal husband. However, I loved the scene where Betty makes Malcolm hesitate in following Elijah Muhammad. Elijah Muhammad, to me, in this film did little to nothing, and I felt very irked as Elijah seemed to be such a godly figure in Malcolm X's life. Elijah seemed to be the puppeteer of Malcolm's life as the leader of the Nation of Islam, but by far, Malcolm X was the more eloquent and influential figure.
I loved Denzel Washington's portrayal of Malcolm X. Not only does he strikingly resemble the real person himself, but his acting really gave me a feel of the commanding presence of Malcolm X. The hospital scene where he marches with his followers to visit the Brother Johnson who suffered from the extreme police brutality really emphasized how respected Malcolm was. "There is too much power for one man to have," a white police officer said during the hospital scene, but to be honest, I think that this era was the time period where we needed that one man to have that much power. Malcolm X's preaching of black pride and their individuality really changed the black community. "I am Malcolm X", the little kids from Africa and the African American kids say from America; Malcolm X's legacy runs deep and large in the black community.
Spike Lee was right in saying that only a black person could write a film on Malcolm X, because only a black person would be able to understand the depth of the influence Malcolm X had on the lives of the black. No white man would have been able to start the film like Spike Lee did, or how he ended it.
"I charge the white men as the greatest kidnapper, greatest murderer, greatest robber. And He cannot deny the charges." - Malcolm X.