Essay #3: Malcolm X
Filmmaker Spike Lee creates controversial films with subjects that excite him. Perhaps the subject he feels most passionately about is the historical civil rights leader Malcolm X. Lee’s biography of Malcolm X was several years in the making, and then released in 1992 with Denzel Washington playing the role of Malcolm X. Lee’s depiction of Malcolm X was “outstanding yet deeply flawed” (Marable, 1993, p. 7).
Lee proudly states he based his film on The Autobiography of Malcolm X, which is based on recorded speeches written by author Alex Haley. Many critics proclaim this shows the film as historically detached. It significantly portrays the spiritual change of Malcolm X. Spike Lee’s film also shows how Islam similarly converted other prostitutes and drug dealers during the time, “providing moral guidance and self-respect, and giving people denied opportunity a belief in themselves as capable and productive members of society” (Marable, 1993, p.......
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Approximate Word Count: 549
Approximate Pages: 3 (260 words per double-spaced page) |