Malcolm X Revisited

I think the message the director is trying to express in this movie is that Malcolm X lived an extraordinary life that was cut short because of fear of change. I think the director was trying to express encouragement, motivation and a some insight of black history through the story of Malcolm X. Through the struggles and issues that Malcolm X encountered he was still a great man who took a stand for what he believed in.
I believe that this movie had accurate depictions of minorities from the way they dressed during that time period to the way the Nation of Islam was a structured organization. For example, when the police beat one of the members of the Nation of Islam. They lined up in front of the police station then the hospital. They did not move until Malcolm X raised his hand and pointed. This is one of my favorite scenes and the most memorable to most people.
Yes, the director’s ethnic/cultural background played a major role in directing this film. When this film first came out in 1992, there were not any films that were made about our black leaders. The movie Malcolm X was one of the first. After, many movies followed that were about our black leaders/pioneers. Movies such as “Boycott” that was about the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and “Ali” that displayed the life of Muhammad Ali. The director, Spike Lee, felt that this movie needed to be made for African-Americans to know a little about their history.
I know a lot of people may be offended by this movie because of some of the scenes they show. Some scenes degrade women, African Americans, police officers, Muslims and the Nation of Islam. A scene that pops in my head is the scene when Malcolm Little, before he became Malcolm X, was in a hotel with a white woman and he demanded for her to feed him and do other things that she may have wanted to do but you can tell he was doing it like he wanted to belittle her. Those types of scenes may offend some people.
The director, Spike Lee, is one of my favorite directors. The artistic and visual means that he used in Malcolm X to focus our attention were unorthodox but it got the job done. One scene that comes to mind, towards the end of the movie, is when he is walking to his last speaking engagement and the song, “Change is Gonna Come” by Sam Cooke is playing and there is a front medium shot of him not walking but gliding towards us with a somber look on his face. This scene put you in a mindset that something was about to happen. With the mixture of music and visuals, Spike Lee told the story without saying a word. This is how he grabbed your attention and held on to it.