2017 Blind Spots: Malcolm X (1992)

Spike Lee’s biopic of the legendary black leader is a magnum opus. Malcolm X is one of the most arresting figures in American history. He is not just black history. He preached black unity and black self love, but his condemnations of white people and white supremacy were swift and harsh. How can one possibly portray him in a Hollywood production?

Lee chronicles X’s life from his delinquent youth to his rise as a revolutionary. Denzel Washington gives one of the most authentic performances ever witnessed on film. He is charismatic, alluring, and powerful. From X’s time in jail to his conversion to Islam and the awakening of his black consciousness, we see a bright and fierce mind. We see someone who will not coddle White America or its feelings. This is deftly illustrated when a young white woman approaches X, expresses her admiration for him and insists that she is a good person, far removed from the crimes of her ancestors.

“What can good white people like me do?”

“Nothing.”

People thought Malcolm X was dangerous for merely telling the truth about racism and black subjugation. He was an intelligent, unapologetically black, black man. And he understood that the United States was divided. It is not a golden land of opportunity and social mobility for all.

Malcolm X is just over three hours long but it is so consistently engaging and well paced that it never feels overlong. Three hours may still not even be enough to capture the scope of the leader’s life and activism. Lee’s use of color is staggering. The film is sometimes drenched in hues of yellow, orange, and red. It’s a visually striking film.

It’s not a pleasant film. That would be impossible, as it depicts the traumas X experienced, from his father’s murder by klansmen and the lack of justice, as well as the threats he and his family received constantly by phone. His own assassination, witnessed by his wife and children, isn’t lingered over, but Lee doesn’t allow the audience to flinch from it.

Malcolm X’s message remains potent and urgent even now. Recent incidents surrounding the presidential election, the acceptance of Nazis and white supremacists into the public sphere makes a film like this all the more necessary.

This is my entry for the 2017 Blind Spot series. Click on the banner below for more September discoveries.