WARNING: If we do not learn how we have been "racist" (systematically discriminatory) toward other groups -- including Blacks towards Blacks -- what chance do we have of improving our (karmic) behavior?
"Malcolm X" is a 1992 American biographical motion picture about the American-Muslim figure Malcolm X (slave name "Malcolm Little") co-written, co-produced, and directed by Spike Lee starring Denzel Washington as Malcolm.The film dramatizes key events in Malcolm X's life: crime, incarceration, conversion to Islam (through the Nation of Islam in America), his ministry, his falling out with this Islamic organization, his marriage to Betty X, his pilgrimage to Mecca and reevaluation of his views concerning Whites, and his assassination on Feb. 21, 1965.
Defining childhood incidents, including his father's death, his mother's mental illness, and his experiences with racism are dramatized in flashbacks.
Defining childhood incidents, including his father's death, his mother's mental illness, and his experiences with racism are dramatized in flashbacks.The screenplay, co-credited to Lee and Arnold Perl, is largely based on Alex Haley's 1965 book, The Autobiography of Malcolm X. Haley collaborated with Malcolm X on the book beginning in 1963 and completed it after his death.
The movie was distributed by Warner Bros. and released on Nov. 18, 1992. In 2010, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."
The film costars Angela Bassett, Albert Hall, Al Freeman, Jr., and Delroy Lindo. Karen Allen, Peter Boyle, Ossie Davis, attorney William Kunstler, Christopher Plummer, Black Panther Party co-founder Bobby Seale, the Rev. Al Sharpton, and future South Africa president Nelson Mandela have cameo appearances. Spike Lee has a small role as "Shorty," a character based partially on a real-life acquaintance, Malcolm "Shorty" Jarvis, a criminal and jazz trumpeter.
