Malcolm X Analysis

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El-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz, or better known as Malcolm X, was an Afro-American minister of the Nation of Islam (NOI) and human rights activist whose journey for racial equality and religious freedom infuriated white-America throughout the 60’s. Malcolm’s courage and ability to overcome adversity has been showcased through the Hollywood blockbuster hit-film Malcolm X, as directed and produced by Spike Lee. I plan to investigate Lee’s film and highlight the primary objective in making Malcolm X, while simultaneously capturing the religious elements of this film. Furthermore, I will conduct and analytical comparison of the films companion book, The Autobiography of Malcolm X as authored by Alex Haley, contrasting similarities between the two. …show more content…

Lee’s primary objective in the making of Malcolm X is arguably to better educate mass communities on who Malcolm was as an Afro-American activist and this mission for which he gave his life for; to lay bare the empowering story of a Afro-American Muslim man who stood up against social injustice, urging blacks to break off the shackles of racism which have held them back for over 400 …show more content…

Historical claims are arguably the most important aspect of a biographical film, which must be represented in the highest sense of factualism in order to maintain any sense of moral standard and truth to his name. In order to better understand Lee’s motives, we must grasp the systemic relationship Lee holds within black communities throughout the nation. This organic connection and level of relatability within the black community, in tandem with the power of film, structures the motive for Malcolm X and is fueled by social and racial intolerance. Norman J. Wilson states “for since history deals with the actions of men, and since their actions are merely the product of internal and external phenomena, it becomes necessary to examine the relative importance of those phenomena” and examining the importance is just what Lee

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