If this Spike Lee Joint, which plays as a neutral biography for three hours before suddenly transitioning into a propaganda piece, presents an accurate portrayal of Malcolm X, I don’t think his legacy deserves celebration. His mission, to lift the social oppression of the black race, was a commendable one. Racism, primarily by white people toward black people, which remains an issue today, was even more of a problem during his lifetime; the end of which happened to coincide with the end of The Civil Rights Movement; but he too was a racist. He was a brainwashed follower of The Honorable Elijah Muhammad, The Nation Of Islam and all their anti-white philosophies for a long time.

That Malcolm X may have began to shed his bias during his final chapters; it wasn’t until he made his pilgrimage to Mecca that he realized not all white people are devils; isn’t good enough. Accurate or not, Spike Lee has done a remarkable job of visually depicting the life of a man I may not have otherwise cared enough to learn about, but the man we’re supposed to be praising comes across as not much more than a buffoon. As educated as he is when it comes to the English language; he studied every word in “the white man’s” dictionary; he doesn’t seem to be much of a thinker in the way of general logic; the kind Martin Luther King had that says you can’t end racism with racism.

my rating : 4 of 5

1992