Malcolm X the movie 92’

 

I remember the Boogie Down Productions second album title and cover and the homage to Malcolm X. Between that album and Publics Enemys’ It’s Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back  I really found myself wanting to know more about Malcolm X. In 8^th Grade our social studies teacher who names is not coming to me now said after the Christmas/holiday/winter break we would start learning about Malcolm X. We were excited, happy and confused because the teacher was a thin older white lady and what could she teach us about a true black leader? Well she taught us where the “anger” he was labeled for having came from as she read from his autobiography. To hear the transformation, many transformations this man went through was mind blowing at a young age. Then years later the movie came out, I was young and didn’t want to sit in a theater for about 3 hours. I did notice all the late teens and 20 somethings were talking about it hard. Some didn’t like the fact it wasn’t as “hard” as they thought it would be, some felt like becoming Muslims right then. I saw the movie on HBO my first time and was mesmerized by it. To this day if I’m channel surfing and it’s on I will watch it and I have both DVDs.

 Speaking of DVDs I was on Amazon and saw the 2 disc special edition of Malcolm X and I had to get it. What I love is the fact you get commentary from Spike Lee, Ernest Dickerson, Barry Alexander Brown and Ruth Cater sometime before Inside Man because Spike never mentions how Christopher Plummer and Denzel Washington were in that movie together. To hear Spike Lee tell how he went to Minister Farrakhan not for his blessings but out of respect For The Nation Of Islam. Spike said they had some disagreements about the way The Honorable Elijah Muhammad was depicted in the film. Spike said he got a letter after the films release stating The Minister still had issues with the film but also knew it was an important film. I had been waiting and hoping there would be a Commentary for this film just to know what the vibe was like during the filming process. To hear the short cuts they took to get shots for scenes and how they were inspired by The Godfather to do that was cool. To hear how the day of shooting for the assassination scene was a somber shoot and everyone was on edge. To this day I hate getting to that part of the film.

 You also get  a brief, well not really brief history on how much went into the making of this film. I was young and really could have cared less about the behind the scenes stuff that went on for a movie to be made so I was close to just not watching that part of the DVD. I’m glad I did see the shit Spike Lee went through to make this film, it was inspiring.  To hear that Spike went to Norman Jewison and Marvin Worth to tell them that he should direct Malcolm X is crazy and brave. To learn Warner Bros. were happy to have Spike be there to do the film since by this time his films were considered bold with a fresh look was cool, but the conflict was just a sad. Spike went in to it thinking he would get A class treatment since it was Warner Bros. and Warner Bros. figured he’s done amazing things with a low budget so they weren’t looking to spend much on Malcolm X. Hearing the conflict of not wanting to go to Egypt and Mecca and being told shoot those scenes on a beach with fake pyramids is sad. I didn’t even know Denzel had played Malcolm in a play years before the movie was going through casting. We all know, well those who remember that time when the news was Oprah, Cosby, Jordan, Magic and many other prominent African Americans gave Spike Lee money to finish the film since Warner Bros. and a third party bonds company was trying to invest the kind of paper needed. Warner Bros. wasn’t cool with the length of the film and Spike said it was just as important as JFK the Oliver Stone picture that came out that year, also a Warner Bros. film, and that film was long 

 The actual Documentary which was based on the Autobiography Of Malcolm X is also on the two DVD set. The same speeches and quotes you hear in the film are heard in the documentary, the voice over Denzel does in the film James Earl Jones does in the documentary. Even the eulogy by the great Ossie Davis is on the Documentary. I found myself watching that four times just because it really was Malcolm X and to see and hear the actual man inspiring. To hear the impact he had on black people being interviewed after his assassination is powerful, black people not just African Americans were touched by this great man. To see in the documentary the near the end of his life he was following similar steps that Marcus Garvey, a man Malcolm’s farther was a follower of, to have African Americans reconnect with those in Africa is heartfelt. To see that Malcolm like Martin had a broader scope on things pass civil equal rights for African Americans was cool.

 The movie itself made more since after seeing the documentary, I understood what Sophia meant when she asked if she was the first what woman he had been with that wasn’t a prostitute. I enjoyed the how the movie truly takes you on the ride of every change in this mans life. Even now watching hundreds of times I still view it like it’s the first time, sometimes. Though the box office sells were far from great the fact that this film was made and is still one of the better films about Malcolm X is saying something. I saw on Amazon Morgan Freeman is in a movie as Malcolm X but the reviews were bad, still might get it it’s Morgan Freeman.The one set back I do have to touch on is that the film itself is spit up. One DVD has one half and the other half on disc 2? Maybe that was to not have the entire special features stuff on one disc and the film on the other or just a different move by Warner Bros., who knows. In any event this is and always will be a great film to me. This DVD edition is what you need if you are a follower of Malcolm X and what he stood for.

Where are our black leaders?

 

“What do we need yall? I think we need a new leader. We ain’t had a black leader in awhile… In a long time. Somebody that moves you.  You know, we had Martin Luther King, Malcolm X and since then…A bunch of substitute teachers. We ain’t had the real thing. I want a motherfucker to move me… Who we got?”

                                                                                                     Chris Rock

 While listening to KCUR wondering what would Central Standard would be about I was pleased to hear something else. American Radioworks had a presentation called Say It Loud. The show focused on Civil Rights and activist in the last 50 years. It got me thinking as they got into this millennium as had the Obama speech after Rev. Wrights’ comments made the rounds during the Democratic Primaries, Henry Louis Gate Jr. and Bill Cosby.  Other than Obama no one was really considered young (he was just playing damage control, he had no intention of saying anything about race) we have no one speaking about the ills African Americans are going through these days.

 I remember hearing a story on a D.C. MC named Oddisee from the group Diamond District. I was feeling most of that story until he said there isn’t much to rebel against these days. I, at first blew the comment off because he’s from the burbs, not dissing just saying he might not have a need to rebel. Then I really just thought about how many rappers claim they’re “hood” or “ghetto” but never really get pass the crime, sex and flash aspect of the hood. To say there is nothing to rebel against is to say blacks in the hood are happy with the life they live and choose to the live in that world. No one is speaking on how we ranked last in education but first in who is incarcerated in this country. To hear these black activist of the past speak and those same concerns reign true today in 2011 is sad. We have more African Americans making money and in prominent roles in major companies but not really investing in our inner cities. It’s easy to set up scholarships for arts and music or a certain subject that the donor is into. It would be cool if one of those donors went and insured an inner city school had better teachers and more support to insure a quality education for those students. How about open stores locally and start out with great wages for any job done in that company.

 You would think with ALL THESE MEDIA OUTLETS we would hear more African Americans address the still one sided actions that go in our country. But we really aren’t getting that for whatever reason. We can watch more attention given to someone dissin someone else in an interview before a comment about what’s going on in the urban streets across this country. I remember when Nas wrote that letter to our black youth in the hood after the news surrounding Derrion Alberts death and a great deal of the comments on the site I saw the letter on were calling Nas soft and a punk. We watch blacks get loud to protest when a white person says something racist i.e. Imus and Michael Richards but to speak about why the same issues Marcus Garvey, Martin Luther King Jr., Stokely Carmichael, Malcolm X and many others black leaders of our past spoke about are still an issue today isn’t being heard. I personally don’t even want a celebrity or athlete to be that person, someone who has run for and or has held a position in office on some level who knows first hand how big the gap is between people of color and white counterparts and understands why that is the case is who I would rather listen to. If Islam extremist groups can recruit people through online videos and every black person in the hood is running around talking about who is a part of the illuminati you mean to tell me someone speaking about inequality that is still here today can’t find people to listen to them and spread those thoughts to more people and have it reach national exposure?  As for now we have comedians of any race and belief being the voice of reason and truth to this country. They get a pass because their comedians no matter how true and much sense it makes it still is part of a stand up routine so it never will be taken serous.  Sad but true.

 You can listen to both programs here

Studio 360 talked about the Autobiography of Malcolm X

I just by chance, ok the fact was I wasn’t at work I was home to hear Studio 360 on the local NPR station KCUR Thursday night. The one time I caught the show they were talking to two guys who had recorded an album of nothing but water sounds and turned it to music, I know sounds strange. I have to find that episode and post it too. Anyway as a nice surprise I treated to the last Thursday night’s episode being about the Autobiography Of Malcolm X.

What was cool was it starts out with an Arabic American man post 9/11 and he talked about how he found the book and read on his job. It shows just how Malcolm X is such an impact to all people everywhere. They also spoke to a teacher who says she was 17 when she went to X the Spike Lee film based on the life and Autobiography of Malcolm X. She said she took the book with her to movie then there’s a part in her portion of the episode where they are in class with her as she speaks to her students about Malcolm X. It was cool to hear how Malcolm X touched so many people in so many ways, even one guy was a reporter and didn’t want to believe Malcolm had became “tamed” after returning from Mecca. One lady spoke about him and the views and speeches isn’t what appealed to him but the life in general of Malcolm X did. The man has a life that is and was made for a book and movie.

Studio 360 also spoke to one of my favorite MCs, Chuck D. Public Enemy was a major part of bringing Malcolm X to youth back in the late 80’s and 90’s in Hip Hop. I remember watching the movie X and having all Public Enemy albums up to that point, so I was looking for the book back then. I didn’t get a hold of the book til I was twenty four, it had pages highlighted like an old bible, and odd as hell I followed those pages so I was all over the place in the book. The book was a major change in my life and I was reading and watching anything positive or negative of Malcolm X. I liked what Chuck D. said in the end of the show about our black heroes aren’t icons they’re “I cans”. I know it looks corny seeing it written out but to hear such legend like Chuck D. say it, it makes perfect sense. Sometimes I don’t know who to thank for such a deep look in a great mans life, Hugh Heffner, Alex Hailey or ultimately Malcolm X for agreeing to be interviewed By Hailey for Playboy magazine? It was good that Hailey saw that a few pages in a skin magazine wouldn’t be enough. You can stream or download the episode here and I recommend you check the book out whether you agree, don’t agree with man, or want to learn about the man Malcolm X.

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