The Power of Spike Lees Film, Malcolm X Essay - 2242 Words

The Power of Spike Lees Film, Malcolm X The struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting. (Milan Kundera) [1] Malcolm Xs life revolved around his desire for the voices of himself and his people to be heard. He struggled against those who worked to keep him silent. In the end, those forces succeeded to a certain degree, but not before Malcolm left us with enough of his words to keep people talking for centuries. In fact, in his autobiography, Malcolm left us a permanent loudspeaker, eternally shouting out against injustice and oppression. Spike Lees film Malcolm X is another timeless work that strives to keep Malcolm alive and speaking despite all the efforts to silence and marginalize†¦show more content†¦There is something about the way that Malcolm had no desire to soften his message so that it would be more easily digested. No, Malcolm came at you swift and hard, and left you really thinking about what he said. His ideas and politics were radical, and they force one to re-think the whole foundation upon which America is based, both economically and socially. He forces people (students in particular) to ask some tough questions about themselves and their country. More importantly, he forces his people to take a good look at themselves and their country. They are forced to ask themselves, Can I live with dignity and in peace in this country? And if so, by what means can I achieve this? [4] Spike Lees Malcolm X seeks to bring Malcolm back from the margins in order that he can again assert himself in American society. The film is based on Malcolms autobiography, which is the story of his life as he evolves from a petty street hustler to one of the most influential Black leaders of the 20th century. Malcolms autobiography, at its heart, is a story about the power of personal growth and responsibility. I feel that, though at times historically inaccurate and one-dimensional, the film captures the essence of Malcolms story. Film is history as vision. The long tradition of oral history has given us a poetic relationship to the world and our past, while writtenShow MoreRelated Spike Lee Essay1478 Words   |  6 Pages(Gale 1). At a young age, Lee was nicknamed â€Å"Spike† by his mother who noticed his rough nature and the nickname stuck well into his adult life. He attended Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia where he gained an interest in film and then graduated with a Bachelors degree in Mass Communication. Lee went on to attend New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts where he created his first student film and graduated in 1982 with a Master of Fine Arts in Film and Television. 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