As a living ambassador of the 20th century, I know that it's up to us to educate the youth about film history. That's why we need to show films like Malcolm X in high schools.
"...she asks a question that’s clearly been weighing on her mind for quite some time: “What can a white person like myself, who isn’t prejudiced, what can I do to help you and further your cause?” Malcolm’s answer is as damning as it is brief: “Nothing."
In that belief, Malcolm was the opposite of Martin Luther King, Jr., who welcomed the idea of having white supporters of his cause. That might be one of the reasons why his birthday is celebrated and Malcolm's isn't.
For sure. But even Malcolm came around in that regard. That scene is based on a real encounter, and he admitted he was too dismissive:
"I regret that I told her she could do 'nothing.' I wish now that I knew her name, or where I could telephone her, and tell her what I tell white people now when they present themselves as being sincere, and ask me, one way or another, the same thing that she asked."
Fun fact. There was once a special edition of At the Movies where Roger Ebert and Martin Scorcese discussed each of their Top 10 films of the 1990s. Malcolm X was on both of their lists (along with Fargo and Breaking the Waves). Scorcese also had Bottle Rocket.
Regarding Glory: I watched it in class in high school as well. I always suspected there was an edited version made specifically for classrooms. The one we watched had an introduction by Montel Williams.
Other R-rated movies generally had permission slips beforehand. The best class for movies was Criminal Justice in 12th grade, where we got My Cousin Vinny, Presumed Innocent, and The Shawshank Redemption.
Late to this thread, but wanted to note that in high school in 1974 (!), in English class, we were assigned The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Alex Haley. Of course, today it would be easier to get kids to watch a movie than to “read a book”.
I respectfully suggest that you finish it! :). The latter half is quite interesting insofar as it shows his drift away from Elijah Muhammad and the NOI as well as his (grudging but legitimate) respect for journalist Mike Wallace. Malcolm’s late-in-life opinions moderated a bit and are worth comparing to those of contemporary Black intellectuals.
No you're right, I've always meant to pick it back up. He was a fascinating man. And highly influential of course. (Even though he'll never get a holiday in America.)
Oh man, that's pretty damn progressive for the 70s! I bought a used copy of that book years ago and read about half of it before I got distracted and let it slip away. Excellent stuff, of course.
Well, look -- yes, we need to put "Malcolm X" (and Spike Lee's other movies) in front of all generations. And yes, Denzel Washington was always the most cocksure, most convincing, most compelling performer of his generation.
But it pains me to say that... Denzel really mailed it in a lot. I can name maybe ten genuinely great Denzel Washington movies (which compares well to someone like Ryan Reynolds, who has... none). But Denzel also has dozens of bad and questionable ones. For the fire and conviction he brings to the screen in "The Hurricane" (a jeremiad worth recommending for that fiery Washington performance, work so good it obscures the film's other shortcomings), you're still stuck pushing future audiences on politically-confused junk like "John Q." and the virulently anti-Mexican "Man On Fire". You mention "Unstoppable", more of a generic programmer than a compelling movie, but Denzel did something like five "Unstoppable"s.
Sitting with the Denzel filmography means weeding through a lot of garbage, and that's complicated his legacy. His Oscars are from ages ago -- if younger audiences know him, it's in those lousy "Equailizer" movies, which are really just Liam Neeson hand-me-downs.
Sadly, Denzel never had that one bullet-proof period where he banged out one great turn after another in memorable movies. He mixed and matched a lot of paycheck stuff, and sometimes confused some of the same directors as prestigious collaborators for some of his failed "serious" work.
I still think his performance in stuff like "Roman J. Israel, Esq." (a highly imperfect movie with a relentlessly inventive turn from him) runs laps around any other leading man trying to do something thoughtful today. But he hasn't done enough "Israel"s, and he's popped up too often sleepwalking through something like "Magnificent Seven" or "Two Guns" next to other leading men who are NO threat to steal the movie from him.
I guess you could blame his agent for that. Articles like this are probably why he jumped onto "Gladiator 2" and has mentioned dabbling in more "Equalizer" and even a Marvel sojourn. He's got another Spike collaboration coming this year. I'd like to think that one could be for the kids, since it also stars A$ap Rocky. But it's a remake of a Kurosawa movie and it's being released by Apple. I have no expectations anyone under thirty is going to sneeze at it.
Man, I love Roman J. Israel Esq. He should've gotten way more attention for that one!
You make some fair points, though. I haven't seen most of his 00s output honestly, and I only watched the Equalizers last year because I had the time and I kinda wanted to see the third one in a theater. He had fun being an action star for a while, and I appreciate that he showed us that he had that range.
I'm actually really excited about Highest 2 Lowest. I'm betting that could be a minor hit. A24 is behind it so we know the youth will at least hear about it!
"Living ambassador of the 20th century." Wow, that phrase hits hard. Get it printed on analog business cards.
Growing up in DC in the Bush years was a fever dream written by Aaron McGruder and directed by Kubrick, so I did in fact watch Malcolm X in a class of dubious learning goals taught by a bombastic red diaper baby. People wince when I describe growing up around a bunch of Communists and their offspring but it's true-- this was particularly notable because it was back before it was cool to call yourself a socialist, etc. The plurality of us in that class were progressive do-gooder white girls meant to be called out by that very scene! A struggle session conversation ensued, I recall tears and indignant pushback from peers. This is the same class where we watched When the Levees Broke and, implausibly, Life is Beautiful. Everything that the right went nuts about in the 2010s was being worked out in beta in progressive school systems in the aughts, but that's a topic for another Kulturtante dispatch from the past.
I'm still reeling from it (obviously)! I really hope Gladiator II helped in that regard. Maybe young folks showed up for Paul and left thinking about Denzel.
"...she asks a question that’s clearly been weighing on her mind for quite some time: “What can a white person like myself, who isn’t prejudiced, what can I do to help you and further your cause?” Malcolm’s answer is as damning as it is brief: “Nothing."
In that belief, Malcolm was the opposite of Martin Luther King, Jr., who welcomed the idea of having white supporters of his cause. That might be one of the reasons why his birthday is celebrated and Malcolm's isn't.
For sure. But even Malcolm came around in that regard. That scene is based on a real encounter, and he admitted he was too dismissive:
"I regret that I told her she could do 'nothing.' I wish now that I knew her name, or where I could telephone her, and tell her what I tell white people now when they present themselves as being sincere, and ask me, one way or another, the same thing that she asked."
He broadened his outlook too late before he was killed. In fact, it was that broadening of his outlook that GOT him killed.
Even King's message was too radical for America at the time.
Fun fact. There was once a special edition of At the Movies where Roger Ebert and Martin Scorcese discussed each of their Top 10 films of the 1990s. Malcolm X was on both of their lists (along with Fargo and Breaking the Waves). Scorcese also had Bottle Rocket.
https://youtu.be/SPUlORcvTeo?si=g74bbvFqJW8DDJYW
Easily one of the most unimpeachable films of that decade. Scorsese gets it! (Ebert usually does too.)
Regarding Glory: I watched it in class in high school as well. I always suspected there was an edited version made specifically for classrooms. The one we watched had an introduction by Montel Williams.
Other R-rated movies generally had permission slips beforehand. The best class for movies was Criminal Justice in 12th grade, where we got My Cousin Vinny, Presumed Innocent, and The Shawshank Redemption.
Oh, you may be right. A classroom edit of Glory would make a lot of sense. I'm gonna go with that theory.
Man, I wish I could've taken your criminal justice class!
Late to this thread, but wanted to note that in high school in 1974 (!), in English class, we were assigned The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Alex Haley. Of course, today it would be easier to get kids to watch a movie than to “read a book”.
I respectfully suggest that you finish it! :). The latter half is quite interesting insofar as it shows his drift away from Elijah Muhammad and the NOI as well as his (grudging but legitimate) respect for journalist Mike Wallace. Malcolm’s late-in-life opinions moderated a bit and are worth comparing to those of contemporary Black intellectuals.
No you're right, I've always meant to pick it back up. He was a fascinating man. And highly influential of course. (Even though he'll never get a holiday in America.)
Oh man, that's pretty damn progressive for the 70s! I bought a used copy of that book years ago and read about half of it before I got distracted and let it slip away. Excellent stuff, of course.
Well, look -- yes, we need to put "Malcolm X" (and Spike Lee's other movies) in front of all generations. And yes, Denzel Washington was always the most cocksure, most convincing, most compelling performer of his generation.
But it pains me to say that... Denzel really mailed it in a lot. I can name maybe ten genuinely great Denzel Washington movies (which compares well to someone like Ryan Reynolds, who has... none). But Denzel also has dozens of bad and questionable ones. For the fire and conviction he brings to the screen in "The Hurricane" (a jeremiad worth recommending for that fiery Washington performance, work so good it obscures the film's other shortcomings), you're still stuck pushing future audiences on politically-confused junk like "John Q." and the virulently anti-Mexican "Man On Fire". You mention "Unstoppable", more of a generic programmer than a compelling movie, but Denzel did something like five "Unstoppable"s.
Sitting with the Denzel filmography means weeding through a lot of garbage, and that's complicated his legacy. His Oscars are from ages ago -- if younger audiences know him, it's in those lousy "Equailizer" movies, which are really just Liam Neeson hand-me-downs.
Sadly, Denzel never had that one bullet-proof period where he banged out one great turn after another in memorable movies. He mixed and matched a lot of paycheck stuff, and sometimes confused some of the same directors as prestigious collaborators for some of his failed "serious" work.
I still think his performance in stuff like "Roman J. Israel, Esq." (a highly imperfect movie with a relentlessly inventive turn from him) runs laps around any other leading man trying to do something thoughtful today. But he hasn't done enough "Israel"s, and he's popped up too often sleepwalking through something like "Magnificent Seven" or "Two Guns" next to other leading men who are NO threat to steal the movie from him.
I guess you could blame his agent for that. Articles like this are probably why he jumped onto "Gladiator 2" and has mentioned dabbling in more "Equalizer" and even a Marvel sojourn. He's got another Spike collaboration coming this year. I'd like to think that one could be for the kids, since it also stars A$ap Rocky. But it's a remake of a Kurosawa movie and it's being released by Apple. I have no expectations anyone under thirty is going to sneeze at it.
Fromtheyardtothearthouse.substack.com
Man, I love Roman J. Israel Esq. He should've gotten way more attention for that one!
You make some fair points, though. I haven't seen most of his 00s output honestly, and I only watched the Equalizers last year because I had the time and I kinda wanted to see the third one in a theater. He had fun being an action star for a while, and I appreciate that he showed us that he had that range.
I'm actually really excited about Highest 2 Lowest. I'm betting that could be a minor hit. A24 is behind it so we know the youth will at least hear about it!
"Living ambassador of the 20th century." Wow, that phrase hits hard. Get it printed on analog business cards.
Growing up in DC in the Bush years was a fever dream written by Aaron McGruder and directed by Kubrick, so I did in fact watch Malcolm X in a class of dubious learning goals taught by a bombastic red diaper baby. People wince when I describe growing up around a bunch of Communists and their offspring but it's true-- this was particularly notable because it was back before it was cool to call yourself a socialist, etc. The plurality of us in that class were progressive do-gooder white girls meant to be called out by that very scene! A struggle session conversation ensued, I recall tears and indignant pushback from peers. This is the same class where we watched When the Levees Broke and, implausibly, Life is Beautiful. Everything that the right went nuts about in the 2010s was being worked out in beta in progressive school systems in the aughts, but that's a topic for another Kulturtante dispatch from the past.
Oh yes, I'm absolutely gonna need a full newsletter from you about this. (Hell, you should make it a memoir, honestly.)
We watched Life is Beautiful in my senior year economics class! That teacher is still a friend of mine.
Going to have to spend my weekend mentally recovering from these nobody-knows-Denzel-Washington anecdotes omg
I'm still reeling from it (obviously)! I really hope Gladiator II helped in that regard. Maybe young folks showed up for Paul and left thinking about Denzel.