History Film / MalcolmX

* TheCameo: Nelson Mandela, Al Sharpton and Black Panthers founder Bobby Seale, [[Film/TheSoundOfMusic Captain Von Trapp]] as a racist prison minister, [[Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk Marion]] as a racist social worker, [[Series/EverybodyLovesRaymond Frank]] as a bigoted policeman, Creator/JohnSayles as a racist FBI agent spying on Malcolm, and legendary civil rights attorney William Kunstler as a racist judge. A lot of PlayingAgainstType here.

* PrisonsAreGymnasiums: In the scene where a Prison Chaplin talks to Malcolm in solitary, a prisoner can be spotted in the background doing sit-ups in his cell.

* TakeThat: Two white police officers admit offhand that at least Malcolm X is faithful to his wife, unlike Martin Luther King, Jr. Due to the frequent comparisons between the two civil rights figures, the line prompts viewers to see all civil rights leaders as human beings and be more forgiving of Malcolm X's own imperfections.

* YourCheatingHeart: Malcolm cheats on his girlfriend Laura with a white woman, then cheats on his new girlfriend with another girl. [[CharacterDevelopment He gets better]]. When the feds are spying on him later in life, one notes, "Compared to King, this guy's a monk." Martin Luther King engaged in extramarital affairs.

* BrokenPedestal: Elijah Muhammad for Malcolm. He starts out worshiping the man to the point he says he'd gladly die for him. However, on learning that Muhammad is using his position to take sexual advantage of younger women, then has the ones he impregnates expelled from the [=NoI=], Malcolm is utterly appalled and leaves. His public renunciation of the [=NoI=] eventually leads to his assassination.

%%* BrokenPedestal: Elijah Muhammad for Malcolm.
* ButNotTooBlack: [[InvertedTrope Inverted.]] Denzel Washington actually has a far darker complexion than the real Malcolm X, who had notably reddish hair and rather light skin due to partial white ancestry, making this also a case of FakeMixedRace.
** In both the book and the film, Malcolm notes that his light-skinned mother (the result of her mother's rape by a white man) ''hated'' her complexion and that one of the reasons she married his father was because he was dark-skinned and wanted to ensure that her children would have some color. Consequently, he felt that she favored his siblings because they were darker than him.
** Possibly played straight with his father, who he suspected favored ''him'' for the very same reason.

Originally this was going to be directed by Norman Jewison (''Film/InTheHeatOfTheNight'', ''Theatre/FiddlerOnTheRoof''), which attracted criticism and demands that the story be done by a black filmmaker. Caused a bit of a controversy when Spike Lee said in an interview that kids should skip school in order to see the movie, as well as a fashion fad of hats and T-shirts with "X" on them. (Since a single letter can't be copyrighted, these were easy to produce.) It was the first non-documentary to gain permission to film in Mecca, though Spike Lee was not there to do so, as, being non-Muslim, he was forbidden to enter the city.

* The Disease That Shall Not Be Named: During the scene with West Indian Archie in his rundown NYC apartment, where Malcolm reunites with him after his lengthy prison stint, Archie's slightly slurred speech, his completely messy living quarters, and his request that Malcolm help him "exercise" his arm seems to imply that West Indian Archie may be suffering from Amyotrophic Lateral Schlerosis, or Lou Gehrig's Disease. He is never seen again in the movie after that visit.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: In a speech, someone calls out "Get your hand outta my pocket!" for no reason. It turns out that the guy was a member of the Nation of Islam doing a dry run for the actual assassination, and someone else calls out the exact same thing to distract Malcolm's guards during the assassination.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: In a speech, someone calls out "Get your hand outta my pocket!" for no reason. [[spoiler:It turned out that the guy was a member of the Nation of Islam doing a dry run for the actual assassination, and someone else calls out the exact same thing to distract Malcolm's guards during the assassination.]]

%%* RedemptionEqualsDeath

%%* TheSixties
* SoftGlass: Somewhat averted. The scene where the guy in the club told Malcolm to "crawl back to his mama," Malcolm just kinda slinked away to the bar with his head lowered as if he were scared. Then he grabs a bottle and immediately smashed it against the man's face telling him not to insult his mama. The glass broke rather easily, but the guy's face was utterly covered in blood from the glass. This could be a measure of [[MegatonPunch just how hard Malcolm hit him.]]

* ForegoneConclusion: Malcolm X is murdered by members of the Nation of Islam.

* TheCameo: Nelson Mandela, Al Sharpton and Black Panthers founder Bobby Seale, [[Film/TheSoundOfMusic Captain Von Trapp]] as a racist prison minister, [[Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk Marion]] as a racist social worker, [[Series/EverybodyLovesRaymond Frank]] as a bigoted policeman, Creator/JohnSayles as a racist FBI agent spying on Malcolm, and legendary civil rights attorney William Kunstler as a racist judge. . . a lot of PlayingAgainstType here.

* Foreshadowing: In a speech, someone calls out "Get your hand outta my pocket!" for no reason. [[spoiler:It turned out that the guy was a member of the Nation of Islam doing a dry run for the actual assassination, and someone else calls out the exact same thing to distract Malcolm's guards during the assassination.]]
* HeelRealization: Malcolm after visiting Mecca and seeing racial equality in action.
* HeelFaceTurn: After he goes to Mecca and realizes that every word that came out of NoI's mouth regarding their bastardization of Islam was nothing but horseshit.

** The film doesn't shy away from the more controversial aspects of Malcolm X's life. In fact, it seems to embellish his criminal career.

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A 1992 film by Creator/SpikeLee, ''Malcolm X'' starred Creator/DenzelWashington as [[UsefulNotes/MalcolmX the real-life black nationalist leader]]. The film starts with his childhood as Malcolm Little, who later grows up to be a gangster with his best friend Shorty. In prison, he is introduced to the teachings of the Nation of Islam and officially names himself Malcolm X upon release. He initially preaches black separatism, but renounces his extreme beliefs when he makes the pilgrimage to Mecca. Of course, this doesn't go well with others.

Originally was going to be directed by Norman Jewison (''Film/InTheHeatOfTheNight'', ''Theatre/FiddlerOnTheRoof''), but this attracted criticism and demands that the story be done by a black filmmaker. Caused a bit of a controversy when Spike Lee said in an interview that kids should skip school in order to see the movie, as well as a fashion fad of hats and T-shirts with "X" on them. (Since a single letter can't be copyrighted, these were easy to produce.) It was the first non-documentary to gain permission to film in Mecca, though Spike Lee was not there to do so, as, being non-Muslim, he was forbidden to enter the city.

* Forshadowing: In a speech, someone calls out "Get your hand outta my pocket!" for no reason. [[spoiler:It turned out that the guy was just doing a dry run for the acutal assassination, and someone else calls out the exact same thing to distract Malcolm's guards.]]

* TheCameo: Nelson Mandela, Al Sharpton and Black Panthers founder Bobby Seale, [[Film/TheSoundOfMusic Captain Von Trapp]] as a racist prison minister, [[RaidersOfTheLostArk Marion]] as a racist social worker, [[Series/EverybodyLovesRaymond Frank]] as a bigoted policeman, Creator/JohnSayles as a racist FBI agent spying on Malcolm, and legendary civil rights attorney William Kunstler as a racist judge. . . a lot of PlayingAgainstType here.

* AdaptedOut: Louis Farrakhan is noticeably absent in the film--presumably because he's still alive and powerful. UsefulNotes/MuhammadAli is also not mentioned in the whole Biopic, only quickly at the end, despite both having been very close friends.

* AdaptedOut: Louis Farrakhan is noticeably absent in the film--presumably because he's still alive and powerful.