History Film / MalcolmX

--> My adoration of Mr. Muhammad grew, in the sense of the Latin root word adorare. It means much more than our "adoration" or "adore." It means that my worship of him was so awesome that he was the first man whom I had ever feared -- not fear such as of a man with a gun, but the fear such as one has of the power of the sun.

** Despite having by now been exposed as a womanizing hypocrite, Elijah Muhammad is absolutely right in blasting Malcolm for his insensitive comments about the Kennedy assassination, especially considering that it was in direct defiance of his specific orders to ''not'' say anything (in RealLife, the [=NOI=] sent Jackie Kennedy a note of condolence) and that he has now made things difficult for the group's public image, which was already not very favorable.

-->'''Malcolm X''' (''voiceover''): Shorty thought he [the judge] hit us with 114 years, until I explained what "concurrently" meant. It meant a minimum sentence of [[WorkingOnTheChainGang 10 years hard labor at the Charlestown State Prison]].

* JerkassHasAPoint: Despite having by now been exposed as a womanizing hypocrite, Elijah Muhammad is absolutely right in blasting Malcolm for his insensitive comments about the Kennedy assassination, especially considering that it was in direct defiance of his specific orders to ''not'' say anything (in RealLife, the [=NOI=] sent Jackie Kennedy a note of condolence) and that he has now made things difficult for the group's public image, which was already not very favorable.

* LongerThanLifeSentence: The main character's friend, Shorty, faints because he think he will be victim of this trope.

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. It 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.

* StealthInsult: Malcolm "accidentally" calls his boss "[[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mister_Charlie Mr. Charlie]]", something that was well known as this towards white men. The man sternly corrects him, "The name is Mr. ''Cooper''". It appears that"Charlie " might actually be the his real first name and he's just chastising him for using it, but the DeathGlare that he gives him indicates that he knows full well what Malcolm was trying to do.

* AngryBlackMan: Malcolm becomes this after he converts to the Nation of Islam. Later, he renounces these beliefs after his change of heart in Mecca.

* FullMoonSilhouette: The scene where the KKK members ride off into the large moon. An homage to E.T. as noted by Spike Lee.

* ThoseTwoBadGuys: West Indian Archie's two ever-present minions, Sammy and Cadillac.

* BadassBeard: Malcolm sports one after he comes back from Mecca.

* AngryBlackMan: Malcolm becomes this after he converts to the Nation of Islam. Later, he renounces these beliefs after his HeelFaceTurn in Mecca.

* DeliberateValuesDissonance: To be expected since this is a movie about a radical black nationalist leader of the Nation of Islam. Discriminatory attitudes are displayed by not just the white characters but blacks too including Malcolm (at least before his FaceHeelTurn).

* HeelFaceTurn: Malcolm makes a full one after he goes to Mecca and realizes that every word that came out of the [=NoI=]'s mouth regarding their bastardization of Islam was nothing but horseshit.

* CorruptChurch: The [=NoI=] is not portrayed very positively, which is TruthInTelevision.

* PimpDuds: Malcolm's and Shorty's suit-style of choice, until West India Archie openly mocks it.

-->'''Malcolm X''' (''voiceover''): Shorty thought he [the judge] hit us with 114 years, until I explained "concurrently." It meant a minimum sentence of [[WorkingOnTheChainGang 10 years hard labor at the Charlestown State Prison]].

* BlackAndGreyMorality: As the movie points out, the crusaders in the Nation of Islam could often be just as virulently racist as the White authorities that they preached against, and even Malcolm himself started off like this before his HeelFaceTurn in Mecca. As great as Malcolm's contributions to the civil rights movement were, the movie reminds the audience that he was ''far'' from perfect, depicting his criminal escapades in great detail. A few of the characters even comment openly on his abuses of power, though the audience is ultimately left to decide whether or not these complaints are justified.

* DeliberateValuesDissonance: To be expected since this is a movie about a radical black nationalist leader from the Nation of Islam. Discriminatory attitudes are displayed by not just the white characters but blacks too including Malcolm (at least before his FaceHeelTurn).

* TheDiseaseThatShallNotBeNamed: 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.

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.

* 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 several extramarital affairs.

** Yuri Kochiyama, Malcolm's Japanese American ally, who cradled his corpse