Talk:Malcolm X (film)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is the talk page for discussing improvements to the Malcolm X (film) article.

Article policies
This article is within the scope of WikiProject Films. This project is a central gathering of editors working to build comprehensive and detailed articles for film topics on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, you can edit the article attached to this page, or visit the project page, where you can join the project and/or contribute to the discussion.
B
This article has been rated as B-Class on the quality scale.
High
This article has been rated as High-importance on the priority scale.

This article was nominated for deletion on December 2, 2005. The result of the discussion was Speedy Keep. An archived record of this discussion can be found here.


Contents

[edit] Move

Theres no reason to have this page at Malcolm X (1992 movie) when it should be at Malcolm X (movie), so I've moved the page. Saul Taylor 09:18, 21 Jan 2004 (UTC)


[edit] Trivia

"Dr. Seuss is referenced in this movie a few times in the beginning, but not again." WTF? Es-won 22:47, 27 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Fair use rationale for Image:Malcox x.jpg

Image:Malcox x.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images uploaded after 4 May, 2006, and lacking such an explanation will be deleted one week after they have been uploaded, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.BetacommandBot 03:41, 6 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Fair use rationale for Image:Malcolm X DVD-front.jpg

Fair use added. SkierRMH 07:06, 1 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Removal of uncited and trivial material

The material below was removed from the main article for two reasons. Firstly, it is uncited material. It makes claims which need to be substantiated through reliable, verifiable and notable. The second reason is, quite simply, because it is trivia. It needs to be converted into a paragraph or two. Until that time, it cannot return to the article.

Other depictions
  • In the 1979 TV miniseries Roots: The Next Generations, Malcolm was portrayed by Al Freeman, Jr. Freeman portrays Elijah Muhammad in Malcolm X.
  • In two TV movies about the life of Muhammad Ali which aired in 2000, Malcolm was portrayed by Gary Dourdan (King of the World) and Joe Morton (Ali: An American Hero).
  • Jeff Stetson's 1987 one-act play The Meeting depicts a fictional, clandestine encounter between Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X shortly before Malcolm's assassination. In a 1989 American Playhouse production of the play, Jason Bernard portrays Dr. King and Dick Anthony Williams portrays Malcolm.
  • At the age of nine, Denzel Washington's son John David Washington made a cameo appearance in the film as a student in a Harlem classroom.
  • Angela Bassett reprised her role as Betty Shabazz in the 1995 film Panther, which was directed by Mario Van Peebles. Coincidentally, Van Peebles played Malcolm X in the 2001 bio-pic Ali.
  • Morgan Freeman portrayed Malcolm X in the 1981 television movie "Death of a Prophet." The film depicts the seven days preceding Malcolm X's assassination on February 21, 1965.
Sources and omissions
  • The eulogy that Ossie Davis delivers over the documentary footage of Malcolm X's life near the end of the film[1] is excerpted from the one that he wrote and delivered himself at Malcolm's actual funeral in 1965.
  • The book The Autobiography of Malcolm X details how most Nation of Islam ministers turned against Malcolm at Elijah Muhammad's behest. Among them was Louis X, who is today known as Louis Farrakhan. Some have suggested that Farrakhan was complicit in Malcolm's assassination. But Lee avoids this subject entirely, and Farrakhan is conspicuously absent from the film.
  • The late Dr. Betty Shabazz was this film's project consultant.
  • Heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali, a member of the Nation of Islam in the early to mid-1960s, was a personal friend of Malcolm. However, he also shunned Malcolm after his expulsion from the Nation. These events are also absent from the movie, but director Michael Mann depicts them in the 2001 film Ali, with Will Smith as Ali and Mario Van Peebles as Malcolm.
  • Baines, portrayed by Albert Hall, is a fictional character. His primary role in the film — to introduce prison inmate Malcolm Little to the Nation of Islam -- was filled in real life by Malcolm's siblings, and by a fellow inmate named Bimbi.
Technical trivia
  • The title credits of this film include footage of the beating of Rodney King.
  • The names of the three assassins charged with Malcolm X's murder are listed in the final credits of the film.
  • After the assassination scene, all footage of Malcolm X is of the real man, most of it in black and white.
  • The last song played during the closing credits is "Revolution" by Arrested Development. The song was the only contemporary song included on the film's soundtrack.
  • The scenes of the JFK assassination are taken from Oliver Stone's JFK (1991). In this film, Vincent D'Onofrio is credited as playing Bill Newman (a witness to the Kennedy shooting), the same character he played in Stone's film.
  • In the film's final scene, South African anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela — recently released after 27 years of political imprisonment -- appears as a schoolteacher in a classroom in Soweto. He recites a portion of one of Malcolm X's most famous speeches, including:
We declare our right on this earth to be a human being, to be respected as a human being, to be given the rights of a human being in this society, on this earth, in this day, which we intend to bring into existence... - Malcolm X
The final phrase, “by any means necessary”, was omitted from the end at the request of Mandela who felt he could not utter this phrase on camera, believing the South African government would somehow use it against him politically. Instead, actual footage of Malcolm X speaking the words "by any means necessary" was shown in the last few seconds of the film.
Cameos

- Arcayne (cast a spell) 10:56, 17 January 2008 (UTC)

It doesn't need to be converted into a paragraph, lists are totally acceptable. Being uncited isn't a good reason to remove something, unless you actually believe it's inaccurate or unverifiable. The information in these sections looks like it would generally be pretty easy to verify.P4k (talk) 01:28, 19 January 2008 (UTC)
And there's nothing wrong with trivia either.P4k (talk) 01:29, 19 January 2008 (UTC)
Actually, it does. Please see WP:NOT; we aren't here to supply random bits of information culled from the back fo DVD covers or our favorite chatty cathy forum. Being uncited is a primary reason for removal. this is an encyclopedia, not a fan forum or some other hack site.
As I said in the section, once you verify each piece of information, you can convert it into paragraph form and re-add it to the article. Not before. Btw, I noted the addition of the YouTube link. We don't use that here in Wikipedia. If yoiu doubt any bit of this, please feel free to consult an admin. You can find a complete list of them here. - Arcayne (cast a spell) 07:17, 23 January 2008 (UTC)