Denzel Washington's starring part in Malcolm X is considered to be one of his defining roles in his career. "Everything I have done as an actor has been in preparation for this," Washington said.
This movie was a biography of Malcolm X, a famous leader during the Black Power movement. With his life plagued by segregation, racism, and the Ku Klux Klan, Malcolm X was known for his troublesome behavior and resentment towards the white race. Because of the times, he ends up in jail. While imprisoned, Malcolm X learns the discovers the writings of Islam and Elijah Muhammed. After his release, he goes on to share these views and live by them (he even took a trip to Mecca, the holiest city to the religion of Islam). Although his demise was a sad one where he was assassinated, his life was powerful and had a lot of powerful messages about race and the civil rights movement.
This movie was a biography of Malcolm X, a famous leader during the Black Power movement. With his life plagued by segregation, racism, and the Ku Klux Klan, Malcolm X was known for his troublesome behavior and resentment towards the white race. Because of the times, he ends up in jail. While imprisoned, Malcolm X learns the discovers the writings of Islam and Elijah Muhammed. After his release, he goes on to share these views and live by them (he even took a trip to Mecca, the holiest city to the religion of Islam). Although his demise was a sad one where he was assassinated, his life was powerful and had a lot of powerful messages about race and the civil rights movement.
This powerful production was not released until 1992, but Washington's preparation for it began way before this. He always has been known for his excessive preparation for roles, but for Malcolm X it was considered even more extreme. He talk to more than a dozen of Malcolm X's living relatives and friends, read prison and FBI records, attended classes that shared information about the Fruit of Islam (which Malcolm X was apart of), and even fasted. Washingon would only eat one meal a day to follow the way Malcolm X lived during shooting the film for 16 whole months! "I just tried to make a spiritual connection," he says.
This role hit Washington hard due to the racial issues that arise within it. However because he is a political man, the racial issues are one of the major reasons Washington decided to take the role. He thought people could learn from this movie.The race relations in America will continue to remain controversal until the nation comes to terms with the reality of what is left over from four centuries of racism.
"No one has dealt with the psychological scars of four hundred years of brutality and slavery. We legislated a little love in the sixties, but I don't think we've really dealt with the effects of racism to the degree that we should," Washington said.
No comments:
Post a Comment