OPRAH WINFREY SHOW, THE: MALCOLM X (TV)
Summary
One in this talk show series hosted by Oprah Winfrey.
This episode focuses on Spike Lee’s film “Malcolm X,” a biopic of controversial civil rights figure Malcolm X, featuring Denzel Washington playing the eponymous role. Oprah interviews Lee, Malcolm X’s widow Dr. Betty Shabazz, and their daughter Attallah Shabazz. Lee discusses the challenges involved in making the film and the responsibility he felt to make it worthy of Malcolm X’s legacy. He talks about the campaign he launched to direct the film after he heard that it would be done by Norman Jewison, feeling strongly that the film required an African-American director. He also notes the financial and logistical challenges the film suffered during production, and an incident wherein Lee’s father was arrested for heroin possession during filming, as well as the challenge of directing scenes in the film featuring large numbers of extras. They also discuss the intense preparations Washington underwent in order to properly portray the title character, including studying Islam and undergoing religious purification. Lee also touches on the difficulties he experienced with the studios and how he convinced them to change their minds about the film, asserting that he had intended the film to be “an epic.”
Betty and Attallah Shabazz discuss the portrayal of intimacy in the film between Malcolm X and his family, and how the film portrayed his private life in general. Dr. Shabazz talks about the qualities in Malcolm X which attracted her to him and the “unconventional” fashion in which he proposed to her. She also discusses various times in which she left her husband (albeit for very brief periods of time), owing to his “disciplined” nature and their “difference in lifestyle” due to their extremely different upbringings. They comment on the film’s efforts to help the United States “rediscover” Malcolm X, and the frequent misinterpretations of his message. Attallah recounts her father as being quite different from his public persona, describing a warm and caring father. She recalls the family relationship within her household and notes that as a child she was not cognizant of the “climate of hatred” outside of it until the week before her father was assassinated. Dr. Shabazz discusses her experiences in the weeks following the assassination, when she was pregnant with twins and unable to sleep out of fear. She notes that threats to Malcolm X were mounting for more than a year before the assassination, necessitating various precautions surrounding his public appearances.
The guests answer questions from the audience. Lee clarifies the use of Malcom X’s famous “by any means necessary” phrase used in the film, and how it is not an encouragement towards violence. Dr. Shabazz talks about the relevance and effectiveness of the Nation of Islam in modern-day. Lee also talks about the significance of the “X” in “Malcolm X.” Dr. Hazel Carby, a professor at Yale University, discusses the growing presence of minorities in films such as “Malcolm X” and the disconnect between white people consuming African-American popular culture but still maintaining racist and segregated attitudes towards African-Americans in general, unwilling to incorporate them into their communities. Lee hopes that young African-Americans will be inspired by the film’s message to better their own lives. Lee also talks about the challenge of making a film about someone who has proven to be inspirational to vastly different segments of the African-American population, and he simply tried to “make the film [he] wanted to make.” He also mentions the extensive research that went into the film, including consulting Malcolm X’s relatives and closest friends, although he says that he took “artistic license” in Malcolm X’s portrayal. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: Syndicated
- DATE: November 30, 1999 4:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:43:51
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 122060
- GENRE: Talk/Interviews
- SUBJECT HEADING: African-American Collection - News/Talk; TV - Talk/Interviews
- SERIES RUN: Syndicated - TV series, 1986-2011
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Debra DiMaio … Executive Producer
- Mary Kay Clinton … Senior Producer
- Dianne Atkinson Hudson … Senior Producer
- Alice McGee … Senior Producer
- Ellen Rakieten … Senior Producer
- Oprah Winfrey … Supervising Producer
- David Boul … Producer
- LeGrande Green … Producer
- Rudy Guido … Producer
- Christopher McWatt … Producer
- Dana Newton … Producer
- Faith Raegan Harris … Associate Producer
- Jorge Insua … Associate Producer
- James Kelley … Associate Producer
- Lesia Minor … Associate Producer
- Joan Roebuck … Associate Producer
- Jamie Schaefer … Associate Producer
- Earnest Winborne … Associate Producer
- Katy Murphy Davis … Associate Producer
- Thalia Kalodimos … Associate Producer
- Joey Ford … Director
- Mary Monahan … Researcher
- Lara Mehlhaff … Researcher
- Oprah Winfrey … Host
- Spike Lee … Guest
- Betty Shabazz … Guest
- Attallah Shabazz … Guest
- Hazel Carby … Guest
- Norman Jewison
- Denzel Washington
- Malcolm X