Unlike the MPAA we do not assign
one
inscrutable rating based on age, but 3 objective ratings for SEX/NUDITY, VIOLENCE/GORE
and PROFANITY on a scale of 0 to 10, from lowest to highest,
depending on quantity and context.
Director Spike Lee's biopic of the slain African-American
leader, it follows Malcolm X's life as a conversion from petty criminal, to religious
fanatic, to unapologetic racist and finally to enlightened leader teaching a message of
self-reliance and self-respect.
SEX/NUDITY 2 - A man is seduced by a woman in a dance hall. They are later
shown kissing and some petting between a couple in the back seat of a car. A woman is
shown in a conservative negligee and a man in bed with only his underwear. A man and woman
are shown lying on the beach kissing, fully clothed.
VIOLENCE/GORE 5 - Opening credits and voice over occur while scenes of the
Rodney King beating are shown, which fades into an American flag burning. A man is shown,
with a bloody head, tied to railroad tracks. We hear him screaming as the train
approaches. A man is hit on the head with a bottle and left bloody. Two men play Russian
roulette with a seemingly loaded gun. Death threats are made over the telephone. A man is
beaten by the police and taken to prison. Repeated slow motion shooting of Malcolm X and
others around him.
the review continues below...
PROFANITY 6 - S.O.B., several times. There are racial references, reference
to a female dog, the F-word and its variations are used several times. [profanity glossary]
MESSAGE - Not clear: part of the film seems to be teaching that whites and
blacks should live separately, but toward the end racial harmony is presented as the
solution to racism.
A CAVEAT: We've gone through several editorial changes since we
started covering films in 1992 and some of our early standards were
not as stringent as they are now. We therefore need to revisit many
older reviews, especially those written prior to 1998 or so; please
keep this in mind if you're consulting a review from that period.
While we plan to revisit and correct older reviews our resources are
limited and it is a slow, time-consuming process.
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