The Autobiography of Malcolm X

The Autobiography of Malcolm X is a documentary which aired on The Learning Channel. It is an excellent complement to the book by the same title. Like the book, the video shows the transformation of Malcolm X from a young boy whose family was destroyed by an oppressive racist American society, to a national leader who challenged that very system. The video also chronicles the development of the book co-written by Malcolm X and Alex Haley, revealing the struggles that both men endured during the writing of the book.

Director Lynn Dougherly does an excellent job of blending interviews with key people who either knew Malcolm X and Alex Haley personally or who have studied and written on the life of Malcolm X. Among these people are Malcolm's oldest daughter Attallah Shabazz, his nephew and author Rodnell Collins, his close friend actor Ossie Davis, and journalist Mike Wallace. Haley's brother Ambassador to The Gambia George Haley provides some key insight into what was going on in the mind of Haley during the construction of the book, and the things Haley had to overcome to make the book a reality. One of the biggest obstacles that Haley had to overcome was the winning of Malcolm X's confidence, and to get Malcolm to open up to tell his life story rather than the story of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and the Nation of Islam.

Scholars Marita Golden and Michael Eric Dyson provide key interruptions on what Malcolm X meant to the world community. For example, Golden sees the book in the same context of American slave narratives. Throughout the book she sees how Malcolm's aim is to attain liberation for not only himself but also for other Americans of African descent. Dyson points out that The Autobiography of Malcolm X provides all the elements of a great text; these elements include mystery, power, the remaking of a man and his living out the American dream as best he could given the circumstances; or in other words a "rages to riches" story. I like how Dyson views the book as a "handbook of struggle." These interviews provide some of the strongest elements in the video, for they not only answer questions as to why and how the book was written, it places the book in its proper historical context with other great classics.

The newsreel film footage and still photos of Malcolm, the dramatizations, and the blending of clips from Spike Lee's movie Malcolm X (1992) all help retell the story of Malcolm's life. The dramatizations are well acted and are drawn from critical points in the book. This video is highly recommended for all audiences.

-- Reviewed by Eric Acree, Library Instruction Coordinator, Oscar A. Silverman Undergraduate Library, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York