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Cinematic Jujitsu: Resisting White Hegemony through the American Dream in Spike Lee's Malcolm X

2008; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 59; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/10510970802467403

1745-1035

Kristen Hoerl,

Gothic Literature and Media Analysis

Abstract Spike Lee's film Malcolm X (1992) presented Malcolm X's life story using the narrative framework of the American Dream myth central to liberal ideology. Working from Gramsci's notion of common sense in the process of hegemony, I explain how Lee appealed to this mythic structure underlying American popular culture to give a platform to Malcolm X's controversial ideas. By adopting a common sense narrative to tell Malcolm X's life story, this movie functioned as a form of cinematic jujitsu that invited critical consciousness about the contradictions between liberal ideology and the life experiences of racially excluded groups. Other formal devices in Lee's film incorporated Malcolm X's rhetoric within the common sense of mainstream politics and connected Malcolm X to more contemporary racial struggles. This analysis suggests that common sense framings of controversial figures may provide a limited space to challenge institutionalized forms of racism within popular culture. Keywords: American DreamCinematic JujitsuCommon SenseHegemonyMalcolm X The author extends thanks to Dana, Cloud, Casey Kelly, Emmett Winn, and anonymous reviewers for suggestions on earlier drafts of this essay. An earlier version of this essay was presented at the National Communication Association's annual conference in Chicago, Illinois, in November 2007 Notes These figures come from the Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com), which has a "box office/business" link on the database's main pages for each film. The National Urban League (Citation2004) reports notable economic gaps between African Americans and whites. Twenty-five percent of blacks live in poverty compared to 12% of whites; male earnings are 70% that of white males; and African American unemployment is twice the national average (online database). Additional informationNotes on contributorsKristen Hoerl Kristen Hoerl is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication and Journalism at Auburn University.