Mention Books Toward Making Malcolm: The Myth and Meaning of Malcolm X
| Original Title: | Making Malcolm: The Myth and Meaning of Malcolm X |
| ISBN: | 0195102851 (ISBN13: 9780195102857) |
| Edition Language: | English |
Michael Eric Dyson
Paperback | Pages: 256 pages Rating: 3.89 | 162 Users | 13 Reviews
Interpretation In Favor Of Books Making Malcolm: The Myth and Meaning of Malcolm X
Malcolm X's cultural rebirth--his improbable second coming--brims with irony. The nineties are marked by intense and often angry debates about racial authenticity and "selling out," and the participants in these debates--from politicians to filmmakers to rap artists--often draw on Malcolm's scorching rebukes to such moves. Meanwhile, Malcolm's "X" is marketed in countless business endeavors and is stylishly branded on baseball hats and T-shirts sported by every age, race, and gender. But this rampant commercialization is only a small part of Malcolm's remarkable renaissance. One of the century's most complex black leaders, he is currently blazing a new path across contemporary popular culture, and has even seared the edges of an academy that once froze him out. Thirty years after his assassination, what is it about his life and words that speaks so powerfully to so many?In Making Malcolm, Michael Eric Dyson probes the myths and meanings of Malcolm X for our time. From Spike Lee's film biography to Eugene Wolfenstein's psychobiographical study, from hip-hop culture to gender and racial politics, Dyson cuts a critical swathe through both the idolization and the vicious caricatures that have undermined appreciation of Malcolm's greatest accomplishments. The book's first section offers a boldly original and penetrating analysis of the major trends in interpreting Malcolm's legacy since his death, and the fiercely competing interests and ideologies that have shaped these trends. From mainstream books to writings published by the independent black press, Dyson identifies and examines the different "Malcolms" who have emerged in popular and academic investigations of his life and career. With impassioned and compelling force, Dyson argues that Malcolm was too formidable a historic figure--the movements he led too variable and contradictory, the passion and intelligence he summoned too extraordinary and disconcerting--to be viewed through any narrow cultural prism.
The second half of the book offers a fascinating exploration of Malcolm's relationship to a resurgent black nationalism, his influence on contemporary black filmmakers and musicians, and his use in progressive black politics. From sexism and gangsta rap to the painful predicament of black males, from the politics of black nationalism to the possibilities of race in the Age of Clinton, Dyson's trenchant and often inspiring analysis reveals how Malcolm's legacy continues to spur debate and action today.
A rare and important book, Making Malcolm casts new light not only on the life and career of a seminal black leader, but on the aspirations and passions of the growing numbers who have seized on his life for insight and inspiration.
Point About Books Making Malcolm: The Myth and Meaning of Malcolm X
| Title | : | Making Malcolm: The Myth and Meaning of Malcolm X |
| Author | : | Michael Eric Dyson |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Special Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 256 pages |
| Published | : | January 25th 1996 by Oxford University Press, USA (first published January 1st 1995) |
| Categories | : | Biography. Nonfiction. History. Cultural. African American. Race |
Rating About Books Making Malcolm: The Myth and Meaning of Malcolm X
Ratings: 3.89 From 162 Users | 13 ReviewsWrite Up About Books Making Malcolm: The Myth and Meaning of Malcolm X
Because we have gotten better, old radicals often seem less radical over time. The pragmatic hedonism and secular calm of Epicurus was once fanatically detested, but is now a standard worldview (it's roughly that of the happy scientist); at one time Spinozas Ethics (determinism, Nature as deity, religious and political tolerance) was the wildest thing ever said in the history of the Christian world; Montesquieus disgust at aristocratic brutality, gross luxury and torture are commonplaces; PainesA very objective book on Malcolm X. More often enough, Malcolm X evoke extreme positive or negative literature. Without demonizing or sanctifying the man, the author manage to approach the legacy from a reasoning place. 45 years after his death, Malcolm X still evoke strong debates debate. Reading the book in public places made people looked at me with fear, contempt, and occasionally puzzled. Of course while reading it many people tried to compare him to Martin Luther King Jr. and asked me who
2013-08 - Making Malcolm: The Myth and Meaning of Malcolm X. Michael Eric Dyson (Author) 1995. 248 Pages.Not what I expected. More a survey of how views of Malcolm and the uses of Malcolm have evolved. Malcolm is arguably the flip side Martin Luther King and the question is always could one have achieved without the other even though they did not really work together or agree with each others point of view more of an academic book.
A very good re-examination of the philosophy of Malcolm X.
Disappointing book based on the topic and the author's stature. Regurgitated themes - no originality.
Dyson in this text focuses not so much on creating a definitive account of Malcolm X but on making sense of how Malcolm X is utilized in media in popular culture and in activism. Dyson stresses a need to look at Malcolm X as a whole person and not in fragments for purposes of suiting particular ideological grounds. I really appreciated the second chapter where Dyson discusses the intellectual legacy of Malcolm X giving an overview of the common ways in which Malcolm's life is understood. Also I
Easily the most objective work on Malcolm X I've ever read. I mistakenly thought it would be a biography, but it's much more of a critical examination of Malcolm's legacy and an analysis of the political climate of its time (originally published in 1995). What Dyson believes we should take from Malcolm, if nothing else, is the eagerness to think critically about anything and everything--to question our beliefs, situations, and leaders. Only through his willingness to question was Malcolm able to
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