Camera Movement Spike Lee brought the life of African-American leader Malcolm X to the big screen in this sprawling, epic biographical drama in 1992. In this extract, Malcolm X is shown preaching the message of the Nation of Islam to the public in several different locations. Denzel Washington, playing Malcolm, presents fiery street talk to passers by and audiences in each location, and Spike Lee's powerful use of camera emphasises this. In each location, camera movement …showed first 75 words of 1516 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1516 total…ladder and approached the woman. It is obvious that in spite of the options available to him in shooting, Spike Lee chose to maintain the viewer's focus on Malcolm in the shots he selected. Malcolm's power as a public figure is not a main theme here. Instead, Lee uses camera movement to emphasise the actual interaction Malcolm has with the public. Bibliography David Bordwell, Kristin Thompson2001Film Art: An Introduction John Izod1987Reading the Screen