| nudity |
Contains some scenes of sensuality and sexually suggestive dialogue, although there are no explicit depictions of sexual activity.
There is a scene between Malcolm X and a white woman, Sophia, early on in the movie. Nothing explicit is shown; the two of them are making out in the backseat of a car. They lie down and the scene fades away, implying sex. There is another scene a few minutes later between the same two people; nothing sexual or explicit happens. Malcolm is shown [presumably] post-coitus as Sophia prepares food for him, brings it to him on a tray, massages/kisses his foot, and feeds him his food.
There is a scene when Malcolm X is walking down the street being approached by scantily clad prostitutes. He doesn't acknowledge any of them. In this same scene, there is a brief glimpse showing oral sex in the dark shadow of a building. A woman in the background is shown opening a man's jacket before kneeling. There is no nudity and the scene fades away very quickly before anyone can see anything. Elijah Muhammed is found to have committed adultery with two of his former secretaries, fathering several children by them and becoming their paternity lawsuits' target. |
| violence |
Contains some scenes depicting violent beatings, e.g. opening credits Rodney King tape, some with blood and a man was beaten by police officers (unseen but he looks bloody when wheeled out of a police station). Historically accurate depiction of Malcolm X's assassination, includes bloody shootings. Houses are burned and firebombed, including both Malcolm's childhood home in Nebraska and his adulthood family home in New York City. |
| profanity |
Contains harsh language including numerous uses of racial slurs, and 2 uses of the 'f' word.
The word "bitch" is also used, but not frequently. |
| alcohol |
Contains scenes of drinking and smoking, ex. a Muslim man in the background smoking in Saudi Arabia during Malcolm's pilgrimage there as well as some scenes of cocaine use. Discussions about drugs and alcohol and one man is shown in exerpts in an insane asylum withdrawing from heroin addiction. |
| frightening |
Contains intense scenes of threatened or onscreen violence; the entirety of the film's subject matter is potentially upsetting to some viewers. |
