Malcolm X Movie Analysis
Introduction about the Movie:
The Movie “Malcolm X”, directed by Spike Lee is based on the story of “The Autobiography of Malcolm X” where Denzel Washington plays the lead role of Malcolm X. The movie portrays the legend’s life in three sections. The first is about the troubled childhood life of Malcolm Little. The second part of the movie follows Malcolm 's life in prison, where he is introduced to the teachings of Nation of Islam. The final section of the movie gives a picture about Malcolm X’s principles for black Americans for separation from white society.
Malcolm X- A Human Activist for Black Americans
Malcolm was born on May 19th 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska to Earl Little and Louise Little. During his school days, his goal was to …show more content…
become a lawyer. But, he was advised by his teacher that “A lawyer—that’s no realistic job for a nigger” (Day, 2007). He was disheartened and he went on to choose the path of crime by gambling, drug dealing and armed robbery. He was convicted for burglary and was sentenced to ten years of prison term.
In the eight years, he was introduced to Baines, a follower of Nation of Islam who preached him the black separatism and resistance to white repression. Malcolm adopted the surname X for symbolising the slavery for Black Americans. His charisma, passion and blatant confidence meant he became a highly effective speaker for the organization, increasing its membership rapidly in just few years (Waldman, 2005)
The assassination of Malcolm X on February 21st, 1965 brought tears to brotherhood of black Americans. Though he took violence as the weapon for achieving his goal, his leadership qualities are never underestimated. He had great enthusiasm and had the ability to capture and maintain attention, offering hope and inspiration for Black Americans. What is Leadership?
Leadership is the art of motivating the followers for achieving a goal. Leaders always question the assumption and they dig the truth based on fact not prejudice. Edwin H.Friedman once famously quoted that “Leadership can be thought of as a capacity to define oneself to others in a way that clarifies and expands a vision of the future” (Wisdom Quotes). Malcolm X had the vision and his goal was to see African-American people achieve self-reliance and independence (Daniel, 1999). The essay provides sufficient information about a leader who had passion and commitment in fighting for a separate state for Black Americans.
Malcolm X- Trait theory
Leadership trait theory is the idea that believes certain people are born with definite traits. Malcolm X, a charismatic, enthusiastic and courageous was described as an Authoritarian leader who did not share his power and his ruthless and fanatical belief set him apart from other civil rights moment leaders(Day,2007,). Dominance is considered to be an important trait for a leader. Malcolm X leadership styles as depicted in this movie can be seen when he uses Sophia, a white girl friend as a way to improve his social stand in his eyes of friends (Haley, 1964). Detroit Red’s dominant trait is seen in when the cop asks him to state his number , he refuses to state his number and he abuses the cop and because of his dominant trait he is been put in dark room for ten days.
The dominance of Malcolm is clearly demonstrated when he asks Sophia, to kiss his feet and also to feed him food. Malcolm enforces Rudy to assist him in the burglary by keeping a pistol on his nose. This scene is shown approximately running between 50 and 51 minutes. Intelligence is also a part of Leaders trait. During his school days, Malcolm use to study well and excel in academics. His intelligence is also shown where he gets into debate with a chaplain Gill and trying to prove that Jesus Christ is a Hebrew.
Malcolm X as a Transformational Leader
Transformational leaders stimulate their followers and colleagues to perceive their goal in new perspective. ‘Transformational leaders raise followers to a higher level of needs and aspirations’ (Badrinarayan, 2003). Leaders’ broaden the interests of their followers and ‘motivate followers to go beyond their self-interests for the good of the group’ (Hartog, 1997). In this movie, Malcolm X clearly guides his followers to achieve an ambitious goal in fighting for civil, economic and political status for Black Americans. Transformational Leadership theory is explained in four different dimensions.
Idealized influence: Malcolm X sets a vision of achieving freedom and equal rights for black Americans and expects his followers to strive for that goal. For attaining his goal, he risks his family life and dedicates his life for fighting civil rights of Black Americans. His speeches and presentation in various temples of ‘Nation of Islam’ and schools inspires many black Americans to join as a single unit and fight for the separate state. This scene is seen approximately at 87 to 91 minutes of the movie. Individualized consideration is all about treating followers individually rather than a group. This behaviour is not seen in this movie.
Intellectual Simulation gives information about awareness to the followers to think the problems in a different way. This concept is shown in the movie where Malcolm X addresses hundreds of people in temple where he highlights the difference between Americans and Americans who come from Africa. He addresses his speech to his followers to think that “You are not American you are an African who happens to be American”. “We did not land in Pyramid Rock, Pyramid Rock landed on us.” After hearing the speeches of Malcolm X, the followers view the problem in a different perspective.
Inspirational Motivation tells us about the way leaders communicate their vision to the followers and uses symbols to focus efforts. His leadership skills also attract sister “Betty X” to invite Malcolm X to give a presentation to Muslim woman on fighting for the rights of African Americans. The Leadership skill which highlights in this movie is the gathering of crowd following Malcolm X to the hospital where Brother Johnson X is admitted. When the doctor assures Malcolm X that Brother Johnson would be given a best care, and then Malcolm X raises his finger for his followers to disperse. The cop also praises Malcolm X’s leadership qualities by saying that “Too much power for one man can have”. Malcolm X leadership qualities also inspires a white college student. The student momentarily blocks Malcolm X and she says that she is ready to help for improving the cause of racial relations. His speech not only attracts the black masses but also influences some white people. This scene is shown approximately in 80 minutes of the movie.
Research suggests that Transformational leaders change the status quo by displaying appropriate behaviours at appropriate stage in the transformation process. “When leaders realize that the old ways no longer work, such leaders may undertake the task of developing an appealing vision of the future” (Eisenbach, 1999). Malcolm X follows exactly the same principle by undertaking a new approach and believes only through violence would conditions change instead of going for the traditional non-violence approach. Malcolm as a transformational leader, “attempts and succeeds in raising colleagues, subordinates, followers, clients, or constituencies to a greater awareness about the issues of consequence” (Beugre, Acar, Braun, 2006).
Studies show that there are subtle differences between Transactional and charismatic leadership. Leader cannot be transformational and charismatic at the same time (Yukl, 1999b). Transformational leaders can be found at any level in the organization. In contrast, charismatic leaders are rare and their emergence appears to be more dependent on favourable conditions (Shamir & Howell, 1999). Malcolm’s charismatic leadership is discussed on how he influences Benjamin and other Black Americans for fighting for the liberty.
Charismatic Leadership- Influencing Benjamin
Charismatic Leadership theory states that “followers make attributions of heroic or extraordinary leadership abilities when they observe certain behaviours” (Robbins & Judge, 2007). “Followers perceive that the leader’s belief is correct, they willingly obey the leader, they feel affection toward the leader, they are emotionally involved in the mission of the group or organization, they have high performance goals and they believe that they can contribute to the success of the mission” (Yukl,2010). In this movie, the followers believe that Malcolm X has got the vision, passion and more importantly the dedication to achieve the goal. Based on this movie, the highlighted scene which vividly describes his charismatic leadership style is influencing Benjamin to join in the movement of ‘House of Islam’
After the dispersal of the crowd just outside the hospital where Brother Johnson is admitted, there is a young lad, Benjamin who meets Malcolm X on the same day and says that he wants to be like Malcolm and he is interested in joining ‘House of Islam’.
Benjamin says that he is inspired by the way Malcolm speaks to the top police official.
During the first meeting with West Indian Archie, Malcolm’s sense of humour helps him to win over ‘West Indian Archie’s trust and confidence’.
So far Malcolm’s leadership style is explored based on his traits and the leadership skills which he influences his followers. Now, the essay will provide more detail on how Malcolm’s changes his leadership style based on the situations and also on the environment where he operates. There are many instances where Malcolm behaves according to the situations.
Situational Based Leadership: The style of leadership which changes according to situations or circumstances through which a person undergoes might be best described as a situation based leadership (Hersey and Blanchard 's 1982). Leaders tend to vary their leadership qualities based on people, situations that surround the leader and also depend on the environment. In his early days as Detroit Red, Malcolm exhibits autocratic leadership style by enforcing Rudy to assist him for stealing in old man’s house. He has to choose this style because of the dominant people who are around him. In the prison, he follows the principles of ‘Nation of Islam’. When Malcolm works with other brothers for preaching the doctrines of “Nation of Islam”, he follows a participative leadership style. After his departure from ‘Nation of Islam’ he starts ‘Muslim Mosque’ where he takes self decisions. In this stage he possesses ‘self leadership qualities’. His pilgrimage to Mecca broadens his horizons and helps him to change the stance on white people. He demonstrates his spiritual leadership during his pilgrimage to Mecca. It is clear that Malcolm changes his stand based on the situations and he handles them perfectly without troubling any of his followers.
In this movie, it is evident that Elijah Muhammad plays an important role in bringing up Malcolm X as a leader. The relation between Muhammad and Malcolm X starts when Malcolm in prison, use to study Muhammad’s teachings and practice the religion faithfully. After Malcolm’s release from prison, he goes to Chicago to meet Elijah Muhammad and joins in ‘Nation of Islam’. The leadership styles of Elijah Muhammad and Malcolm X differs significantly. The rest of the essay will provide you sufficient information about the differences between Muhammad’s leadership and Malcolm’s style of leadership.
Elijah Muhammad- Leader for House of Islam
Elijah Muhammad, the leader of ‘Nation of Islam’ played a key role in expanding the organization globally. He remained committed for uniting Black Americans for fighting against slavery. He sensed that his objective can be attained by influencing all the black Americans to embrace the religion of Islam and to be aware of “All white men are evil’ and all ‘blacks’ are supreme (Barnet, 2006).
.
Elijah Muhammad’s Transactional leadership approach
Transactional Leadership is defined as the leader who holds power and control over the followers by providing resources and clarifying their roles (Bass, 1985).
Leaders who follow this approach set clear objectives for their followers to achieve and rewards followers based on their performance. In this movie, it is evident that Elijah Muhammad followed this approach by setting a goal for the black Americans who are his followers to fight for a separate state. He sensed his objective can be attained by influencing all the black Americans to embrace the religion of Islam and to be aware of “All white men are evil’ and all ‘blacks’ are supreme (Barnett, 2006). Elijah Muhammad chooses Malcolm X as his follower because he thinks Malcolm has got the power, charisma and commitment for achieving the goal. Muhammad’s transactional leadership qualities can be analysed in three different dimensions
Contingent Reward: Elijah Muhammad assigns Malcolm X a task for building temples across the entire destination. Based on Malcolm’s commitment and devotion for a separate state for black Americans and his work for building new temples in America he rewards Malcolm X as a national minister for Nation of Islam. Elijah Muhammad advises his followers to fight for the civil rights of black Americans and he promises if the movement is successful, then they will get a separate …show more content…
state.
Active Management by Exception: Elijah Muhammad acknowledges the performance of Malcolm X and he promotes Malcolm X as a spokesperson for Nation of Islam well ahead of other brothers who worked for more years. Elijah Muhammad advises Malcolm X to go slow on his decisions and also urges him to pay extra attention when addressing sensitive issues about woman. So, he invites Malcolm for a tea session and teaches Malcolm on what to talk about woman. (This scene is seen approximately between 95 to 98 minutes of the movie.)
Passive Management by Exception: Malcolm X addresses the media a controversial statement about John F Kennedy’s death. He says that “Chickens come home to roost. Being an old farm boy myself, chickens coming home to roost never did make me sad; they 've always made me glad” (Smith, 2005). This statement was seriously condemned by Elijah Muhammad and this triggered Muhammad to ban Malcolm X from not addressing to the media for ninety days.
The differences between Transactional leadership and Transformational Leadership are shown in Exhibit 1:
Source: Bass.M, (1990) From Transactional to Transformational Leadership
Elijah Muhammad –Malcolm X Relationship
Leader Member Exchange Theory: This theory describes the relationship between leaders and individual subordinates and the exchange relationship that takes over the time.
Research suggests that (Graen & Scandura, 1987) LMX takes place in three stages. Elijah Muhammad and Malcolm have the same motives, personalities and dominant traits which helps Elijah Muhammad to choose Malcolm X as an ‘in group’ follower than other members in the group. Elijah Muhammad is inspired by Malcolm speeches and his passion for fighting for the common goal. Because of Malcolm’s commitment and passion, Elijah Muhammad assigns an interesting task to Malcolm on building new temples across United States. To attain this goal, Elijah Muhammad counsels Malcolm and also remains responsive on his needs and
aspirations.
After successfully finishing the task, the relationship goes to the second stage where the exchange is more refined and mutual trust is built between the follower and the leader. During the second stage, Malcolm respects Elijah Muhammad and he admires Muhammad as a leader. In his presentations, he continuously stresses Elijah Muhammad’s teachings and he often tells Elijah Muhammad is the one who brought his life from darkness to light. The third stage follows a mature phase of LMX where mutual relationship starts to flourish and is transformed to mutual commitment for the separation of Black Americans. During the third stage, Muhammad promotes Malcolm as a ‘National Minister’ of ‘House of Islam’ and he hands over the power to Malcolm for accomplishing the common goal. Research done by (Graen, Novak, & Sommerkamp, 1982) tells us “Leaders trained to develop favourable exchange relationships will do have subsequent gains in the performance and satisfaction of their subordinates’. This is very well seen when some his followers followed Malcolm X when he started “Muslim mosque”.
Conflicts and Contradictions
Elijah Muhammad preaches one philosophy whereas follows other philosophy to his followers. The contradiction which is highlighted in this movie is about Elijah Muhammad’s adultery and infidelity with his former secretaries. When Malcolm approaches Elijah Muhammad to know about the truth, Elijah Muhammad justifies by saying “To ensure that there is a successor for the Nation of Islam what he did was only the fulfilment of his prophecy “. Malcolm X is surprised to hear the words from his mentor which ultimately led Malcolm’s departure from Nation of Islam.
Malcolm’s trip to Mecca helped him to broaden his ideas and change his views on white people. This underlines the contradiction of his ideologies. After, his trip to Mecca, he had a press meet where he tells that “white people are allowed to donate money for the formation of “Muslim Mosque Inc’ but do highlight that they cannot join in Muslim Mosque. This example shows a change in his thinking and his ideology towards the white people.
So far the essay analyzes how the leadership theories are explored and also analyzed in detail about the differences between main leader and the other leader who demonstrates the leadership. The last part of the essay gives information in brief about the follower’s relation to leader.
Followers Relation to Leader:
This movie tells more about followers at receiving end. In this movie, the leader Malcolm X neither encourages his followers to participate nor does he delegate the work to them. Followers who perceive the leader as responsible for making decisions (Uhl-Bien & Pillai, 2007) are less likely to take an active role in the decision-making process, thereby giving up autonomy. The analysis from this movie tells us that the followers are passive. The followers do not contribute anything to the leader rather they take it from the leader
Conclusion:
The movie “Malcolm X” directed by Spike Lee, demonstrates the rise and fall of most influential Black American Leader. The movie emphasizes the relationship between Malcolm X and Elijah Muhammad and then goes on to provide more information about Malcolm’s transformational leadership and his influence on his followers. The movie highlights his passion and commitment for fighting for the liberation of Black Americans. Unfortunately, Malcolm died at the early age of 39, but his legacy is left behind for many more followers to follow.
References:
Badrinarayan S. Pawar (2003) ‘Central conceptual issues in transformational leadership research’. Leadership & Organization Development, 24, (7) pp 397-406.
http://www.bc.edu/schools/cas/communication/meta-elements/pdf/thesis07.day.pdf. [Accessed on 2nd February 2010].
Blackwell,J.E. (1985) The Black Community: Diversity and Unity (2nd Edition).New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, Inc.
The Movie “Malcolm X”, directed by Spike Lee is based on the story of “The Autobiography of Malcolm X” where Denzel Washington plays the lead role of Malcolm X. The movie portrays the legend’s life in three sections. The first is about the troubled childhood life of Malcolm Little. The second part of the movie follows Malcolm 's life in prison, where he is introduced to the teachings of Nation of Islam. The final section of the movie gives a picture about Malcolm X’s principles for black Americans for separation from white society.
Malcolm X- A Human Activist for Black Americans
Malcolm was born on May 19th 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska to Earl Little and Louise Little. During his school days, his goal was to …show more content…
become a lawyer. But, he was advised by his teacher that “A lawyer—that’s no realistic job for a nigger” (Day, 2007). He was disheartened and he went on to choose the path of crime by gambling, drug dealing and armed robbery. He was convicted for burglary and was sentenced to ten years of prison term.
In the eight years, he was introduced to Baines, a follower of Nation of Islam who preached him the black separatism and resistance to white repression. Malcolm adopted the surname X for symbolising the slavery for Black Americans. His charisma, passion and blatant confidence meant he became a highly effective speaker for the organization, increasing its membership rapidly in just few years (Waldman, 2005)
The assassination of Malcolm X on February 21st, 1965 brought tears to brotherhood of black Americans. Though he took violence as the weapon for achieving his goal, his leadership qualities are never underestimated. He had great enthusiasm and had the ability to capture and maintain attention, offering hope and inspiration for Black Americans. What is Leadership?
Leadership is the art of motivating the followers for achieving a goal. Leaders always question the assumption and they dig the truth based on fact not prejudice. Edwin H.Friedman once famously quoted that “Leadership can be thought of as a capacity to define oneself to others in a way that clarifies and expands a vision of the future” (Wisdom Quotes). Malcolm X had the vision and his goal was to see African-American people achieve self-reliance and independence (Daniel, 1999). The essay provides sufficient information about a leader who had passion and commitment in fighting for a separate state for Black Americans.
Malcolm X- Trait theory
Leadership trait theory is the idea that believes certain people are born with definite traits. Malcolm X, a charismatic, enthusiastic and courageous was described as an Authoritarian leader who did not share his power and his ruthless and fanatical belief set him apart from other civil rights moment leaders(Day,2007,). Dominance is considered to be an important trait for a leader. Malcolm X leadership styles as depicted in this movie can be seen when he uses Sophia, a white girl friend as a way to improve his social stand in his eyes of friends (Haley, 1964). Detroit Red’s dominant trait is seen in when the cop asks him to state his number , he refuses to state his number and he abuses the cop and because of his dominant trait he is been put in dark room for ten days.
The dominance of Malcolm is clearly demonstrated when he asks Sophia, to kiss his feet and also to feed him food. Malcolm enforces Rudy to assist him in the burglary by keeping a pistol on his nose. This scene is shown approximately running between 50 and 51 minutes. Intelligence is also a part of Leaders trait. During his school days, Malcolm use to study well and excel in academics. His intelligence is also shown where he gets into debate with a chaplain Gill and trying to prove that Jesus Christ is a Hebrew.
Malcolm X as a Transformational Leader
Transformational leaders stimulate their followers and colleagues to perceive their goal in new perspective. ‘Transformational leaders raise followers to a higher level of needs and aspirations’ (Badrinarayan, 2003). Leaders’ broaden the interests of their followers and ‘motivate followers to go beyond their self-interests for the good of the group’ (Hartog, 1997). In this movie, Malcolm X clearly guides his followers to achieve an ambitious goal in fighting for civil, economic and political status for Black Americans. Transformational Leadership theory is explained in four different dimensions.
Idealized influence: Malcolm X sets a vision of achieving freedom and equal rights for black Americans and expects his followers to strive for that goal. For attaining his goal, he risks his family life and dedicates his life for fighting civil rights of Black Americans. His speeches and presentation in various temples of ‘Nation of Islam’ and schools inspires many black Americans to join as a single unit and fight for the separate state. This scene is seen approximately at 87 to 91 minutes of the movie. Individualized consideration is all about treating followers individually rather than a group. This behaviour is not seen in this movie.
Intellectual Simulation gives information about awareness to the followers to think the problems in a different way. This concept is shown in the movie where Malcolm X addresses hundreds of people in temple where he highlights the difference between Americans and Americans who come from Africa. He addresses his speech to his followers to think that “You are not American you are an African who happens to be American”. “We did not land in Pyramid Rock, Pyramid Rock landed on us.” After hearing the speeches of Malcolm X, the followers view the problem in a different perspective.
Inspirational Motivation tells us about the way leaders communicate their vision to the followers and uses symbols to focus efforts. His leadership skills also attract sister “Betty X” to invite Malcolm X to give a presentation to Muslim woman on fighting for the rights of African Americans. The Leadership skill which highlights in this movie is the gathering of crowd following Malcolm X to the hospital where Brother Johnson X is admitted. When the doctor assures Malcolm X that Brother Johnson would be given a best care, and then Malcolm X raises his finger for his followers to disperse. The cop also praises Malcolm X’s leadership qualities by saying that “Too much power for one man can have”. Malcolm X leadership qualities also inspires a white college student. The student momentarily blocks Malcolm X and she says that she is ready to help for improving the cause of racial relations. His speech not only attracts the black masses but also influences some white people. This scene is shown approximately in 80 minutes of the movie.
Research suggests that Transformational leaders change the status quo by displaying appropriate behaviours at appropriate stage in the transformation process. “When leaders realize that the old ways no longer work, such leaders may undertake the task of developing an appealing vision of the future” (Eisenbach, 1999). Malcolm X follows exactly the same principle by undertaking a new approach and believes only through violence would conditions change instead of going for the traditional non-violence approach. Malcolm as a transformational leader, “attempts and succeeds in raising colleagues, subordinates, followers, clients, or constituencies to a greater awareness about the issues of consequence” (Beugre, Acar, Braun, 2006).
Studies show that there are subtle differences between Transactional and charismatic leadership. Leader cannot be transformational and charismatic at the same time (Yukl, 1999b). Transformational leaders can be found at any level in the organization. In contrast, charismatic leaders are rare and their emergence appears to be more dependent on favourable conditions (Shamir & Howell, 1999). Malcolm’s charismatic leadership is discussed on how he influences Benjamin and other Black Americans for fighting for the liberty.
Charismatic Leadership- Influencing Benjamin
Charismatic Leadership theory states that “followers make attributions of heroic or extraordinary leadership abilities when they observe certain behaviours” (Robbins & Judge, 2007). “Followers perceive that the leader’s belief is correct, they willingly obey the leader, they feel affection toward the leader, they are emotionally involved in the mission of the group or organization, they have high performance goals and they believe that they can contribute to the success of the mission” (Yukl,2010). In this movie, the followers believe that Malcolm X has got the vision, passion and more importantly the dedication to achieve the goal. Based on this movie, the highlighted scene which vividly describes his charismatic leadership style is influencing Benjamin to join in the movement of ‘House of Islam’
After the dispersal of the crowd just outside the hospital where Brother Johnson is admitted, there is a young lad, Benjamin who meets Malcolm X on the same day and says that he wants to be like Malcolm and he is interested in joining ‘House of Islam’.
Benjamin says that he is inspired by the way Malcolm speaks to the top police official.
During the first meeting with West Indian Archie, Malcolm’s sense of humour helps him to win over ‘West Indian Archie’s trust and confidence’.
So far Malcolm’s leadership style is explored based on his traits and the leadership skills which he influences his followers. Now, the essay will provide more detail on how Malcolm’s changes his leadership style based on the situations and also on the environment where he operates. There are many instances where Malcolm behaves according to the situations.
Situational Based Leadership: The style of leadership which changes according to situations or circumstances through which a person undergoes might be best described as a situation based leadership (Hersey and Blanchard 's 1982). Leaders tend to vary their leadership qualities based on people, situations that surround the leader and also depend on the environment. In his early days as Detroit Red, Malcolm exhibits autocratic leadership style by enforcing Rudy to assist him for stealing in old man’s house. He has to choose this style because of the dominant people who are around him. In the prison, he follows the principles of ‘Nation of Islam’. When Malcolm works with other brothers for preaching the doctrines of “Nation of Islam”, he follows a participative leadership style. After his departure from ‘Nation of Islam’ he starts ‘Muslim Mosque’ where he takes self decisions. In this stage he possesses ‘self leadership qualities’. His pilgrimage to Mecca broadens his horizons and helps him to change the stance on white people. He demonstrates his spiritual leadership during his pilgrimage to Mecca. It is clear that Malcolm changes his stand based on the situations and he handles them perfectly without troubling any of his followers.
In this movie, it is evident that Elijah Muhammad plays an important role in bringing up Malcolm X as a leader. The relation between Muhammad and Malcolm X starts when Malcolm in prison, use to study Muhammad’s teachings and practice the religion faithfully. After Malcolm’s release from prison, he goes to Chicago to meet Elijah Muhammad and joins in ‘Nation of Islam’. The leadership styles of Elijah Muhammad and Malcolm X differs significantly. The rest of the essay will provide you sufficient information about the differences between Muhammad’s leadership and Malcolm’s style of leadership.
Elijah Muhammad- Leader for House of Islam
Elijah Muhammad, the leader of ‘Nation of Islam’ played a key role in expanding the organization globally. He remained committed for uniting Black Americans for fighting against slavery. He sensed that his objective can be attained by influencing all the black Americans to embrace the religion of Islam and to be aware of “All white men are evil’ and all ‘blacks’ are supreme (Barnet, 2006).
.
Elijah Muhammad’s Transactional leadership approach
Transactional Leadership is defined as the leader who holds power and control over the followers by providing resources and clarifying their roles (Bass, 1985).
Leaders who follow this approach set clear objectives for their followers to achieve and rewards followers based on their performance. In this movie, it is evident that Elijah Muhammad followed this approach by setting a goal for the black Americans who are his followers to fight for a separate state. He sensed his objective can be attained by influencing all the black Americans to embrace the religion of Islam and to be aware of “All white men are evil’ and all ‘blacks’ are supreme (Barnett, 2006). Elijah Muhammad chooses Malcolm X as his follower because he thinks Malcolm has got the power, charisma and commitment for achieving the goal. Muhammad’s transactional leadership qualities can be analysed in three different dimensions
Contingent Reward: Elijah Muhammad assigns Malcolm X a task for building temples across the entire destination. Based on Malcolm’s commitment and devotion for a separate state for black Americans and his work for building new temples in America he rewards Malcolm X as a national minister for Nation of Islam. Elijah Muhammad advises his followers to fight for the civil rights of black Americans and he promises if the movement is successful, then they will get a separate …show more content…
state.
Active Management by Exception: Elijah Muhammad acknowledges the performance of Malcolm X and he promotes Malcolm X as a spokesperson for Nation of Islam well ahead of other brothers who worked for more years. Elijah Muhammad advises Malcolm X to go slow on his decisions and also urges him to pay extra attention when addressing sensitive issues about woman. So, he invites Malcolm for a tea session and teaches Malcolm on what to talk about woman. (This scene is seen approximately between 95 to 98 minutes of the movie.)
Passive Management by Exception: Malcolm X addresses the media a controversial statement about John F Kennedy’s death. He says that “Chickens come home to roost. Being an old farm boy myself, chickens coming home to roost never did make me sad; they 've always made me glad” (Smith, 2005). This statement was seriously condemned by Elijah Muhammad and this triggered Muhammad to ban Malcolm X from not addressing to the media for ninety days.
The differences between Transactional leadership and Transformational Leadership are shown in Exhibit 1:
Source: Bass.M, (1990) From Transactional to Transformational Leadership
Elijah Muhammad –Malcolm X Relationship
Leader Member Exchange Theory: This theory describes the relationship between leaders and individual subordinates and the exchange relationship that takes over the time.
Research suggests that (Graen & Scandura, 1987) LMX takes place in three stages. Elijah Muhammad and Malcolm have the same motives, personalities and dominant traits which helps Elijah Muhammad to choose Malcolm X as an ‘in group’ follower than other members in the group. Elijah Muhammad is inspired by Malcolm speeches and his passion for fighting for the common goal. Because of Malcolm’s commitment and passion, Elijah Muhammad assigns an interesting task to Malcolm on building new temples across United States. To attain this goal, Elijah Muhammad counsels Malcolm and also remains responsive on his needs and
aspirations.
After successfully finishing the task, the relationship goes to the second stage where the exchange is more refined and mutual trust is built between the follower and the leader. During the second stage, Malcolm respects Elijah Muhammad and he admires Muhammad as a leader. In his presentations, he continuously stresses Elijah Muhammad’s teachings and he often tells Elijah Muhammad is the one who brought his life from darkness to light. The third stage follows a mature phase of LMX where mutual relationship starts to flourish and is transformed to mutual commitment for the separation of Black Americans. During the third stage, Muhammad promotes Malcolm as a ‘National Minister’ of ‘House of Islam’ and he hands over the power to Malcolm for accomplishing the common goal. Research done by (Graen, Novak, & Sommerkamp, 1982) tells us “Leaders trained to develop favourable exchange relationships will do have subsequent gains in the performance and satisfaction of their subordinates’. This is very well seen when some his followers followed Malcolm X when he started “Muslim mosque”.
Conflicts and Contradictions
Elijah Muhammad preaches one philosophy whereas follows other philosophy to his followers. The contradiction which is highlighted in this movie is about Elijah Muhammad’s adultery and infidelity with his former secretaries. When Malcolm approaches Elijah Muhammad to know about the truth, Elijah Muhammad justifies by saying “To ensure that there is a successor for the Nation of Islam what he did was only the fulfilment of his prophecy “. Malcolm X is surprised to hear the words from his mentor which ultimately led Malcolm’s departure from Nation of Islam.
Malcolm’s trip to Mecca helped him to broaden his ideas and change his views on white people. This underlines the contradiction of his ideologies. After, his trip to Mecca, he had a press meet where he tells that “white people are allowed to donate money for the formation of “Muslim Mosque Inc’ but do highlight that they cannot join in Muslim Mosque. This example shows a change in his thinking and his ideology towards the white people.
So far the essay analyzes how the leadership theories are explored and also analyzed in detail about the differences between main leader and the other leader who demonstrates the leadership. The last part of the essay gives information in brief about the follower’s relation to leader.
Followers Relation to Leader:
This movie tells more about followers at receiving end. In this movie, the leader Malcolm X neither encourages his followers to participate nor does he delegate the work to them. Followers who perceive the leader as responsible for making decisions (Uhl-Bien & Pillai, 2007) are less likely to take an active role in the decision-making process, thereby giving up autonomy. The analysis from this movie tells us that the followers are passive. The followers do not contribute anything to the leader rather they take it from the leader
Conclusion:
The movie “Malcolm X” directed by Spike Lee, demonstrates the rise and fall of most influential Black American Leader. The movie emphasizes the relationship between Malcolm X and Elijah Muhammad and then goes on to provide more information about Malcolm’s transformational leadership and his influence on his followers. The movie highlights his passion and commitment for fighting for the liberation of Black Americans. Unfortunately, Malcolm died at the early age of 39, but his legacy is left behind for many more followers to follow.
References:
Badrinarayan S. Pawar (2003) ‘Central conceptual issues in transformational leadership research’. Leadership & Organization Development, 24, (7) pp 397-406.
http://www.bc.edu/schools/cas/communication/meta-elements/pdf/thesis07.day.pdf. [Accessed on 2nd February 2010].
Blackwell,J.E. (1985) The Black Community: Diversity and Unity (2nd Edition).New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, Inc.