When Anthony Davis’s opera “X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X,” which is currently being revived at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, premiered in the mid-1980s, it seemed like a radical act of elevation: The opera lent grand pathos to the story of Malcolm X by giving his life the arc of a tragic hero.
And at that moment, Malcolm X was a hero, achieving a grandeur on the world stage in death beyond what he had achieved in life.
As a proud member of Generation X, I witnessed firsthand the iteration of Malcolm X that exploded into popular culture during the 1980s and 1990s, peaking with Spike Lee’s virtuosic 1992 biopic, “Malcolm X.” By 1999, Malcolm X’s resurgence (remember “X” hats?)
meant that his image had become mainstream enough — and safe enough — to be placed on a postage stamp.
But when we revisit him, we may find we encounter, and even crave, a Malcolm X who is not omniscient, and who would not seem destined for a postage stamp, but one who dwells in an ambiguous world of doubt.
Persons:
Anthony Davis’s, Malcolm X, “ Malcolm X, Malcolm X’s, Malcolm, Barack Obama, George Floyd, Martin Luther King Jr, Jeff Stetson, catharsis
Organizations:
Metropolitan Opera
Locations:
New York, Queens