Spike Lee: The Phenomenon, The Man, His Films and His Vision
Introduction
Black rap artists as well as filmmaker have been using the media culture in order to express their vision of the current US. They are also using the said media culture in order to defy the culture of racial oppression in the US. Furthermore, it is also used in order for the black people to express their own forms of struggle and serve as oppositional identities (Kellner 1995, p. 157).
Regardless of the ongoing repression of blacks as well as other people of color, together with the issue of the cruelty against the African-Americans, the black culture had been able to create a tremendously significant works in the last decades in different fields such as literature, motion picture, music, theatre as well as the full range of arts (Kellner 1995, p. 157).
A Spike Lee Joint is a phrase that means different things to different people. Some associate it with perceptive social critique, others with controversial political activism, fantastic cinematic creativity, self-conscious community-building or dexterous and expert self-promotion. But no matter how you appreciate and recognize it, one thing is for sure: when the young Lee began using the said phrase to signify and symbolize his self-produced films during the 1980s, he was also proclaiming the coming out of an aggressive, powerful and important artist as well as entrepreneur. Part entertainment and part exposition, part self-expression and part cultural and enriching analysis, a Spike Lee Joint comes out of a particular set of conditions, at the same time as expressing definite philosophies, ideologies and ambitions (Fuchs 2002, p. viii).
Spike Lee was the first filmmaker who able to enjoy the major success since the Black Film renaissance during the early 1970s. He has managed to create his own niche while spawning an entire black filmmaking movement. He can also be considered as the most celebrated black filmmaker in the history of motion picture history (Ferncase 1996, p. 80).
He is also considered as one of the most creative as well as most pioneering filmmakers or directors in the world by showing the different facets of the cultures as well as traditions of the black people (Gale Cengage Learning n.d.).
In general, he exerted an incalculable influence on the American filmmaking. Lee’s career created a door for the career of Matty Rich, Mario Van Peebles, John Singleton, Ernest Dickerson, the Hudlin brothers and Robert Townshend (Ferncase 1996, p. 80).
Early Life of Spike Lee
Shelton Jackson Lee was born in March 20, 1957 in Atlanta Georgia. He was the first of four sons and one daughter that William “Bill” Lee, a jazz composer and bassist and Jacqueline Shelton Lee, an art teacher (Gale Cengage Learning n.d.; Ferguson Chapman 1998, p. 11). Her mother, who died in 1977 of cancer, was the one that gave him the nickname Spike as toddler, due to his toughness. His brothers are David, Cinque and Chris, and his sister is Joie (Gale Cengage Learning n.d.). Shortly after giving birth to Spike, the family moved from Atlanta to Chicago and then joined the other jazz musicians in New York (Gale Cengage Learning n.d.; Ferguson Chapman 1998, p. 3). The family finally settles in Brooklyn’s predominantly black Fort Greene section (Gale Cengage Learning n.d.). The family first lives in the Crown Heights and then move to Cobble Hill, where in the family was the first black in the neighborhood. According to Spike, he was called nigger the fist day that they moved in, but later on gained new Italian friends (Ferguson Chapman 1998, p. 11). In the said place, he was provided an environment that would provide an indelible influence on their closeness as well as on the racial sensibilities of Spike, as the neighborhood provided him an early interaction with the West Indians, Jews as well as Italians (cited in Donalson 2003, p. 95).
Lee graduate from John Dewey High School in Brooklyn and later on took up Mass Communication in the alma mater of his father and grandfather, Morehouse College in Atlanta. Unfortunately, during his sophomore year at college, his mother died of liver cancer but Lee remained to become committed to finish his degree at Morehouse. He also took an interest in filmmaking, and upon his graduation in 1979, he was awarded a summer internship with the Columbia Pictures in Burbank, California (Gale Cengage Learning n.d; cited in Donalson 2003, p. 95).
He later on attends New York University’s Institute of Film and Television, Tisch School of Arts. He was one of the minorities of the blacks in the school that makes his first year in the said university a very contentious and hard one. His study in New York area, granted Lee the chance to be closer to his family, but a gap happened between Lee and his father when the latter began dating a Jewish woman, whom he would, in due course, marry. Lee candidly and openly argues about his annoyance and disapproval about his father’s nonblack wife in several of his interviews. The said hostility towards the interracial love always comes into view to have been referenced in many of his films (Donalson 2003, p. 96).
During his first year, he submitted a ten minutes film for his project. The said film was entitled The Answer, a response to the 1945 film, The Birth of a Nation by D. W. Griffith. The film The Answer is a pointed critique of the racism in the film of Griffith. As a result, the faculty was displeased with his work and said that Lee had not yet mastered the film grammar. On the other hand, Lee suspected that they are just taking the offence to his digs at the legendary stereotypical portrayals of the directors towards the black characters (Donalson 2003, p. 96).
During his second year, his tuition fee was paid fully by an assistantship in exchange of his efforts in working is the equipment room of the school (Donalson 2003, p. 96). Furthermore, Lee also created another student film entitled Sarah, which tells the story of a Harlem family on the Thanksgiving Day (Donalson 2003, p. 96).
In 1982, Lee earned his master’s in filmmaking from the university. His final film project or his third-year master’s thesis film was Joe’s Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads which was written, produced as well as directed by Joe himself. The original jazz score of the said film was originally composed by his father. The said film was set and shoots at a barbershop in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood in Brooklyn that serves as a front for a numbers running operation (Gale Cengage Learning n.d).
The making of the films Sarah and Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads, he had been able to work with his co-student Ernest Dickerson, the cinematographer with whom he would afterwards team up professionally in different feature films (Donalson 2003, p. 96).
Lee achieved significant attention with his film Joe’s Bed-Stuy Barbershop. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences granted Lee the 1983 Student Academy Award for best director. In addition to that, the Lincoln Center screenings or the New Directors and New Film Series have chosen the film for its first student production at the international film festivals (Donalson 2003, p. 96; Gale Cengage Learning n.d).
Before graduation, Lee signed two major talent agencies: ICM and William Morris. Unfortunately nothing of the two was materialized, but Lee was not surprised. According to his interview with the New York Times, he had already accepted the fact that he have to go out and do it alone, furthermore not rely on anyone else. Even thought the honors had enhanced his credibility, the said two talent agencies didn’t pay the bills. That is why in order for him to survive during the darkest hours of his career; he decided to work at a movie distributor house as cleaner and delivery boy of film (Donalson 2003, p. 96; Gale Cengage Learning n.d). He was earning 0 per week (Ferguson Chapman 1998, p. 7)
During the time that he is working hard in the movie distributor house, he is also trying to raise funds in order to finance a film that is entitled Messenger, it is a drama about the young New York City bicycle messenger. Unfortunately, during the summer of 1984, a disagreement or argument between Lee and the Screen Actor’s Guild forced a halt in the production of his first film. In addition to that, the Guild felt that the film was too commercial in order to be qualified for the waiver that was granted to low budget independent films that was permitted to use of the nonunion actors. On the other hand, Lee felt that the primary reason of the Guild in not granting the waiver was because of racism. Due to the inability to recast the film with the union actor, he later on terminated the project due to the lack of funds (Ferguson Chapman 1998, p. 7). He cancels the project after spending more than ,000, including ,000 from Zimmie, his grandmother, and after 8 weeks of preproduction (Ferguson Chapman 1998, p. 8).
Lee later on told Vanity Fair that he had learned his lesson by making the classical mistakes of a young filmmaker. That is to become overly ambitious, and doing something that is beyond the means as well as capabilities of a particular person. He continued that by the process of going through the fire just made him hungrier as well as more determined in making sure he will never fail again (Gale Cengage Learning n.d).
In 1993, Lee married attorney Tonya Linnette Lewis. The said couple met during the Congressional Black Caucus weekend in Washington, one year before their wedding. In 1994, their daughter named Satchel Lewis Lee was born. She was named after the legendary black baseball star Satchel Paige. Three years after, in 1997, their son, Jackson Lee was born (Gale Cengage Learning n.d).
Launching of His Film Career
Spike Lee has already established himself as one of the most significant and most dominant filmmakers in Hollywood during the past decade. He has now completed his 9th film Girl 6 that was released in the spring of 1996. Furthermore, his film the Jackie Robinson Saga also comes in 1997. All of the said movies were all followed by his critically-acclaimed films Malcolm X and Clockers (Capretta Communications 1996). But before he had become one of the most influential directors in the history of movie or film, he first started with humble beginning.
She’s Gotta Have It (1986)
Due to his disappointment of the Messenger behind him, He needed a film that has a commercial appeal that could be filmed using a small budget. That is the reason for his creation of his script for She’s Gotta Have It in 1986. The said film used a budget of 5,000, in 16 mm and was shot in 12 days in one location and was edited in the apartment of Lee. All of the sequence of the film except for one was in black and white. In addition to that, all of the money that has been spent in the film was all borrowed by Lee and his college friend Monty Ross from everyone that they could think of (Ferguson Chapman 1998, p. 8). The said film was also considered as the most promising and hopeful feature debuts in the history of Hollywood (Capretta Communications 1996).
As the screenwriter and the director of the film, he had been able to give the audiences a protagonist who was exceptionally unique even as she voices many of the manners and worries of women during the 1980s (Donalson 2003, p. 95). He also says that he always wanted to create an intelligent film that will show different black people who loves other black people as well as falling out of love (Ferguson Chapman 1998, p. 8).
The plot of the story focuses on the story about Nola Darling, an attractive black Brooklyn woman, together with her romantic encounter with three men. In the said film, Lee also played the role of Mars Blackmon, one of the three suitors. In the comedy, Lee poked fun at the double faced by a woman who is involved with the several men (Donalson 2003, p. 95).
Nola Darling who was played by Tracy Camilla Johns is a layout and paste-up artist who lives in a Brooklyn Loft. As she follows her variety of interests in life, she takes enjoyment in friendship as well as intimacy with a number of, individually different black men named: Jamie that was played by Tommy Redmond Hicks, a no-nonsense intellectual; Greer that was played by John Canada Terrell, a well-off male model; and Mars that was played by Spike Lee, an athletic jokester. Nola had become truthful and frank to all of the three by informing them that she enjoys each and every characteristics and personality that is peculiar to each man (Donalson 2003, p. 95).
After the successful opening of the film at the San Francisco Film Festival, the Island Pictures had agreed to distribute the film She’s Gotta Have It. This is due to the fact that the company had beaten out several film companies. During the Cannes Film Festival, the film won the Prix de Jeuness for the best new film by a newcomer. It had become a huge success in the US, and in the end, it grossed over million (Gale Cengage Learning n.d). It was also the first film that was done by an independent African-American filmmaker that won the most important international distribution since the early of 1970s (Ferguson Chapman 1998, p. 8).
School Daze (1988)
School Daze was the second film of Lee in 1988. The story of the film was based on his experience during his four years at the Morehouse College. The film was set on a college campus during the homecoming weekend. The film focuses on the conflict between the light-skinned blacks and the dark-skinned blacks. Those light-skinned blacks are characterized by those with light skin who have money, expensive cars as well as good hair. Contrary to that, those people who have darker skin are less cool and had bad hair (Gale Cengage Learning n.d).
The main aim or goal of Lee in making the movie is to expose what he saw as the caste system that exists in the black community. He began filming it at the Morehouse, but after three weeks the administration asked him to leave citing his negative portrayal of the black colleges. Fortunately, the film was finished due to the assistance of the management of Atlanta University (Gale Cengage Learning n.d).
School Daze has become a box office success by grossing million (Emery 2002, p. 141). The said film also helped to launch the careers of several young Black actors (Capretta Communications 1996). On the other hand, just like what the adage you cannot please everyone says, the effort of Lee towards the exploration of a very complex social problems made some get insulted and offended while other applauded (Gale Cengage Learning n.d).
The School Daze had ranked in the Variety’s top-ten box-office reports during its first 4 weeks of its showing and peaked as high as 6th during its subsequent week on the charts. During its 4th week, the film had already covered its cost. After its 6weeks of showing, the dollar-per-theatre of the film averaged, had remained strong garnering ,028. Unfortunately, the studio had reduced the number of the screens by nearly 30% from 95 up to 68. By week 14, the film was no longer included on the Variety’s fifty top-grossing films chart (Watkins 1998, p. 119).
Do the Right Thing (1989)
Do the Right Thing was even more opened with controversies than the School Daze. The said movie focuses on the brewing racial tensions between the Italians and the African Americans in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section that had erupted when a white police officer killed a black man (Gale Cengage Learning n.d). Some of the critics said that Lee was supporting and approving violence and would clasp him partly accountable if the spectator’s disturbance upon seeing the film. On the other hand, Lee said that he is not a supporter of violence but he proposed to provoke discussion (Emery 2002, p. 141; Gale Cengage Learning n.d).
Do the Right Thing is considered as a well-crafted as well as ground-breaking effort and endeavor to lift up different issues regarding the racial injustice in a challenging and available manner. It can also serve as a wonderful and marvelous practical and helpful text for the examination of racial themes in the law (Denvir 1996, p. 190).
The film was included in the Cannes International Film Festival and awarded as the best picture by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association (Gale Cengage Learning n.d). It also received the Golden Globe award nomination for best picture, best director, best screenplay as well as best supporting actor. Unfortunately, the film failed to win in any of the category (Gale Cengage Learning n.d). The film was also garnered a nomination for the Academy Award for best original screenplay and Best Director. Unfortunately it didn’t garner the best picture nomination regardless of its high acclaim. As a reaction to the said issue, Lee said in the Jet magazine that the said event shows that the motion picture industry is not yet ready for the explosive think pieces (Gale Cengage Learning n.d).
The cost of the production of the film was .5 million and it had grossed million. The said number shows that the film gained more sales compare to the first two films of Lee.
Mo' Better Blues (1990)
The main character of the Mo' Better Blues was inspired by Lee’s father who wrote the score for the said film. The story focuses on a jazz trumpeter, who struggles to balance his love of music together with his love of two women. However, Lee said that the film was all about the relationships as a whole and not just the relationships between a man and a woman. He also wanted to show and depict that black musicians are not dependent or reliant on drugs or on alcohol (Gale Cengage Learning n.d).
The film was considered as one of the most talked about, argued as well as most debated during the early of 1990s. In the said movie, Lee set out to make a jazz film with an African American cultural context in the course of which to view the jazz artist and his effort to create. Rather than focusing on some of the destined and condemned as well as drugged-out hero whose life is one long drawn out study of anguish, suffering as well as self-despair, Lee presented an almost normal or usual but very brilliant young middle-class musician trumpet player named Bleek Gilliam that was played by Denzel Washington, whose life is traced from his childhood, in Brooklyn up to his early success with a quintet. Bleek is a determined, secure, controlled as well as devoted to his art but also frequently insensitive and thoughtless as well as blind to the needs of those people who are closest to him (Bogle 2001, p. 349). That is the primary reason why he has unstable relationships with the other members of his band (Browne & Browne 2001, p. 482).
The main reason of Lee in pursuing the jazz film project was because of his frustration about what he saw in Bertrand Travernier’s Round Midnight (1986) and Clint Eastwood’s Bird (1988) (Browne & Browne 2001, p. 482; Pramaggiore 2007, p. 58). The film was the perspective of Lee in erasing the black jazz musicians or treated them with contempt. In contrast, he shows and represents his contemporary jazz musicians as ordinary working stiffs. In the film, Bleek shows that quinter who works regularly, and even though they are underpaid, they support themselves as well as their families, and they avoid drugs (Pramaggiore 2007, p. 58).
Jungle Fever (1991)
Jungle Fever is one of the films of Lee that shows a very challenging and provoking theme about interracial sex (Browne & Browne 2001, p. 482; Gale Cengage Learning n.d). It also tackles and focuses on the different aspects in culture such as color, drugs, class, family as well as romance (Gale Cengage Learning n.d).
The story and theme of the film focuses on the life of a couple, a black architect who is married to an Italian American secretary whose attached to each other through their sexual mythology that is surrounded by their interracial romance (Gale Cengage Learning n.d.).
The opening credits of the film were showed by some of the active and lively visuals under the upbeat title song that were carried out by Stevie Wonder. The names of the cast as well as the crew are all printed on the diverse street hoods of Harlem as well as Bensonhurst that gives out as the home for the two main characters of the film. The signposts as well as the cityscapes propose the interconnection and relationships among the black and the Italian metropolitan residents; unfortunately the comparisons are lost on the characters, which go on and racially detach themselves (Donalson 2003, p. 108).
Close to the end of the film, Flipper and Angie humorously fight with one another in a scorn argument. It is all in fun until police arrive shove Flipper against the wall and hold a gun to his head. Outraged, Angie tells them to leave him alone, that he is her boyfriend. Flipper then screams and told the police that he is not her boyfriend but only a friend who is taking her home. The police eventually leave and said that the incident was just a waste of time. The incident casts a serious pall over Angie and relationships (Lehman & Luhr 2003, p. 93).
At the end of their affair, both of the characters declared that they were just curious about each other, but not before both of them faced odds with their families. This is due to their cultural differences such as their color, class, together with the issues about drugs as well as their romantic relationship and their families. Lee stated that the main point of the movie does not focus on the support and approval or rejection of their romantic relationship (Gale Cengage Learning n.d.).
The production costs of the film are about million and garner a gross sale of million (Fuchs 2002, p. 95).
Some of the reviewers of the film said that the film is a very challenging and exciting film, while other were less complimentary as well as les insightful, however, the film only brought moderate crowds into theaters (Browne & Browne 2001, p. 482). This is due to the fact that if Lee only focused on the central story line of the film by bringing up better-defined characters, the said film will be considered as the milestone in the issue about the race relations. But, Lee attaches an obvious bias with regards to the issue. In addition, Lee also interweaves subplots that detract from the main story rather than strengthen it (Donalson 2003, p. 109).
The bias of the story materialize during the opening credits with the title song that contains that line I’ve got white girl hazy, She’s gone black boy crazy… we’re in love. The lack of the real love between the black as well as the white derives from the said lyrics, and it also help to form the sentiment regarding simple racial curiosity as the essential attraction. In addition, in one part of the film where in, Flippers reveals his situation to Cyrus, his best friend, the latter expresses Lee’s point of view in the straight answer by saying that Flipper’s got the jungle fever and that’s all (Donalson 2003, p. 109).
Malcolm X (1993)
The next film and considered as the most ambitious film of Lee up until now was his movie version of The Autobiography of Malcolm X (Browne & Browne 2001, p. 482). The primary reason why it was considered as the most controversial piece is that Lee knew from the start that the said film will be very controversial (Gale Cengage Learning n.d). During the preproduction and production stages of the project, Lee had been involved in many public controversies (Browne & Browne 2001, p. 482). Warner Brother originally chose Norman Jewison to direct the film but when Lee proclaimed openly that he had a problem regarding white man to direct the film, Jewison had agreed to step down. The United Front to Preserve the Memory of Malcolm X and the Cultural Revolution was one of the first major problems of Lee. The main objective or mission of the said associations is to preserve the memory of Malcolm X, together with the issue of Cultural Revolution. The main reason for the objection of the groups is based upon their analysis about the exploitative films of Lee. In addition to that, others doubted the ability of Lee in presenting a true picture regarding the great life of Malcolm X (Browne & Browne 2001, p. 482; Gale Cengage Learning n.d).
Despite of all the controversies, and effort of objections of the groups towards Lee, he still continues to rework with his script regarding the film. Lee fight with the Warner Brothers regarding the budget. He then, requested for a total of million in order to produce a film of epic proportions (Gale Cengage Learning n.d).
Unfortunately, Warner only offered million. But due to the effort of Lee in pursuing his dream regarding the movie, he then decided to sell the foreign rights for .5 million and kicking in part of his million salary. Lee made up the differences by getting backing from other famous black celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey, Bill Cosby and Michael Jordan. The said effort of Lee adds up to the embarrassment of Warner Brother (Gale Cengage Learning n.d).
The epic film can be considered as a powerful statement about the slain civil rights leader (Benshoff & Griffin 2003, p. 90).
Due to the effort and endeavor of Lee, together with other devoted staffs and crews who are under the direction of Lee, the film was released in 1992. Furthermore, the said film also garnered million gross sales. The said film also helped to show and represent the major role of black leader in elevating their leadership in mythic status. The movie also becomes a symbol for the extremes of black rage and for racial reconciliation (Gale Cengage Learning n.d).
Crooklyn (1994)
Crooklyn was written by Lee, together with his sister, Joie and his brother, Cinque. Crooklyn was originally a short story that was written by Joie, later on when Cinque found it out, he encourage his sister to turn it into a screenplay. Soon after, Joie and Cinque decided to plan for their own company in order to make the film; however Lee was interested in producing the film, after reading it (Gale Cengage Learning n.d).
The story of the black family in Brooklyn during the 1970s is somewhat related to story of the Lees; however Joie Lee advised and notified not to think that the film is an autobiographical story of her family. It can be considered as bizarre film, lacking a dysfunctional family, cruelty, mobs as well as drugs. As an alternative, it goes after the effort as well as the strength of a family regardless of all the odds and difficulties (Gale Cengage Learning n.d).
From Malcolm X to Crooklyn, Lee has been able to move from serious, epic drama to something drastically more lighthearted, cheerful and optimistic. Instead of traveling back to the first half of the century, the film focuses during the 1973, or the year where in afros and bellbottoms are all in trend; it is also the year when the Knicks won the championship in basketball; and the year when there were sufficient pop tunes to fill a soundtrack (Berardinelli 2003, p. 202).
The film focuses on the point-of-view or standpoint of a 10-year-old boy named Troy Carmichael that was portrayed by Zelda Harris. It is the story of how one family fights in order to survive as well as fight in order to stay together. Troy grew up with his musician dad, Woody that was portrayed by Delroy Lindo. Woody is always busy in the basement of their house and active in composing his music. That is the primary reason why the entire responsibility of running the family as well as bringing home the money for the daily living of the family falls on Carolyn played by Alfred Woodard, Troy’s mother. The said situation unavoidably directs to the pressure between the two adults or the parents. It eventually leads to a horrible fight that blows up, and in the end Wood left the family (Berardinelli 2003, p. 202).
In the film, Lee had been able to create a suggestive drama that has one main stumbling block. Two-thirds of the way in the course of the movie, Troy goes south in order to visit a hyper-religious aunt. To highlight how unclear the little girl’s observation of this vacation is. Lee also shoots the said part of the movie with an anamorphic lens that helps to show that the whole thing appears stretched out. At the same time as that, it is considered as all right for short sequences, in the case of the film, it goes on for too long that leads to a frustrating trick that virtually weaken the whole production (Berardinelli 2003, p. 202).
Aside from the said 20-minute flaws, there aren’t many obvious flaws in the movie. All, but the most humorous of the urban violence, has been removed, that lead to left with somewhat-idealized sight of the early 1970s of Brooklyn. Furthermore, in the said film, Lee had been able to show that he is as equally as talented as any director in capturing and showing an era and other early scenes that can absolutely remind the mood during the said time. Furthermore, the pop soundtrack is also a little understandable but it also helps to get the job completed (Berardinelli 2003, p. 202).
Clockers (1995)
Clockers is considered as a straight difference with Crooklyn. It focuses mainly on the warm but cruel standpoint of Lee towards the inner-city drug trade. The film was tailored from the novel of Richard Price. At first, the film was to be directed by Martin Scorcese and it focuses on the story of the murder investigation and exploration of police. But, Scorcese had other commitments that are the reason why Lee took over (Gale Cengage Learning n.d).
Under the direction of Lee, he changed the theme of the story to the relationship between the two brothers. The first brother is on the up and up, while the other is a clocker or a street level worker in the drug trade, and who’s always prepared at any hour in giving crack. Lee even focuses more on the relationships that link the black men rather than making another gangster movie (Gale Cengage Learning n.d).
Girl 6 (1996)
Girl 6 is one of the two films that were produced by Lee in 1996. The Girl 6 was the first. It was the first film of Lee that has a cast and crew that was made up mostly of women. The story focuses on the story of the struggling actress who takes a job as an operator for phone-sex line. Her own sense of reality gets worse when the calls begin to matter to her, the said situation eventually lead for her to hit the rock bottom (Gale Cengage Learning n.d).
Unfortunately, reviews about the film were not favorable about the result of the said film of Lee. As a matter of fact, one critic wrote that Girl 6 is the worst film Lee had ever made (Gale Cengage Learning n.d).
Get on the Bus (1996)
The film Get on the Bus focuses on the voyage and adventure of 12 men from Los Angeles up to Washington, D.C., in order to take part in the march that will eventually lead them to the historic Million Man March (Bogle 2001, p. 358; Gale Cengage Learning n.d). The 12 men symbolize and correspond to the different characteristics of African American male. In order to focus on the differences of the characters in the film, Lee contrasted the men’s speeches and debates so that the differences and tensions between the characters will be intensified (Gale Cengage Learning n.d).
The group is composed of traverse segment of male attitudes within the African American society such as: a biracial cop, played by Roger Guenveur Smith, whose father was murdered by a black man; an ex-gang member, played by Gabriel Casseus, turned Muslim; a gay who is an ex-marine, played by Isaiah Washington, and his straight lover, played by Harry Lennix; an egotistical, homophobic actor, played by Andre Braugher; a young UCLA student, played by Hill Harper; the oldest among the member, played by Ossie Davis who, although cheerful and warm, exposed his lifetime disappointments and dissatisfactions in a inspiring monologue; and the old-fashioned black Republican, played by Wendell Pierce, who irritates the other men that they do what audiences, no doubt ,craved and desired for them to do – they plainly lash out the mislead brother off the bus (Bogle 2001 p. 358).
The film had been able the audience to understand the diversity and the distributions and the connections and relationships that existed within the Africa American society. It also help the audience to see the way black men have been shaped and formed by religion or faith, politics as well as personal ethics or principles, together with their different cultural experience (Bogle 2001 p. 358).
The said film was made in 18 days and cost .4 million. The entire budget of the film came from all black male investors who were all inspired by the message of the march (Gale Cengage Learning n.d). The film also won an award at the Berlin Film Festival in 1997, for the excellent acting of the whole team (Miller & Steffen 2001, p. 148).
Commercial Works
Between 1986 and 1996, Spike Lee had already completed his ten feature films. The said number of his film made qualify him to become the most visible as well as most controversial black filmmaker. His popularity had given him a recognition that is unequal compare to other black directors. Due to his popularity in film directing, he has become present in many of commercials. His outspokenness about racial issues helped him to be present at the New York Knicks pro basketball games. The said popularity helped him to become a celebrity (Donalson 2003, p. 95).
His commercial work began during 1988, with his campaign for the Nike Air Jordan campaign. He works together with the basketball superstar Michael Jordan for seven commercials. During the era of the said commercial, it had helped him to resurrect his popular character. He also becomes popular for his commercial of Button-Fly 501, AT&T as well as his ESPN television commercial. Furthermore, he also has a partnership with Ben & Jerry who features different commercials (Gale Cengage Learning n.d) (see Appendix A for complete list of his commercials).
Lee also appeared in different commercials for Taco Bell as well as Apple Computer. He also appeared in a print ad for the National Fluid Milk Processor. He also recorded the voiceover for the television ad of Topps Stadium Club basketball cards. The said card is a set of specialized cards that featured his commentary about the ten biggest stars of National Basketball Associations or NBA (Gale Cengage Learning n.d).
Lee also included in other commercial clients such as Converce, Taco Bell. His production company for commercial which is 40 Acres and A Mule Filmworks is located in the Fort Green Brooklyn. In 2002, Lee has received a British Academy of Film and Television Arts or BAFTA special achievement award (A&E Television Networks 2007).
His production company, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, is located in his childhood neighborhood of Fort Green in Brooklyn. Lee received a BAFTA special achievement award in 2002.
Above all, Lee also produced as well as directed a television commercial for the presidential campaign of Jesse Jackson in 1988 (Gale Cengage Learning n.d).
Lee joined the DDB Needham Advertising in 1996, in order to form a new ad agency which was called as Spike/DDB. The main focus of the agreement between the two agencies is to direct different urban-oriented commercials for a range of clients (Gale Cengage Learning n.d). The said agreement happened due to the past relationship of Lee to DDB about the instructive spot for the College Fund or for the United Negro College Fund (Gale Cengage Learning n.d).
Music and Music Videos
Lee can be considered as talented individual, this is due to the fact that he has different interests in different fields such as film, music as well as commercial. Aside from his accomplishments and success in feature films, Spike Lee has produced as well as directed, numerous music videos for many artists such as Anita Baker, Bruce Hornsby, Tracy Chapman, Miles Davis, Public Enemy, Chaka Khan as well as Michael Jackson. In addition to that, he was also involved in the music video of late Phyliss Hyman, Naughty by Nature as well as Arrested Development (Emery 2002, p. 141).
He also served as an executive producer for many other films (see Appendix C), he also directed short films for Saturday Night Live as well as MTV (see Appendix D). The TNT cable network signed Lee to become the executive producer of their documentary Hoop Dreams in 1994 (Gale Cengage Learning n.d).
Furthermore, his Forty Acres and a Mule Musicworks also joined the MCA Records during 1994, in order to create and produce his movie soundtracks Gale Cengage Learning n.d (Gale Cengage Learning n.d).
Books
Spike has also authored and created six books about the making of his films (see Appendix E). His book 5 for 5 is considered as the pictorial expression of his first five films (Capretta Communications 2007).
Recent Careers
The early controversies of Lee’s films had helped to make the most of his profits. But according to his critics, since Malcom X, he has been less discriminating (Gale Cengage Learning n.d). As a matter of fact, he is considered less of a threatening and aggressive phenomenon to the mainstream now, compare when he first enters and burst onto the cultural view (Boyd 1997, p. 26).
Furthermore, his films have not done well in terms of gross sales. On the other hand, due to his effort in tackling and focusing on the different insightful and important issues regarding the black community, his films had become gainful in terms of profit, and help to awake the industry to an unused market (Gale Cengage Learning n.d).
The film 4 Little Girls, was released by Lee in 1997. The film focuses on the story about the 1963 church bombing that happened in Birmingham, Alabama that killed four young innocent girls (Gale Cengage Learning n.d).
In 2000, Lee released his Bamboozled. The said film was tagged by Macleann’s Brian D. Johnson as nervy satire. The said film focuses on the fragile and flimsy emotions that are connected with the blackface minstrel show (Gale Cengage Learning n.d).
Lee, later on, released his television miniseries in 2001. The story of the said miniseries focuses on the life as well as controversies regarding Huey P. Newton, the cofounder of Black Panthers (Gale Cengage Learning n.d).
Controversies
Lee is considered as one of the most controversial black celebrities in the history of Hollywood. He is controversial because of his fights and crusades towards the unequal status and situations of black people or people of color in the community of the US (Gale Cengage Learning n.d).
But one of the most important controversies or issues that have been given to him was the issue about commercialism. This is due to the fact that he has his own collection of his own promotional movie merchandise like baseball caps, t-shits as well as posters. Due to the growing and increasing demand and mail-orders from the fans, in 1990, Lee decided to open his own retail store named Spike’s Joint (Gale Cengage Learning n.d).
Lee make no apology for his success and depends himself against charges of commercialism. His main motivation for business as well as investments was from the philosophy of Malcolm X, where in Malcolm believe that black people must build their own base for their economy (Gale Cengage Learning n.d).
Lee has become one of the marketing phenomenon as well as multimedia star shortly after four years after his She’s Gotta Have It, become a surprise hit (Gale Cengage Learning n.d).
His popularity in the said sector had made him engage in further media industry, his first enterprise, Forty Acres and a Mule Filmworks, was moved from his apartment in order to be remodeled as a Brooklyn firehouse during 1987.
According to Lee, the name of his enterprise reflects his arduous struggle that he went through during his film She’s Gotta Have It (Gale Cengage Learning n.d).
Lee also faced a huge controversy during his Nike commercial with Michael Jordan. Many critics said that he had made the Nike’s expensive Air Jordans to become a new status symbol that resulted to the report that shows that many young people were stealing from each other. Business Week also said that Lee had been able released the charges as finely implied racial discrimination (Gale Cengage Learning n.d).
Spike Lee’s Influences
Lee has accomplished a huge numbers of important things with his film career. One of his major influences is that he had been able to show as well as provide mainstream audiences with examinations of the cultural life of the blacks as well as the interaction across the ethnic as well as racial lines (Donalson 2003, p. 122).
Another important impact that Lee created in the industry is that he enables communications, bonds as well as strong relationships between the blacks or the African American celebrities. As a matter of fact, his well exposed financial donations from the several prominent African American celebrities had helped him to support the significance and meaning of the cultural objects of his film (Boyd 1997, p. 27). However, the said situation also lessens the historical as well as political meanings and implications of the much-anticipated piece (Boyd 1997, p. 27).
Furthermore, Lee also helped established a repertory group of actors who would come to be respected for the depths and diversity of their skills, in single-handedly manner. Those actors are: Denzel Washington, Wesley Snipes, Isaiah Washington, Samuel Jackson, Laurence Fishburne, Giancarlo Esposito, Delroy Lindo, John Turturro, Thomas Jefferson Byrd, Roger Smith and Bill Nunn (Donalson 2003, p. 122).
At the same time, despite of his films’ limitation towards female or women character, Lee had been able to provide the entertainment industry with some of the new faces of talented women of color like Halle Berry, Tisha Campbell, Tracy Camilla Johns, Cynda Williams, Theresa Randle, Rosie Perez, Annabella Sciorra, Joei Lee as well as Tyra Ferell (Donalson 2003, p. 122).
Furthermore, Lee also offered some of the expert actors with roles that will help them to emphasize and improved their great abilities like Lonette McKee, Ruby Dee, Frances Foster, Ossie Davis, Alfre Woodard, Dick Anthony Williams, Danny Aiello, Charles Dutton, Al Freeman Jr. and Harvey Keitel (Donalson 2003, pp. 122 – 123).
All of the first said influences focuses on the impacts of Lee’s life and works in the entertainment industry. However, his furthermost influence can be seen in his efforts behind the camera, and that is his help in opening many chances and possibilities for other black directors. He is always holding his strong standpoint on the requirement for having black directors for the management and directing of his film projects. That is his primary reason for always fighting for the chance of other black directors to have an opportunity to go through the tightly closed doors of Hollywood (Donalson 2003, p. 123). His primary goal is to show as well as prove that an all-black film that is directed by a black person can have a universal appeal (Gale Cengage Learning n.d).
In addition to that, in 1989, Lee has also established his minority scholarship at the New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. He is also a supporter of the College Fund/UNCF. He is doing the said effort in order to encourage other, particularly black people to enter the filmmaking field (Gale Cengage Learning n.d).
Furthermore, he has always been a supporter for the black filmmaker that sometimes put him to the view of irritation but Lee had been able to maintain truthfulness as well as vision that have resulted in a body of films that have, jointly, made an impact upon the portrayal and description of Hollywood regarding black culture as well as the appreciation of the entertainment industry about the black directors (Donalson 2003, p. 123).
References
Black History: Spike Lee, Gale Cengage Learning, viewed 13 May 2008, <http:// www.gale.cengage.com/free_resources/bhm/bio/lee_s.htm>
Benshoff, H, Griffin, S 2003, America on Film: Representing Race, Class, Gender and Sexuality in the Movie, Blackwell Publishing
Berardinelli, J 2003, ReelViews: The Ultimate Guide to the Best 1,000 Modern Movies, Justin, Charles & Co.
Bogle, D 2001, Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies & Bucks, Continuum International Publishing Group
Boyd, T 1997, Am I Black Enough for You?: Popular Culture from the ‘Hood and Beyond, Indiana University Press
Browne, R B & Browne, P 2001, The Guide to United States Popular Culture, Popular Press
Capretta Communications 1996, Spike Lee: Biography and Jointograph (up to 1996), inmotionmagazine, viewed 13 May 2008, <http://www.inmotionma gazine.com/slee2.html>
Denvir, J 1996, Legal Realism: Movies as Legal Texts, University of Illinois Press, Illinois
Donalson, M B 2003, Black Directors in Hollywood, University of Texas Press, Texas
Emery, R 2002, The Directors: Take One, Allworth Communications, Inc.
Ferguson Chapman, K 1998, Spike Lee, The Creative Company
Ferncase, R 1996, Outsider Features: American Independent Films of the 1980s, Greenwood Publishing Group
Fuchs, C 2002, Spike Lee: Interviews, University Press of Mississippi
Kellner, D 1995, Media Culture: Cultural Studies, Identity and Politics, Routledge
Lehman, P & Luhr, W 2003, Thinking About Movies: Watching, Questioning, Enjoying, Blackwell Publishing
Miller, P, Steffen, T F & Schäfer-Wűsche, E 2001, The Civil Rights MovementRevisited: Critical Perspective, LIT Verlag Berlin-Hamburg-Műnster
Neff, A 2007, Movies, Movie Stars, and Me, AuthorHouse
Spike Lee Biography (1957 – ) 2007, A&E Television Networks, bio biography.com, viewed 14 May 2008, <http://www.biography.com/search/ article.do?id=9377207>
Pramaggiore, M 2007, Irish and African American Cinema: Identifying Others and Performing Identities, 1980 – 2000 2007, SUNY Press
Watkins, C 1998, Representing: Hip Hop Culture and the Production of Black Cinema, University of Chicago Press, Chicago
Appendices
Appendix A: Lee’s Commercials
Year
Company/Actor
1995
NY Times
1995
Nike:Pick-Up Game
1995
Taco Bell: Shaquille O’Neal & Hakeem Olajowon
1995
Nike: Mike & Spike
1995
American Express: Charge Against Hunger
1994
Smooth Ice Cream: Ben & Jerry’s
1993
Mascot: ESPN 2
1993
Tucked – ESPN
1993
3 Point Line: ESPN 2
1993
DORM 1-800-OPERATOR: AT&T
1993
Girls Night Out: AT&T
1992
Urban Jungle Gym: Nike
1991
Is It Da’ Shoes Air Jordan: Nike
1991
Levi’s 501: Butterfly Jeans Series
1991
En Vogue: DIET COKE
1991
Genie/ Air Jordan: Nike
1991
Stay In School/ Air Jordan: Nike
1991
Flight School/ Air Jordan: Nike
1990
Levi’s Button Fly Jeans Series: Levi’s
1990
Opinions/ Air Jordan: Nike
1989
Rappin/Air Jordan: Nike
1989
Can...Can’t /Air Jordan: Nike
1989
Nola Air Jordan: Nike
1988
Hang Time/ Air Jordan: Nike
1988
Cover/ Air Jordan: Nike
1988
Charles Barkely: Nike
1988
Jesse Jackson Drugs: New York State Primary
Adapted from (Capretta Communications 1996)
Appendix B: Lee’s Music Videos
Year
Song/Artist
1995
Chaka Khan: Love Me Still
1995
Bruce Hornsby: Swing Street
1995
Crooklyn Dodgers: Return Of The Crooklyn Dodgers
1994
MCAT: Oh My Precious
1994
Branford Marsalis: Breakfast At Denny’s
1994
Marc Dorsey: People Make The World Go Around
1994
Crooklyn Dodgers: Crooklyn
1993
Eros Ramizotti: Cose Della Vita
1993
Guru: Loungin
1993
Bruce Hornsby: Talk Of The Town
1992
Naughty By Nature: Hip Hop Hurray
1992
Arrested Development: Revolution
1992
State Of Art: Beating Heart
1992
State Of Art: Laughing At The Years
1992
Prince: Money Don’t Matter
1992
Stevie Wonder: Make Sure You’re Sure
1991
Stevie Wonder: Gotta Have You
1991
Stevie Wonder: Jungle Fever
1991
The Home Boy Project: Do Your Dance
1991
Fishbone: Sunless Saturday
1990
Cynda Williams: Harlem Blues
1990
Gangstarr: Jazz Thing
1989
E.U.: Buck Wild
1989
Public Enemy: Fight The Power
1989
Perri Sisters: Feel So Good
1988
E.U.: Da Butt
1988
The Rays: Be Alone Tonight
1988
Phyliss Hyman: Be One
1988
Keith John: I Can Only Be Me
1988
Steel Pulse: Reachin Out
1987
Anita Baker: No One In The World
1986
She’s Gotta Have It: ‘Nola
1986
Miles Davis: Tutu Meledy
1986
Branford Marsalis: Royal Gardens
Adapted from (Capretta Communications 1996)
Appendix C: Lee’s Works as an Executive Producer
Year
Film
1995
Tales From The Hood
1995
New Jersey Drive
1994
Drop Squad
Adapted from (Capretta Communications 1996)
Appendix D: Lee’s Short Films
Year
Title/Company
1995
HBO: Real Sports "John Thompson" Coach
1991
Iron Mike Tyson
1989
MTV: Five One Minute Spots
1986
Horn Of Plenty: Saturday Night Live
Adapted from (Capretta Communications 1996)
Appendix E: Lee’s Books
Year
Book
1993
By Any Means Necessary: The Trials And Tribulations Of Making Malcolm X
1992
5 For 5
1991
Mo' Better Blues
1990
Do The Right Thing: A Spike Lee Joint
1989
Uplift the Race: The Construction Of School Daze
1988
Spike Lee's Gotta Have It: Inside Guerrilla Filmmaking
Adapted from (Capretta Communications 1996)
Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com
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