Five reasons why I'm not a Spike Lee fan - Part I

 

This is Part I of a five-part series, Five reasons why I’m not a Spike Lee fan. 

    

Opening Remarks

    

Before I started this blog, I had definite opinions about Spike Lee. With the commencement of this blog, I became more acutely aware of Spike Lee and his films and there were things I wanted to say about him. I felt so strongly about Lee, that his work, the horrific She Hate Me (2004), was actually featured as the blog’s very first article. In case anyone’s wondering, I am not going to talk about Spike Lee over and over again. I had some things to say and I’ve said them here. When this series reaches completion, I’ll be done. This doesn’t mean I won’t talk about him again. As long as Spike Lee is making films, I will continue to look at his work… and comment on it. We all should.

 

 

Just Wanna Be Entertained

    

    

For Godssakes… I just want to be entertained, not informed about racial disparities and the like. There is a place for this in documentary filmmaking. I could do without all the messages and overt prosletyzing. And it’s not necessarily even the messages, but rather the in-your-face manner in which they are presented. I believe his filmmaking fails at forcing a change or even informing, as black Americans are well aware of the racism we face living in this country. And frankly, I’m not looking to a filmmaker necessarily to educate me about racial injustice in America. Maybe a scholar. Maybe a writer. And, in the proper genre, maybe a film director. He told us to “wake up” twenty years ago. And what?  We still sleepin.’ 

    

What do you think?

    

 

    

For more on Spike Lee, visit the SPIKE LEE category on this blog.

Comments

[LaJane Galt]

I'll give him credit for featuring a Sikh in the Inside Man.

I do agree w/ your booby analysis though. While I've got your ear (eye?), I'm glad Denzel's character had a sexy black wife. It would have been nice for Jodie's character to have been black though...hell even one of the bank robbers!! The other black female shown was a heavyset cop in uniform.

[Kimi]

Believe it or not, Spike Lee actually said the same on some awards show I saw him on last year ... I wanna say it was BET & he was honored for some filmaker award. He said it was like 20-25 years since "Do The Right Thing" & nothing has changed.

I think with "Inside Man" he finally got away from the message type films, but if there was a message in "Inside Man" it flew right over my head.

Some of Lee's films are just strange, can't explain it. He lost me years ago.

[theblackactor.com]

@ La Jane

It was good that a sikh was featured; yes. However, that sikh was only there for one purpose. If that sikh had been in the film for another purpose, Ida been cool with it. Oh yeah, that woulda been cool if a sister was Jodie Foster's character. :) Please. Do they ever craft black characters like Jodie Foster's character?!! They wouldn't make her cool and slick like that. LOL.

@ Kimi

Yes. Spike Lee is getting away from certain things. True. I didn't note any particular message in Inside Man. It was just a regular movie. A regular movie. So, he said that on an awards show, did he? Hmmm.

[Shion]

You have some of the same opinions about Spike that I have. Sometimes or too many times he puts his owns POVs in his films and its a little irritating. The debate about Paula Abdul's ethnicity in Jungle Fever was a little too tacky.Everyone has there opinions that not every one agrees with but Spike comes across like he is speaking for an entire race is unbearable. The medias gives him plenty of air time because they know he will stir debate and the public will buy it. I trhink he caught on to this and he purposely used it to promote himself just like Madonna does.I can go on and on about Spike but maybe another day.

[aulelia]

i have liked spike in terms of jungle fever & malcolm x but i do think he is a bit of narcissist. he is all over his films in terms of his message and acting in them too. jungle fever & malcolm x are hallmarks, i havent seen 'she hate me'. i don't think it got released that much in europe so that could explain why.

[LaJane Galt]

It was good that a sikh was featured; yes. However, that sikh was only there for one purpose. If that sikh had been in the film for another purpose, Ida been cool with it.

Very true...why should Wes Anderson have all the fun?! (Good god, you don't think that's why he put Waris in there do you??)

Aulelia~ She hate me is seriously, seriously offensive. That's approx 2 hours of your life you won't get back. Think about it.

[theblackactor.com]

@ Shion. I cosign with all that you said! There are times when scenes are created -- scenes which do not move the story forward -- but are their for his own private purpose -- to push some message onto us. Grrrrrrr.. Irks me. LOL

[theblackactor.com]

@ aulelia

Yes... that's the word - narcissistic. Yes. That's the word. Thank you. LOL. You touch on one of my other reasons in your post. And I cosign with LaJane. Trust me. You can spend your two hours doing something much better. LOL. Lejane - who's Waris?

[LaJane Galt]

Waris Ahluwalia, he's the actor who plays the Sikh in Inside Man & the Life Aquatic.

He's a clubbing/party type from NY.

[theblackactor.com]

Oooooooooooohhhhhhhh. Thank you. :)