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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 12, 2001)
Spike Lee continued from page 1 “He has made a tremendous con tribution for African-American cin ema,” Karlyn said. “He is taking on issues that challenge people of all racial and ethnic backgrounds.” Karlyn, who specializes in film studies, said that while blacks have been historically excluded from tak ing an active role in Hollywood, Lee has helped to open up doors for black people in the film industry. “He started as an independent filmmaker but very soon was able to get the backing to make bigger budget films aimed at a wider audi ence,” she said. More than simply a filmmaker, Lee is a role model and a leader be cause he hasn’t taken the easy route to success, Karlyn said. “He is not safe. He goes after sub jects that are not easy to talk about,” she said. “He takes on serious issues in a serious way.” Karlyn said other black filmmak ers who explore controversial is sues include Oscar Micheaux from the 1930s, Julie Dash and John Sin gleton, who created the 1991 hit “Boyz N the Hood.” Karlyn said she presents and teaches Lee’s films, including his 1989 film “Do the Right Thing,” be cause he addresses wide-ranging is sues and challenges the viewer to learn about racial identity, history and responsibility. “It is meaty content, but he knows how to make an exciting film,” she said. “He knows the aesthetics of filmmaking.” Kim Hutchinson, co-director of the Black Student Union, said that she is looking forward to attending Lee’s performance because Lee does not always present positive images. Works such as his HBO documen tary, “4 Little Girls,” are based on historical events, some of which may not have happy endings. “He presents realistic things,” she said. “Life isn’t always peaches and cream.” Lee, a regular at Madison Square Garden for New York Knicks basket ball games, is not only known for his films. He began commercial work in 1988 with a Nike Air Jordan cam paign, and he has also directed and produced music videos for artists such as Miles Davis, Tracy Chapman, Public Enemy and Michael Jackson. In more recent work, Lee’s 2000 film “Bamboozled” did not get the same kind of glowing reviews as prior hits such as “Clockers” in 1995. But Multicultural Center Di rector Erica Fuller said Lee is still a powerful filmmaker. When Lee’s first films came out, Fuller said he made an impact because he presented African-Americans as “whole, complete” people in situa tions viewers did not regularly see. “In his initial films, he was very brave in bringing issues to the screen that had not previously been illustrated,” Fuller said. Fuller hopes that by attending “An Evening with Spike Lee,” students will start to gain an understanding of the issues he addresses in his films. Fuller said those issues include inter nal racism and internalized oppres sion, as well as interracial relation ships and complexities. While Lee has been treated as a “token artist of the industry,” Fuller said, he is still a remarkable direc tor and producer. “He opened up the doors for black independent filmmakers to be taken seriously as fine artists in the indus try,” Fuller said. “He should be re garded at this point as a phenomenal filmmaker, not a black filmmaker. ” 9?Q01 Balance Bar Company Gonna be a late one? Then reach for new BALANCE GOLD* with 23 vitamins and minerals. With a 40-30-30 ratio of carbs, protein and dietary fat, it helps give your body sustained energy. Plus, you can’t go wrong with all those peanuts, caramel and that rich chocolate flavor. Want to know more? Log on to Balance.com.
