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. ”
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