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Refusing to confirm or deny the existence of the rumored summer home, MOSAEC
set out to focus on Spike's prolific career to date, get Spike's view of Spike and leave
it up to you to draw your own conclusions about the man and his body of work.
Hotter than July
While the summer of 1977 was the summer of Sam, it was also the
summer Spike was bitten by the filmmaking bug. Then a student at Morehouse College in
Atlanta, Spike returned to school, chose Mass Communications as his major and began taking
courses at Clark-Atlanta University. Years later, while a graduate student at New York
University's Tisch School of the Arts, Spike's brand of filmmaking got its first exposure
in his critically-acclaimed thesis film, Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads.
And with the ink barely dry on his graduate degree, Spike set in motion what some have
called the Black Film Renaissance.
Spike burst onto the cinematic scene in scintillating fashion with 1986's She's Gotta Have It and continues to make films
that challenge established norms. While at times Spike serves as both writer and director
on films, he also has lent his directorial talents to stories written by others. In
focusing his lens on New York tales, Lee is known for enriching his uncompromising yarns
with the natural beauty of their local settings. Whether the focus is Manhattan, Brooklyn
or the Bronx, Spike imbues his work with a dynamic sense of the community, carefully
depicting the milieu in which he develops his story.
For screenplays that Spike doesn't write, the core of the story determines how and whether
he will direct a project. Such was the case when Spike lent his storytelling abilities to
a screenplay he co-wrote with Arnold Perl that depicted the life and times of Malcolm X.
Spike credits Malcolm X as the film that gave him
such a rush that it was difficult to contain his enthusiasm during production. No wonder, X
featured Denzel Washington in the title role and is Washington's finest performance to
date. Washington's Malcolm literally leaps off the screen and captivates you with its
credibility and sheer brilliance.
While undoubtedly Spike has made an indelible mark upon the cinematic landscape, he
refuses to put a personal spin on his film legacy, offering that intelligent people who
look at a body of work will ultimately determine his legacy. And Spike gets downright
prickly when asked what makes he and his work so kinetic, responding that "It's not
my job to explain - I make films!"
Spike describes the sum of his work to this point as "growing." Indeed it is.
Spike's next project Bamboozled, described as a satirical comedy, is due in
theaters Fall 2000. The film stars Damon Wayans, Mos Def (a.k.a. known as Dante Beze -
Bill Cosby's apprentice in the short-lived Cosby Mysteries), Jada Pinkett Smith, MC Serch,
muMs, and a collection of other actors and "rap"-tors. Not the least bit
bashful, Spike implores MO's readers to check out Bamboozled in the Fall.
Spike's Rap-sody
On the issue of Spike putting too much of his opinions in his films, I say keep
on keeping on. That habit signals the mark of one unafraid to take a position on a story
and fashion a completed work that sparks discussion and analysis and tries in the end to
engage the audience. While everyone won't love his work, it's important to make an
informed decision about its worth by checking it out and having those heated discussions
over cappuccino or a Cosmopolitan. And if misogyny rears its ugly head in Spike's films,
make some noise and challenge those depictions by voicing an opinion. The dialogue that
results may change a few minds. But that's my opinion, what's yours. MO' would like to know.
M
March 2000
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