SPIKE LEE: Chinese
questions and American answers
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
1. Is the racial problem in America still as
tense as depicted in the films by Spike Lee?
Yes. In fact, we have to speak not of a single
problem but of a range of problems. The
most intense problem, of course, is the division and distrust occasioned by the
killing of unarmed non-white males and females by police officers and
individual citizens. We should anticipate that racial problems will flourish
under the leadership of Donald Trump.
2. Which part of
America sees the tensest relation between black and white?
Small and large
American cities, areas that have histories of obvious as well as hidden (or
underreported) discord between and among ethnic groups. Discussion of relations between whites and
blacks is too simple-minded; it prevents a truly critical understanding of how
problematic America's experiment with democracy is in the 21st century.
3. In the film Do the Right Thing, what do you think is the most significant cause
of the tragedy? The hot weather, dirty words, or the racial discrimination?
The primary cause is
a combination of climate, language, and instances of racist behaviors. Trying to identify a "most significant
cause" is a reductive gesture, which fails to deal with the complexity of
cause and effect.
4. In the film School Daze, do you think Jane should be
responsible for her own tragedy?
Yes. Jane is a victim of male aggression and
exploitation to be sure, but she is not bereft of the ability to make
choices; she makes a poor choice that
leads to disgrace and tragic outcomes.
5. Do you believe
America will be able to solve the racial problem in the near future?
No. The racial problem is complicated by the
always changing demographics of the United States.
6. What exactly is
the main purpose of Spike Lee's making so many films about race?
I suspect the main purpose to expose the multiple facets of
the concept of "race" as a national problem. There are many subtle ways in which American
films depict racial issues. In the films
of Spike Lee, we see the depiction and exposure more plainly than in films,
especially some science fiction films, that seem not to deal with race as a
central topic.
7. Do you advocate Martin Luther King's belief
that violence is not a way to solve discrimination, or Malcolm X's that
violence is intelligence when used in self-defense?
While I believe
King's advocating non-violent resistance in the face of social injustice was
admirable, I believe that Malcolm X's
championing of self-defense is the better course of action. We must make choices between non-violence and
violence on the basis of individual situations.
8. What can we do to stop being racist and being
discriminated upon when we come to the United States?
This Chinese question has two unequal, dissimilar parts. First, I will not presume that Chinese people
are racist (until you provide proof that they are) and in need of eradicating
their racist behaviors. Second, it is not possible to avoid being discriminated
against in some form, whether one is a citizen or a foreign visitor. The social dynamics of the United States may
minimize discrimination against visitors, but our day-to-day politics cannot
guarantee the absence of discrimination.
9. In seeing the
movie about Malcolm X, I have a question about the authenticity of the Malcolm
in the movie and whether it is the "real" representation of the real
person Malcolm, especially his conflict with the leader of the Nation of
Islam.
There are a few elements of authenticity in the film, but as
a totality the film deals much more Malcolm X as an American icon, as a
projection of what Spike Lee thought was the way to make a film about an
iconic, very controversial person. Thus,
we do not have an absolutely "real" representation. We have an adjusted representation ( the
film) of an adjusted representation (Alex Haley's decisions about how to
configure the life of Malcolm Little/ El
Hajj Malik el Shabazz; Haley's epilogue
for the autobiography is crucial. We
need to examine how Malcolm's conflict with the Honorable Elijah Muhammed was
first "represented" in The Autobiography of Malcolm X (and account for Alex Haley's agency in
adjusting Malcolm's autobiographical narrative); when we view the portrayal of the conflict in
Lee's film, we have to recall that distortion is an element of film as a medium
and that even minimally edited documentaries will provide us with
distortions. Lee's film is a biopic not
a documentary. That fact may frustrate the expectations of some spectators.
10. And I was confused in seeing the movie Do the Right Thing. I'm just wondering what is the right thing to
do?
The right thing to do
is to continue to ask the question "What is the right thing to do?".
This is the most straightforward response I can make to the question, because
all decisions about right actions are most often determined by the specifics of
a given situation.
ADDITIONAL BRIEF
COMMENTS
School Daze ----Spike
Lee exaggerates the internal culture of the HBCU---preoccupation with ritual,
preoccupation with "color" distinctions derived from the history of
American slavery, sexual negotiations in
order to delineate why HBCUs are special institutions within the dynamic space
of American higher education.
Do the Right Thing
---In the Internet ranking constructed by Vulture.Com, this film is judged to
be "a triumph of craftsmanship and vision, with both Lee and
cinematographer Ernest Dickerson delivering a powerfully atmospheric snapshot
of life in late-eighties Bed-Stuy [Brooklyn] at a time of escalating racial
tension in the city. But the film's
precise, funny characters and vivid, sweltering look would meant nothing
without Lee's wise and ultimately sad vision of multicultural America as a
place where good intentions and casual mistrust are as commonplace as the local
pizzeria." Moreover, the film is a
decidedly New York vision of what is sad about multicultural America; Lee's
films about New Orleans and Chicago give us slightly better visions of how
American citizens co-exist. Indeed, the
portrayal of Chicago in Chi-Raq (2015) illuminates Lee's uncanny
ability to represent frustration, but it also reveals Lee's inability to
provide social critiques without large doses of comedy.
Malcolm X ---Vulture. Com ranks this film as Lee's
second best. "Over its three-and-a-half-hour running time, Malcolm X tells
a great American story of a great American character, and is that rare biopic
that allows us not only to get to know and understand our hero, but to watch
him change. Challenging, moving, and uncompromising, it also never forgets to
be gloriously entertaining…." When
the actor Ossie Davis explained why he eulogized Malcolm X, he proudly asserted
"that Malcolm --- whatever else he
was or was not ---- Malcolm was a man!"
I argue that biopics are less good than
sustained examinations of a man's words as paths to understanding his place in
world history.
Jerry W. Ward, Jr. January 15, 2017
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