Spike Lee: the man behind the movies and the controversy

Ebony, Oct, 1989 by Lynn Norment

SPIKE LEE: The Man Behind The Movies And The Controversy

AT times, it seems that Spike Lee is ubiquitous.

Go to the movie theater and you can see his latest hit film, Do The Right Thing. His other two movies, She's Gotta Have It and School Daze, line the shelves of most video stores. In newspapers, he can be found on the editorial page as well as in advertisements. On the streets, young and old of all ethnic backgrounds wear his T-shirts and buttons, and is face is seen everywhere on billboards in Michael Jordan ads for Nike.

On television you might see him on a talk show, an evening news segment or even in an Anita Baker or EU video. Turn on the radio and you'll hear songs such as "Da Butt" and "Fight The Power" from his movie soundtracks. In a bookstore, you may even run across one of his three books about his movie-making experiences.

Your are also likely to run into Spike Lee at a business gathering talking about entrepreneurship, or at a seminar expounding on Afrocentricity, or speaking about filmmaking to high school kids in New York or college students in Chicago.

Prior to the 1986 release of his first feature film, She's Gotta Have It, few people outside of Brooklyn and Atlanta had heard of the eccentric young Brooklynite and Morehouse College graduate. Just three years and three films later, Spike Lee is now considered to be one of the most innovative and influential filmmakers in the country. His impact on the movie industry and on the nation's larger social consciousness is both startling and pervasive.

Just who is this 32-year-old independent filmmaker who gets the attention of Hollywood because of the dollars he brings in, and the attention of moviegoers because of the realities he brings out? Who is the real man behind the intentionally provocative, naturally entertaining movies? Who is this wiry, 5'6" wunderkind who is just as comfortable directing and producing as he is performing, as comfortable with the brothers on the corner as he is in the boardroom with business executives? Just who is this man who lives in stone-washed jeans, sweatshirts and T-shirts and Nike gym shoes? And why are so many people talking about him and his cinematic images?

Ask the introverted Spike Lee these questions and he simply says, "I'm a filmmaker." But he is much, much more than that. Anita Baker says, "Whereas I bring passion to a lyric, Spike brings it to film." Branford Marsalis says each of Lee's movies is "an artistic statement." But film is just one of his tools for communication. He is also a strategic thinker, a clever businessman, and a savvy marketer. In addition, Lee, who considers himself a social activist, is greatly concerned about the state of Black America. As Ruby Dee, the noted actress who stars in Lee's latest film, puts it: "Racism usually erodes self-confidence; it seems to have triggered his."

Even before Do The Right Thing opened, the merits and potential impact of the film, which focuses on racism, were being hotly debated in the media. One Black journalist critical of the film wrote: "Lee never masters the issues. He leaves them hanging, incoherent and confusing." White movie critic Roger Ebert, who strongly supports the film, countered: "You cannot live in America in 1989 and not know that every frame of this film, disturbing as it is, reflects the truth."

"People can't expect me to have all the answers," Lee retorts. "That's not my goal or my agenda." As a filmmaker, he says, his intention is to present racism and other problems so that discussions can start and solutions can be found. He says he wanted to call attention to the blatant racism that continues to permeate the country. In his Brooklyn neighborhood, as around the country, he sees the desperation, the poverty, the hopelessnesS.

Lee emphasizes that contrary to popular belief, Black people have not "arrived," despite the fact that Michael Jackson is the No. 1 rock star, Eddie Murphy the biggest box office draw, Bill Cosby the No. 1 TV star, Mike Tyson the world heavyweight champ, and Michael Jordan the greatest basketball player in the world. "And we are a long way from it," he says. "The Black underclass in America now is larger than it has ever been. So, you can't get lulled to sleep just because Eddie Murphy is huge."

Now that Spike Lee himself is "huge," he is attempting to channel his resources back into the Black community. He still lives in the Brooklyn neighborhood where he grew up, in the same sparsely furnished one-bedroom basement apartment he moved into after the success of She's Gotta Have It in 1986. His 40 Acres And A Mule Production Co. operates out of a converted firehouse in the same Fort Greene area.

On each of his films, Lee has provided hundreds of jobs for actors, technicians, professionals and other support people. "He's a great boss; he works you hard, but it's like working for one of the boys," says Kenny Buford, 24, who handles merchandise marketing for 40 Acres. Says Monty Ross, Lee's longtime friend and co-producer on each of his films: "If people who are going to make a difference leave the Black community, how is the standard there going to be raised? Spike Lee wants to make a difference."