Spike Lee
Yea you know me...
Spike Lee spoke at our campus this last Wednesday (March 1st) and I thought he had an awesome message! For those who didn't get to see him talk (or did, and just want a recap) here is what he had to say...
Spike Lee dressed in casual wear with white jeans that were slightly baggy, a gold and blue stripped shirt, and sported what looked like a blingin' diamond earring. Spike came before the audience of Texas State students not dressed to impress, but as an average person (who makes award-winning, nationally famous movies)! He came delivering a message of courage to follow our dreams. Also going into some detail about many issues he sees in American culture today--specifically the message the media portrays about the "hip-hop" culture.
Spike started off the night telling about his own story at college. Spike went to Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia where he was for quite awhile, undecided about what he wanted to do with his life. It wasn't until he was a junior in college when he had a professor who encouraged him to use the raw footage he had filmed during his summer and turn it into a story, that Spike knew he wanted to persue being a filmmaker as his career.
Spike was at the era when there were virtually no black filmmakers in the business, and very few, if any, movies exposing the African American culture. So Spike made it HIS MISSION to "put more stories on the screen [about this] - not positive or negative, just truthful".
Sparing many of the details of the story, Spike then attended film school at New York University and every many setbacks he finally broke through into the industry.
For the sake of time, and the short-attention span of the readers I'm just going to share some of the highlights of the night.
1) "If you can do what you love, it's not a job anymore"
-> Spike talked about finding out what you love to do and having the courage to go after it. He said SO many people go to jobs every day that they HATE, simply because they have to pay bills and provide for their family. I liked this because it encouraged me to follow my dreams despite hardships and setbacks.
2) He spoke against the way hip-hop is portraying itself through the media. With all the rap videos and songs talking about "bitches and ho's" and the ideas that this thug/pimp/gangsta lifestyle is something to be valued. He went into some detail with this, and I think he made some really great points. That lifestyle and that portrayal of that lifesytle as something good is very harmful to our society.
3) He's making a documentary called 'When the Levee Broke' about the devastation in New Orleans caused by the hurricanes, and many of the problems that have been faced from that. Should be very interesting.
Overall, Spike Lee brought a really pertinent message that I hope you guys got to hear.
Spike Lee spoke at our campus this last Wednesday (March 1st) and I thought he had an awesome message! For those who didn't get to see him talk (or did, and just want a recap) here is what he had to say...
Spike Lee dressed in casual wear with white jeans that were slightly baggy, a gold and blue stripped shirt, and sported what looked like a blingin' diamond earring. Spike came before the audience of Texas State students not dressed to impress, but as an average person (who makes award-winning, nationally famous movies)! He came delivering a message of courage to follow our dreams. Also going into some detail about many issues he sees in American culture today--specifically the message the media portrays about the "hip-hop" culture.
Spike started off the night telling about his own story at college. Spike went to Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia where he was for quite awhile, undecided about what he wanted to do with his life. It wasn't until he was a junior in college when he had a professor who encouraged him to use the raw footage he had filmed during his summer and turn it into a story, that Spike knew he wanted to persue being a filmmaker as his career.
Spike was at the era when there were virtually no black filmmakers in the business, and very few, if any, movies exposing the African American culture. So Spike made it HIS MISSION to "put more stories on the screen [about this] - not positive or negative, just truthful".
Sparing many of the details of the story, Spike then attended film school at New York University and every many setbacks he finally broke through into the industry.
For the sake of time, and the short-attention span of the readers I'm just going to share some of the highlights of the night.
1) "If you can do what you love, it's not a job anymore"
-> Spike talked about finding out what you love to do and having the courage to go after it. He said SO many people go to jobs every day that they HATE, simply because they have to pay bills and provide for their family. I liked this because it encouraged me to follow my dreams despite hardships and setbacks.
2) He spoke against the way hip-hop is portraying itself through the media. With all the rap videos and songs talking about "bitches and ho's" and the ideas that this thug/pimp/gangsta lifestyle is something to be valued. He went into some detail with this, and I think he made some really great points. That lifestyle and that portrayal of that lifesytle as something good is very harmful to our society.
3) He's making a documentary called 'When the Levee Broke' about the devastation in New Orleans caused by the hurricanes, and many of the problems that have been faced from that. Should be very interesting.
Overall, Spike Lee brought a really pertinent message that I hope you guys got to hear.
I saw that fellow twice--once randomly in New York and once at a lecture at University of Houston... at the latter, he was awful, but perhaps it was a bad night. Check out 25th Hour asap--it's gold.
Posted by
MW Rice |
8:33 AM