Spike Lee

Overall I enjoyed going to watch him. I am a fan of his movies while I admit I have not seen all. To be honest however that was not the spike lee I wanted to see. I didn't want to see the actor, producer, even director, I wanted to hear and see what was behind all of that.

His claim to fame is an examination of racial relations and how they pertain to certain aspects of the media. I like how he can get his thoughts about race and crime and poverty out in a beautiful art form, but I'd like to hear more concrete and less abstract versions. I want to hear the sentences coming from his mouth about what is wrong with this country, with life, and I feel we could have learned a lot from him. He did touch on these things however briefly, and I understand appropriate settings, but I can't hide my disappointment.

Moreover the questioning was even more frustrating. How many times can someone rephrase, "I am an aspiring (actor/director/film maker/business tycoon/circus clown)
and I was wondering what advice you have for me?" I was waiting to hear, "From all your studies on racial relations and explorations of issues that transcend nationality, class, status, What is the same mistake we are all making as humans again and again to allow problems like racism, sexism, poverty to exist?"
But then again I didn't have the courage to step up to the microphone, even if I could speak so eloquently, and thus we got to hear about aspirations and Tyler Perry.
Well it was funny.


His message was good, inspiring, and I cannot deny I took positive things from his talk. While he might not have been really talking to my demographic, I understand these problems transcend race, and people can only speak from experience, which his is quite different from mine. I hope his words inspired every young person in the room to overcome any obstacles that may cross their paths. It makes me realize how many less obstacles I, as a white male, have to overcome if I wished to be whatever I wanted, and it is quite sickening. Why I should have more of a chance than any other race or gender is disgusting, and unfair, and perhaps that was the lesson, I, personally, was supposed to get out of his performance.
Awareness and Realization.
I guess the next step is action.