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INSIDE DIVE ■ IT'S POOP AGAIN! ... Sandler fails to produce another 'Madison' with 'Dates.' PAGE 7 ■ NORMAL NORAH ... Grammy goddess descends to spawn solid sophomore LP. PAGE 6
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Accomplished director Spike Lee, praised for his piercing vision and political voice, reads before giving a speech at the Smith Center in September of 1992.
BY MICHAEL PUCCI ASSISTANT ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
On Sept. 18, 1992, two months
before the release of his film
“Malcolm X,” Spike Lee delivered
a brief speech in the Smith Center
about the importance of constructing a free
standing Black Cultural Center on campus.
“There’s going to come a time when you’re
going to have to make a move,” Lee said to the
crowd of almost 5,000. “When that date
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COURTESY OF MGM FILMS
Richard Roundtree starred as John Shaft in the
epitome of blaxploitation film, 1971 's “Shaft."
Wisconsin-Madison.
“All of this is unusual for a black filmmaker,
not like a black athlete. But he pretty much
cuts a wide swath in Hollywood, and people
Diversions
www.dailytarheel.com
Hi
four-part series exploring
black culture in entertainment
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approaches and no
action is taken, you’re
going to Have to take
some drastic action.”
That Lee’s voice car
ries so much weight in
popular culture today is
a testament not only to
the groundbreaking
films he’s made, but also
of the long path black
filmmaking has traveled.
“He’s a public intellec
tual, quite outspoken,
and most people would
say he’s a bit arrogant,”
said William L. Van
Deburg, a professor of
Afro-American studies
at the University of
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COURTESY OF SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT
The movie chronicle of the Million Man March, “Get on the Bus" was directed by
Lee, who crafted the film as a reflection on the moral status of black America.
have to take notice of him.”
Lee’s emergence as an important, first-tier
movie director comes after decades of the
black voice in film being underrepresented or
misinterpreted —a trend that sprouted from
U.S. cinema’s beginnings.
D.W. Griffith’s controversial 1915 film “The
Birth of a Nation” is regarded today in some
circles as a classic, but for many at the time,
it stood as a racist statement that mocked
black traditions, a recurring theme that
plagued most mainstream movies.
“There weren’t too many social problems
explored, and not too many black institutions
treated in a sensitive fashion,” Van Deburg said.
SEE BLACK FILMS, PAGE 9
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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2004