On February 14th of this year I had the privilege to attend an event held by Christopher Ortega talking about the life of Spike Lee and how significant he is in not only the film world but more importantly the black community. Coming into this event I was pretty excited because I am pretty familiar with Spike Lee but wanted to know more about his importance within the black community. I also remember watching his popular movie from 1989 titled “Do The Right Thing”. I was pleasantly surprised when the event started and this was the main subject of what we were going to be talking about for the day. The movie takes place in Brooklyn, New York where there is racial tension between the surrounding African American community and a local Italian American pizzeria. The events between the groups end up leading to a tragic violence.
While this film shows the events that take place with racial hostility the overall message it is trying to get across is to challenge the continuous racial stereotypes black people face in their day to day life. It addresses the controversial subject overall of racism and the real life problems that are going on to this day. Spike Lee was known for being able to leave this lasting thought and have you thinking about what you just saw within his films. The main dispute in this film is how there should be African Americans on the wall of fame in the pizzeria because of the community it is located in. While this may not seem like a major dispute that should result in anything serious it was a conflict between both characters. This leaves us viewers wondering about not only the conflict but the deeper root behind it. That rooting being race, this is what Spike Lee wants you to question. By doing this Spike Lee is known for opening up that introduction of race inequality to the American film scene.
I came into Ortega’s presentation and event about Spike Lee knowing only a small amount of his career. I only knew him as the guy from “Do The Right Thing” and the die hard New York Knicks fan. I learned that he was a pioneer for the filmmaking industry and the black community as a whole. He pushed the envelope for the modern day American media to have those uncomfortable thoughts and really think about the mistreatment of black people in the world. And while things like violence, mistreatment, and racism still go on to this day you can’t help but appreciate what people like Spike Lee have done for not just African Americans but the human race as a whole. Although this was a black history month event people like him should be and are celebrated year round for not only what they did for their respective industries but for what they more importantly do for the communities they are proudly a part of.
