Spike Lee Gets Real on "School Daze," Bad Bunny & The Culture
Spike Lee Gets Real on "School Daze," Bad Bunny & The Culture
- Spike Lee faced resistance from HBCU administrators when filming 'School Daze' due to its exploration of colorism and classism.
- Lee embraced Bad Bunny's Super Bowl tribute, seeing it as a shoutout from a fellow artist.
- Lee envisions a Spike Lee Film Festival at Atlanta's historic Fox Theatre, showcasing his diverse range of work.
When Spike Lee returns to Atlanta, it’s not just a visit; it’s a homecoming. The legendary filmmaker, self-described as a “Grady Baby” born on the first day of spring in 1957, recently stopped by Ryan Cameron Uncensored for a conversation that felt less like a press run and more like a family reunion.
In a wide-ranging discussion that touched on everything from the evolution of filmmaking to the enduring legacy of HBCUs, Lee opened up about the hurdles he faced creating School Daze, his surprise reaction to Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl tribute, and his vision for celebrating Black cinema at the historic Fox Theatre.
For those of us who have grown up with Spike’s joints serving as the backdrop to our lives, this interview offered a rare, candid look at the man who has defined the culture for decades.
The 38th Anniversary of School Daze: Examining the Pushback
It has been nearly four decades since School Daze hit theaters, shaking up conversations around colorism, classism, and Greek life at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). While the film is now celebrated as a cult classic, Lee revealed that its production was anything but smooth. In fact, he faced significant resistance from the very institutions he sought to highlight.
Lee didn’t mince words when recalling the friction with the administration at Morehouse College in Atlanta. The pushback came directly from the top.
“The pushback came from the president of Morehouse College, really, Hugh Gloster,” Lee explained. After allowing the crew to film the football game, Gloster shut down production on campus. “He said, ‘You can’t shoot anymore.’ And so we had to finish the film at Morris Brown, Clark College, and Atlanta University.”
Confronting Colorism Behind the Scenes
The reason for the expulsion was deeply rooted in the exact issues the film was trying to critique. Lee shared a painful memory regarding the casting of the late, great actor Joe Seneca, who played President McPherson in the film.
“His biggest criticism was that the great, great actor, Joe Seneca… he said he was too dark and looked like a Sambo,” Lee revealed. “Think about that. Hugh Gloster… he was very light. He says, ‘I don’t like the guy… the actor you cast, he’s too black, too dark.'”
For Lee, this rejection was heartbreaking but validating. It proved that the film’s exploration of the internal conflict within the Black community was necessary. “I knew we were doing something right because he’s talking about it,” Lee said. “That was very, very disheartening… for the president to say something like that. I mean, for me, that [was] just like, this is the film.”
Bad Bunny, The Super Bowl, and The Double-Dolly Shot
Fast forward from 1988 to the present day, and Spike Lee’s visual language is still influencing the biggest stages on Earth. During the Super Bowl Halftime Show, global superstar Bad Bunny utilized a disorienting, floating camera technique known to film buffs as the “double-dolly shot”—a Spike Lee signature.
Interestingly, Lee was in the stadium during the performance but missed the moment live.
“I wasn’t looking at the screen. I was looking at all this,” Lee laughed, gesturing to the massive production. “So when it happened, I didn’t see it. And so my son… he said, ‘Daddy, I think that was your double dolly shot.'”
Once the footage broke the internet the next day, the homage was undeniable. Rather than being protective over his intellectual property, Lee embraced the moment with gratitude.
“I take that as a… shout out from my brother,” Lee said. He also praised the show’s cultural impact, noting how meaningful it was to see Latin culture celebrated on such a massive platform. “Many people, Black too, who don’t speak Spanish, they said that didn’t matter. That mattered. That was fire.”
The Democratization of Filmmaking
As a professor at NYU’s Graduate Film School, Lee has a front-row seat to the changing landscape of cinema. He notes that the barriers to entry that existed when he was scraping together funds for She’s Gotta Have It have largely vanished thanks to technology.
“For years, the cost of making a movie has been so prohibitive,” Lee noted. “And now I have students in my class… who made films on their phone. So it gives you the access, it gives you opportunity to work things out.”
However, Lee remains wary of the darker side of tech advancement, specifically AI and surveillance. Referencing a Super Bowl commercial for Oakley that he appeared in, he joked about the “rituals” he goes through to ensure privacy, turning off phones and avoiding “the ring camera.”
“I think there’s good and bad with technology,” he mused. “Not with this AI stuff.”
A Vision for Atlanta: The Spike Lee Film Festival
Atlanta has always held a special place in Lee’s heart, and he’s looking to deepen that connection. During the interview, the idea of a Spike Lee Film Festival at the Fox Theatre was floated, and Lee was immediately on board, curating his dream lineup on the spot.
His choices might surprise the casual fan who expects Do The Right Thing or Malcolm X to take center stage. Instead, Lee leaned into the films that the community holds dearest.
- Friday: Crooklyn. “People over the years… they tell me Crooklyn is their favorite. Hands down,” Lee said.
- Saturday: Inside Man. A nod to his commercial blockbuster success.
- Sunday: 4 Little Girls. Lee wants to close with his powerful documentary about the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church. “It’s very moving,” he said.
This selection speaks to Lee’s range—from nostalgic family drama to high-stakes thillers to necessary historical documentation.
Defining “The Culture”
Throughout the conversation, Lee was referred to as “the culture,” citing his impact on everything from Air Jordans to 125th Street fashion. It’s a heavy title, but one Lee wears with a mix of humility and humor.
He shared a classic story about his first meeting with Michael Jordan. Nike’s ad agency wanted to pair the rising basketball star with Lee’s character Mars Blackmon. The problem? Jordan had no idea who Spike Lee was.
“They call him Mike. Said, ‘I [don’t] even know where that guy is. He not heard of me,'” Lee recalled. But once the commercials aired, everything changed. It wasn’t until the All-Star game in Toronto that Jordan finally acknowledged the shift.
“I finally got enough courage to ask Mike, ‘Mike, why you do it?’ He said, ‘You mf, you wearing my shoes.'”
From being called an “mf” by MJ to having Bad Bunny pay homage at the Super Bowl, Spike Lee’s journey is a testament to staying true to your voice. Whether he is challenging colorism at HBCUs or celebrating his legacy at the Fox Theatre, Spike remains a vital, empowering voice for our community.
Spike Lee Gets Real on "School Daze," Bad Bunny & The Culture was originally published on majicatl.com
