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NEWS
Thursday, March 2, 2006
LEE: Filmmaker directs ‘Courage’ speech A VIEW FROM ABOVE: From movies to Hurricane Katrina to hip-hop music, Spike Lee spoke his mind about how these and many more topics affect the lives of today’s youth.
A.D. Brown/ Star photo CONTINUED from page 1
you can do what you love, it’s not a job anymore.” Lee said he was inspired by a professor at Morehouse during his junior year. The professor told Lee to take the raw footage he recorded during the summer and turn it into a story. “Having people respond to my work like that is why I wanted to be a filmmaker,” Lee said. “On television, the richness of African-American culture wasn’t evident; so when I decided to be a filmmaker, I made it my mission to put more stories on the screen — not positive or negative, just truthful.” Lee is currently working on a documentary about Hurricane Katrina and its effect on New Orleans called When the Levees Broke. It will be Lee’s 20th film in 20 years. “Katrina is an indication of what the federal government thinks of not only people of color, but poor people,” Lee said. After speaking about his history and films, Lee spoke to the students about the importance of education. “As young people, you have to
be more analytical of what you listen to, what you read, what you do,” Lee said. “In my day, we did not grow up wanting to be a pimp; we looked up to people who were smart.” Lee encouraged young people, both white and black, to be responsible about the media they consume, especially in regard to hip-hop culture. “The message he said about hip-hop, and today’s society glorifying hip-hop, was a much-needed sermon, because so many people look up to the ones who are putting them at a lower level,” said Carlton Fairley, pre-psychology freshman. “By acknowledging that hip-hop’s not what it used to be, we can come to a conclusion that there’s something wrong with the standard set by it.” Lee said some aspects of rap music encourage ignorance and the objectification of women. “It’s ironic that in this country, it was against the law for slaves to read and write; but if you were a slave, and you knew how to read and write, it was your obligation to pass that on, because our ancestors knew that education would be our way out of
bondage,” Lee said. In the question and answer session after Lee’s speech, a student made a comparison between Kanye West and 50 Cent. Lee responded by commenting on 50 Cent’s first album, Get Rich or Die Tryin’. “I don’t know how you can make it any more plain than that,” Lee said. “I’m going to do what I’ve got to do to get this loot, get these rims, get this house.” Lee ended his speech by tying in the Common Experience theme of “Courage.” “In order to increase your power, you have to realize you do have power. Your voice does matter. Martin Luther King didn’t always have support. Rosa Parks wasn’t the first Negro to be told to sit in the back of the bus. She had to step up. You have to say, ‘I’m going to do this, because I believe it’s what’s right,’” Lee said. Demitri Hammond, math senior, said Lee’s speech resonated with him. “I think that he said some great words and had very good points. I hope everyone takes them to heart,” Hammond said.
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