Spike Lee, the acclaimed black director, stepped aside several times Wednesday in Salt Lake City to make way for Spike Lee, the social observer, with comments on interracial relations and the portrayal of black issues in film.
"I've been here in Utah an hour, so I cannot talk about what the racial situation is here in this state," he said, minutes before his lecture to an overflow crowd at Kingsbury Hall Wednesday. "I know there are not a lot of black folks here. It would be kind of rough, I guess, if you never see your own people. I'm glad to be here, but I'm not going to move here. I don't ski and I'm not a Mormon."Dressed in black leather, the bearded Lee challenged the perception that films about black issues are the fuel for riotous acts and violence. He challenged the reality that films targeted to black audiences garner less attention and funding than those by white artists.
"Any black film comes out, they feel it has potential for violence," he said, specifically pointing to his provocative 1989 film "Do the Right Thing."
The movie chronicles a 24-hour racial drama between residents of a single block in New York City's predominantly black Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood on the hottest day of the summer. The film's climactic violence prompted cities across the nation to screen the movie before their police departments in fear it would incite riots - "because you know how black people get in the summer time," said Lee, his tone sarcastic.
"I just find it amazing how white audiences can go see a film like `Terminator II' . . . and (understand) that it's fake," he said. "But, if young black kids hear (the controversial song) `Cop Killer,' they're going to go out and do the same thing."
In a news conference prior to the lecture, Lee said he sees such racism as a permanent fixture of America.
"I think the more white America learns about African Americans the better," he said. "But, you can still be a racist and love Michael Jordan and love Magic Johnson and love Prince and watch Bill Cosby and watch Oprah Winfrey. Just embracing the African American culture does not solve racism."
Lee said the larger-than-life persona created of him by the media often affects public response to his films.
"Any black man that doesn't shuck-and-jive, shin-and-grin and do a buck dance or be a minstrel show is automatically thought of as being a militant or an angry black man," he said. "That's how that whole persona happens. What's unfortunate is that people let the persona block the work. A lot of times people view my films - the public and critics - and they're reviewing whether they like Spike Lee or not, what they think they know about me, and not the work."
That his film "Malcolm X" was not nominated for Best Picture by the Academy of Motion Pictures is not surprising to the black director.
"That's been resolved a long time. That was resolved before the nominations even came out," he said. "We refuse to let any group or organization deem the merit, importance and worth of our work. We let the film speak for itself. Through the years people will still be watching "Malcolm X" and the five films that got nominated for Best Picture will be long forgotten."