Okay. I need for you to see the movie (or read a synopsis) and perceive how Greek life was depicted BEFORE you come to the conclusion that some of it holds true for some chapters and orgs. Nothing wrong with having that opinion, but when you preface it with basic questions about the film and the statement that you haven't seen it... it looks a little off...

Just a friendly suggestion :)

1. We are Sigma Gamma Rho Women, not "rho's".
2. My Soror gave you a friendly suggestion in a respectful manner. At the very least you could have done the same.
3. It is quite apparent you don't like NPHC greeks. http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/se...archid=1461507

Until you respect us, we can NOT respect you.

good lawd, don't always be so bitter........

To address your question: Typically in movies the director will often portray a situation / group / event highlighting the stereotypes to make the film more interesting, that is to say, to gross more money for the film.

I saw the movie when it came out, I have not seen it since, but from what I remember greek life was portrayed in a way such that some aspects were overemphasized, like the stepping, while other aspects of greek life were not even mentioned, like community service.

Don't you think he overdramatized just to make a point?

For example:
good vs bad hair
Light vs dark skin
Greek vs non greek
Educated vs non educated (Think Samuel L at KFC)

IMO, at then end when he has them yelling "WAKE UP" he wants people to open their eyes to what is truly going on in the world.
We should wake up to see that it doesn't matter if your hair is straight or "nappy". It also doesn't mean that light is better than dark or that dark has a deeper connection to Africa.

I don't think the point of this movie was to show all aspects of greek life. He zeroed in on something that all people can recognize and that is the stereotypes we all face on a daily basis.

Sure, some people only came away with the entertainment value of the movie, but hopefully others recognized the truths in his message.

Yeah, that's what I stated: movie directors will tend to over emphasize a stereotype to make the movie marketable (?sp). I was just more general than specifically mentioning many details of the movie.

I guess I wasn't looking at it as he was trying to gross more money. I was thinking more along the lines of him saying that we need to get this info out here so that people can see how trivial things can consume our lives.

Ok pretty much all my responses were DELETED

but anyways

so I guess in the film greeks were made to be party animals and hazers?

that's all?

Yes, but he did it by over emphasizing certain sterotypes to get his point across and, *gasp* make money. Spike Lee is culture concious but he is not that altruistic.

One womans 14 year old perspective
 

Thanks for the vocabulary word (I had to google it). :D

School Daze came out I was approx 14 years old. Although I was an Archonette with Zeta Phi Beta, I had no concept of the sorority/fraternity life that was protrayed in the movie. Maybe it's because I was already participating in a likeness of "greek" life through community service, meetings, and fellowship. We didn't see them stepping or wearing sweatshirts and I was apart of that group from 7th grade through high school. Those women were real to us and they are the ones who took the time to help mold us. I have family members in other sororities, and I never saw them display the type of behavior depicted in the movie either.

When I saw School Daze for the first time at the movies, it was purely for entertainment purposes. I didn't leave the movie thinking that what I saw was true to life. I remember being confused because Larry Fishburn was screaming "wake up" at the end, and I didn't understand why. I did take away the points I mentioned in my earlier post (excluding greek vs non greek). Even though I didn't recognize this element of the movie, I recognized that Larry's character was an individual who didn't think that blacks should "whiten" themselves to belong to a group.
I did not understand that what was happening in that movie was hazing. I just assumed that Half-Pint had a goal, so he had to do what he had to do to get in. I was more disturbed by Tisha Campbell's character being used by her boyfriend and Half-Pint.

As far as Spike Lee is concerned, I thought his movies held secret messages, and that he expected me to learn something by the end of the film. I'm not mad at him for trying to make a living because if his movies bomb then he has no platform to use to get his messages across.

Re: One womans 14 year old perspective
 

*hijack*


Me too!!! :D

*end hijack*

Please see the movie!!! If you didn't and you won't, then there is no real reason for you to participate in this thread. Making comments about assumptions do not count.

Sequel to be filmed at "The House"
 

http://www.morehouse.edu/communicati...es/000208.html

Spike Returns to Discuss Racial Politics
By Vickie G. Hampton and monét cooper


Oscar is the most courted man in Hollywood. Filmmaker Shelton “Spike” Lee ’79, however, could care less.

In fact, if you’re in entertainment just for a chance to rendezvous with Oscar—the coveted gilded man given to the top film folk—you’re in the wrong business, said Lee, speaking during “Black and White in Hollywood,” a forum held in King Chapel on Feb. 1. “When you allow someone the power to validate your work, it’s over.”

Lee began the day at his alma mater at Davidson House, where he held a press conference to plug the DVD releases of his 2004 film “She Hate Me” and “School Daze.” Lee also announced that Sony Pictures signed a deal with Lee to write the sequel to the 1988 hit.

Lee later visited the class of his former English professor, E. Delores Stephens, whom he remembers for her intelligence as much as the papers she returned to him after grading: “When I got them back from her, it looked like somebody committed suicide,” he said.

Lee spent much of his time discussing his 1997 documentary “4 Little Girls,” which was nominated for an Oscar, with the students.

At the forum, Lee, Beverly Guy-Sheftall, director of the Women’s Research and Resource Center at Spelman College, and Herbert L. Eichelberger, the Clark Atlanta University film professor who was also Lee’s mentor and instructor, spoke about the racial politics of Hollywood.

When “4 Little Girls” went up against a film on the holocaust, Lee said he knew it didn’t stand a chance of winning an Oscar. And “Driving Miss Daisy” was nominated for best picture, while “Do the Right Thing” received Best Screenplay and best supporting actor nominations. Oscar may not have been on his side, but longevity has been.


“No one is watching ‘Driving Miss Daisy.’ But “Do the Right Thing” is being taught in classes across the nation,” he said.

One of the most challenging aspects of producing films is getting the funding. Lee lamented the fact that there are no black gatekeepers—people who can greenlight a film. He encouraged students to pursue dual law and MBA degrees and climb the corporate ladder to get to gatekeeping positions.

“We have enough actors up the ying-yang. Even Denzel [Washington], who gets $20 million a film, has to go to the gatekeeper.”

The conversation also touched on other subjects, like his reason for doing a sequel to “School Daze” after nearly a decade.

“I’ve always been very resistant to doing a sequel but over the years, so many people told me that they went to a black school because of this film, that they became aware of black schools.”

The first “School Daze” dealt with a slew of controversial issues in the black community, and its sequel will have its share of controversial topics, as well, including hip hop, homosexuality and AIDS.

Lee is hoping that the sequel will also be filmed more extensively on the Morehouse campus, unlike the first “School Daze,” which, because of creative conflict, was filmed mostly on Clark Atlanta and Morris Brown campuses.

“When ‘School Daze’ came out, I wasn’t allowed to [film] on the Morehouse campus,” said Lee. “But I’m on the board of trustees now let’s see how much clout that has.”


Posted by Kara at March 24, 2005 05:54 PM

On snap! A sequel! :D

Hmmm...a sequel? Well, if he chooses to continue the Greek theme, I hope he consults with some Greeks to give us a better portrayal. And I hope he gives a more balanced view of Black women. Has anyone read "African American Fraternities and Sororities: The Legacy and the Vision"? There is a great essay on how Black women are protrayed negatively in "School Daze". Its a great read and very thought-provoking.

Re: Sequel to be filmed at "The House"
 

Hmmm. I haven't heard black people talking about the importance of the gatekeepers since I was in college. I think they are important, but would a black gatekeeper have the freedom to greenlight ALL (heck, or even MOST) of the projects he or she deemed worthwhile? There are a lot of tradeoffs on the road to becoming a gatekeeper, at least through Lee's suggested method of corporate american attainment. Even the gatekeepers who are in power today don't have as much power as they appear to. They have to answer to a board and shareholders and keep them happy in order that the gatekeeper status is maintained.

It is my view that brothers and sisters interested in gatekeeping status should look at the BIG picture... The worldwide picture, that is. Why capture American filmmaking influence when you cultivate some foreign relationships and capture INTERNATIONAL greenlighting power? Just a thought... :D