[Marxism] Spike changes his tune

["Charles Brown" <cbrown@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Explains his new approach to ethnicity

Spike changes his tune

By Rayfield A. Waller
Special to The Michigan Citizen

Visiting Detroit to promote his new, unreleased film, "She Hate Me" (which I
saw in a press screening), Spike Lee talked to The Michigan Citizen. As we
sat in his room at the Atheneum Hotel in Greektown, I pointed out that not
all of his fans realize yet that he's gone through a change.

His last feature film, "The Twenty-Fifth Hour," focused on an Irish
American's final 24 hours of freedom before reporting to prison to serve a
sentence for drug possession. The film explored the inner lives of its white
ethnic and Puerto Rican characters.

New York's Italian Americans have always been an element in Lee's films
(like "Do The Right Thing," "Clockers" and "Summer of Sam") but
"Twenty-Fifth Hour" marked a new Lee, who put diverse ethnic characters at
the center of attention.

"That film reflected my desire to represent what ethnic Americans are really
like," Spike said. "Ethnicity is not just about Black people."

But "She Hate Me" might push the limits a bit further than his fans are
prepared for.

It features a politically sophisticated plot about a Black corporate
executive who is fired for blowing the whistle on his corrupt bosses.

It's a thinly disguised reference to the Enron scandal. There are inventive
flashbacks to the Watergate era, tying together American political scandals
in a creative, satirical way.

What might shock fans, however, is the dominance of Lesbian culture in the
film. The hero decides to earn money in an ethically dubious way: he
impregnates a host of wealthy women who pay him $10,000 each because they
want to have babies.

The real shock is that the women, nearly 17 of them, are Anglo, Black,
Italian, Irish, Asian - and all are lesbians. There are sepaerate,
outrageously erotic sex scenes with almost every client the hero
impregnates.

Lee talked to me about his changing politics and his attitude toward his
fans:

Q: I don't know how Black audiences will take this, Spike!

Lee: It's a question I think about all the time, but I can't wait for Black
folks. We're slow sometimes, and I think it's the artist's job to prod and
push. We still, as a people, are very homophobic.

Q: Even with the issue of sex, you don't sensationalize lesbians. You're
raising issues of responsibility, right? The main character just wants to
make some money but has to take responsibility for his actions.

Lee: Exactly. As for lesbian culture, some African Americans are
homosexuals. There's nothing wrong with that. The issue of responsibility is
the point. Some African-American brothers, for instance, hide in the closet,
afraid to take responsibility for their sexuality, and may become
HIV-positive, the so-called brothers on the down low, who lie to their wives
and girl friends. And these men may become HIV-positive and infect their
partners.

Q: It's a fascinating film just for honest portrayals of sex. I can't
remember ever seeing so many sex scenes in a movie, and each one unique.
Think you'll get criticized for that too?
Lee: Yes, but again, my second film, "School Days," I was criticized for
that too, by a large segment of the Black community, for airing dirty
laundry. Gays and lesbians exist. Sex exists. We just all need to take
responsibility for what we do. Hopefully, not a lot of Black people will be
upset, but you're right, there will be some people who won't be ready for
this film, and I think that's good. That's art.

"She Hate Me" will have advance screenings in L.A. and N.Y. July 30. A
national release date will be announced soon.
        


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