The Story

Filmmaker Spike Lee Disappoints at William and Mary Visit

Apr. 2, 2012 | By Anyusha Rose, DSJ Staff Reporter

There are few public figures whose visit has caused as much of a campus-wide stir as controversial filmmaker Spike Lee. Fortunately, there are also as few who fail to fully engage their audience, leaving them disappointed and wondering why it was they came in the first place. Two hours before the Emmy award winner was scheduled to take to the stage at Phi Beta Kappa Memorial Hall on March 27, the lines stretched far beyond the building’s forecourt with students and members of the Williamsburg community.

What followed however, was an uninspiring performance that left many questioning whether Lee’s status as an outspoken figure on social issues and race relations was still merited in his old age. For English major Micah Head (‘13), Lee was disconcertingly cautious in answering the questions being put to him.

�"I became acutely aware of how politically correct he seemed to be trying to be,” said Head. �"It made me wonder if maybe even the outspoken Spike Lee was worried about how the audience at a predominantly white school would view him. While he definitely didn’t shy away from the race issue, speaking of his grandmother who was never allowed to teach a white student in her fifty years in education, it was much more tame than other stories I have heard.”
Head was not the only student to express concern with the diplomatic way in which Lee answered questions. For a celebrity known for engaging audiences in political shouting matches on numerous occasions, his staid delivery was incongruous to the public persona that had encouraged many to come to the talk in the first place. �"He even dodged the question about Tyler Perry, and later called him a good businessman,” said Head. �"This is coming from the same man who once called Perry’s films ‘cocoonery and buffoonery’”.

That being said, for some students Lee’s talk was reassuring and motivational. Though many were critical of the advice he gave on the basis of it being ‘typically professorial’, to those it did touch it came as important counsel on life and one’s expectations from it. Kristen Hopkins (‘15) said, �"I really enjoyed that he said that when he first started college he didn’t really have a set plan of what he wanted to do or who he wanted to be. It just sort of fell upon him. I took the most from that because even though I believe I have a set plan of what I want to do in my life, something might just fall on me and change my whole plan of action.”

Overall however, there was little doubt that the talk was poorly received. Whether Lee himself was entirely responsible for this remains uncertain. Some students looked to the audience themselves as a point of failure. Nina Cavazos (‘13) said, �"As event after event has proven to me, no matter how awesome or thought provoking the lecture has been, William and Mary students are completely inept & incapable of coming up with challenging questions with which to engage the speaker. ‘How was I supposed to feel at the end of "Do The Right Thing?’ Clearly, one of the best questions to ever have been asked of Spike Lee.”

Many had come to ‘Spike Lee: America Through My Lens’ to learn more about what Lee sees as the most pressing and problematic political issues in contemporary American society. Unfortunately what they learned was that if he does see problems he is unwilling to talk about them in any great capacity.

Anyusha Rose is a staff columnist for the DSJ. Her views do not necessarily represent those of the entire staff.