d
Da
(HFS) - "What is the dif­
fere ee between School Daze'"
and 'Black explOit tion films'
(of a decade ago)?" asked a col- -
lea� student in Te
"Why weren't the women in
the movie cast in more positive
role 1" a ked a student in
Washington, D.C.
"What impression will whites I
get of the film?" a collegian in
southern Virginia inquired.
These were a few of a barrage
of questions directed to "School
Daze" filmmaker Spike Lee and
his associates by students from
colleges nationwide in a unique
statellite. teleconference held
recently at Howard University.
The live video hook-up not
only allowed students from
ome 250 college campuses to
address Lee but it also gave the
filmmaker a chance to explain
the purpose of the controversial
comedy-musical, which has met
reactions ranging from praise to
total outrage among Blacks.
The setting of "School Daze,"
which opened recently at
theaters across America, is at
fictional Mission College, where
'students are celebrating
Homecoming. But all is no har-
monious at the historically
Black school in South. .
in e are conflicts between
fraternity brothers and Black
activists, Mission students and
young Black town folks, as well
as between-light -skinned Blacks
and theh darke counterparts.
But what has raised the most
eyebro among Blacks are the
strained relationships between
the fair-skinned Blacks, flaunt­
ing their long. straight hair and
light eyes in the movie, and the
ebony-hued students, who have
kinky hair and are proud of their
African heritage. The (lim casts
the two factio the "W -
nabees" anna be white) d
the "Jig ," respectively. .
Some BI ck moviegoers
believe the color schism does
exist while other would rather
forg�t about an issue that had its
roots in the er of slavery. I
Lee has coo ledged that
many Blac s will find "Schbol
Daze" unse tling, primarily be­
cause of its depiction of color
nd class conflicts. Asked what
his response is to the controver- •
sy surrounding his second fea­
ture film, he bluntly said, "The
intention of the film is to make
people squirm ... "
Julius Terrell, a student at
Morehouse College in Atlanta,
was one of many students able to
question Spike Lee on the movie
via satellite. He ed him what
as the point conveyed at the
end of the movie, in which a call
rings out for Blacks to "wake
up." t
. The young Black ftlmmaker,
n al mnus of Morehou e,
responded, "The film showed
alack people fighting among
themselves ... I wanted to sho
that hopefully we can move QB �
. . . . ." ..
from that."
In an interview prior to the
Howard teleconference, Dr.
Sa� 'J. Dennis, a sociology
professor inthe university's
department of ociology and
anthropology, stressed, "I think
what Spike Lee is trying to do is
eradicate the color caste system
once and for all because it's too
divisive."
Dennis conceded that "a few
'vestiges of the color caste"
remain from the era of very,
when Blacks were "in a caste­
like situation in which we were
socially differentiated based on
color ... It is no longer the
serious issue today as it had
been in the past."
. Calling the teleconference "a
first of-its-kind event," Dr.
Mabel Phifer, director of the
Howard-based Black College
satellite Telecommunications
Networ , indicated that the
r. L .
ide de ate-overt 'School Daze'
II
fraternities, and that "we had kid
gloves on" with the frats. Playing
a major part in the movie as the
issue of hazing. wbjch Lee la­
mented is a problem among
Black and whi e college frater-
nities alike. ,
. -During the two-hour Iive
broadcast from Ho arid's
Cramton audi orium, Ne son
ion
major purpose of the program
was to broadcast specifically to
predominantly Black colleges in
addition 0 other schools.
"It was Concei� as the best
way to reach the widest cross­
section of Black students, offer­
ing them the opportunity to
question one-on-one the
filmmaker and the behind-the­
scenes professionals of a movie
about Black campus life," she
explained.
Alice Gatling, a student at
Texas Southern University in
Houston, directed a question to
veteran actor Ossie Davis, who
portrayed Missjon College's
football coach in the film.
What's the difference btween
"School Daze" and "Black ex­
ploitation ftlms?" she asked,
referring to a number of Black­
oriented films produced by
whites a decade ago.
• Davis, one of six associated
with "Daze" who spoke at the
Howard teleconference, said
the major difference is that
Spike Lee "maintained creative
control." He could have made
the film "as Black as he wanted
it to be. Control is power," he
emphasized .
. Jeff Allen, another
Morehouse student, questioned
Lee on the portrayal of the
movie's fictional Gamma Phi
Gamma fraternity, which he
thought may have been pat­
terned after real-life Omega Psi
Rbi.
Lee said" wanted to get
. the worst elements" of all Black
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9
George, Billboard magazine's
lijack music editor, served as
tfte show's moderator, and .
as ed Lee what he thought
obut the movie's reviews. Many
have been unfavorable.
"Very few of these white
critics really- understand this
film," Lee responded. "For the
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c
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