True to his reputation, Spike Lee continues to create controversy.
The Center for Africana studies ended their annual film project with a panel discussion of Lee's films.
New York University Film critic and Literary Studies professor Clyde Taylor described his disappointment at the lack of black actors and filmmakers before Lee. Clyde added that despite Lee's success, he has not received an Oscar nomination.
"Lee's films are stories for us rather than against us," Taylor said. "They are animated murals on the walls of 'the hood.'"
English Professor and Director of African-American studies at Princeton University Valerie Smith shared Taylor's admiration for Lee as a filmmaker. She discussed Lee's ability to capture the lives of the victim's of the Birmingham church bombing in his 1997 HBO documentary, Four Little Girls.
"He created a compelling and rich account," Smith said.
She explained Lee's capacity to visualize the girls as more than civil rights icons but as "active members of their community."
Although Taylor and Smith spoke positively, artist Coco Fusco criticized Lee.
"His characters lack depth and motive," Fusco said. "There are few explanations for their motives other than the fact that they are black."
Smith also expressed her disappointment in Lee's lack of West Indian and black British minorities. Additionally, Fusco was angered at Lee's portrayal of women in his 2004 film She Hate Me.
"[Spike Lee] has too narrow and shallow a vision," Fusco said.
Other panelists noted similar disappointment with Lee's films.
"Lee makes you work, provokes your anger and sometimes drives you out of the theater," professor of Comparative Literature and Africana Studies at New York University Manthia Diawara said.
The discussion received positive reviews from both audience members and panelists.
"I've followed Spike Lee's work since he became established as an artist," third-year graduate Design student Charles Davis said. "I expected [the panelists] to stroke Spike Lee's ego but they were very critical."
Associate professor of English and Director of Penn's African American Studies Program, Herman Beavers was pleased with the outcome of the event.
"We chose Spike Lee because he generates a great deal of topics such as race, gender and class," Beavers said. "It went extremely well."
Lee visited Penn Wednesday as part of the Spike Lee-Terence Blanchard Film Festival. He has directed many popular films, including 25th Hour, Summer of Sam and Do the Right Thing.
