This week, we’re exploring the films of Spike Lee.
1988 School Daze
School Daze is a 1988 American musical-drama film, written and directed by Spike Lee, and starring Laurence Fishburne, Giancarlo Esposito, and Tisha Campbell-Martin. Based in part on Spike Lee’s experiences at Atlanta’s Morehouse College, Spelman College and Clark Atlanta University, it is a story about fraternity and sorority members clashing with other students at a historically black college during homecoming weekend. It also touches upon issues of real and perceived racism related to skin tone bias and hair quality within the African-American community. The second feature film by Spike Lee, School Daze was released on February 12, 1988 by Columbia Pictures.
Synopsis
Vaughn “Dap” Dunlap (Fishburne) is a politically conscious black American student at Mission College, a leading historically black college whose motto is “Uplift the Race”.[2] The college administration is portrayed as inept.
He leads anti-apartheid demonstrations encouraging students and school administrators to divest from South Africa. When his buddies go into town, they find the local boys are not impressed with their activities, but think of them as privileged college boys. Open conflict breaks out between the groups.[2]
He is feuding with Julian Eaves (Esposito) aka Dean Big Brother Almighty of Gamma Phi Gamma Fraternity, Incorporated. This group is characterized as “wannabees”, as in “wannabe better than me”. The fraternity brothers are preparing for a big college football weekend and Homecoming parties. Meanwhile, Dap’s younger cousin, Darrell (Lee), aka “Half-Pint”, is a Gamma pledge.
The Gamma women’s auxiliary, the Gamma Rays, who are sleek and light-skinned, confront non-Greek black co-eds, particularly over skin color and the nature of their hair. Some of the Rays use contact lens to change eye color.[2]
1989 Do the Right Thing
Do the Right Thing is a 1989 American drama film produced, written, and directed by Spike Lee, who also played the part of ‘Mookie’ in the film. Other members of the cast include Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Richard Edson, Giancarlo Esposito, Bill Nunn, and John Turturro. It is also notably the feature film debut of Martin Lawrence and Rosie Pérez. The movie tells the story of a neighborhood’s simmering racial tension, which comes to a head and culminates in tragedy on the hottest day of the summer.
The film was a commercial success and received numerous accolades and awards, including an Academy Award nomination for Lee for Best Original Screenplay and one for Best Supporting Actor for Aiello’s portrayal of Sal the pizzeria owner. It is often listed among the greatest films of all time.[3][4][5][6] In 1999, it was deemed to be “culturally significant” by the U.S. Library of Congress, and was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry, one of just five films to have this honor in their first year of eligibility.
Plot
Mookie (Lee) is a young black man living in a black neighborhood in Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn with his sister, Jade (Joie Lee), who wants him out of her apartment. He works delivering pizzas for a local pizzeria, but he lacks ambition and he works to support his girlfriend Tina (Perez) and their son Hector. Salvatore “Sal” Frangione (Aiello), the pizzeria’s Italian-American owner, has owned the restaurant and been in the neighborhood for twenty-five years. His older son, Giuseppe, better known as Pino (Turturro) says of the pizzeria that he “detests it like a sickness”, holds racial contempt for the neighborhood blacks and attempts to make Mookie’s life miserable. Sal’s younger son, Vito (Edson), is friends with Mookie.
The street corner is filled with distinct personalities, most of whom are just trying to find a way to deal with the intense heat on what is the hottest day in years and go about their regular day-to-day activities. A drunk called Da Mayor (Davis) is constantly trying to win both the approval and affection of the neighborhood matron, Mother Sister (Dee), who watches the neighborhood’s activity from her brownstone. A young man named Radio Raheem (Nunn) lives for nothing else but to blast Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power” on his boombox wherever he goes. He wears “love” and “hate” four-fingered rings (brass knuckles) on either hand, which he explains in one scene symbolize the struggle between the two forces.
A mentally disabled man named Smiley (Smith) meanders around the neighborhood, holding up hand-colored pictures of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. The local radio disc jockey, “Mister Señor Love Daddy” (Samuel L. Jackson) rounds out the neighborhood. Three men (Harris, Benjamin, Faison), known as “the Corner Men,” act as a sort of Greek chorus, commenting on the neighborhood and the day’s events. Four teenagers – Cee, Punchy, Ahmad and Ella – deal with the heat outside as well.
While eating a slice at Sal’s, Buggin’ Out (Esposito) questions Sal about the “Wall of Fame” and demands he put up some pictures of black celebrities on the wall since Sal’s pizzeria is in a black neighborhood and sells pizza to black people. Sal replies that it is his store and he doesn’t have to feature anyone but Italians on his wall. Mookie attempts to cool Buggin’ Out out, but he escorts his pizza outside and sternly bans him. Buggin’ Out attempts to start a boycott over the “Wall of Fame,” but no one will support his protest except Radio Raheem and Smiley.
Over the course of the day tensions rise around the neighborhood, all witnessed, and some influenced by, Mookie’s drawn out pizza deliveries . Teenagers open a fire hydrant for respite from the heat, flooding a passer-by’s car and police officers intervene. Some Puerto Rican men challenge the magnitude of the speaker on Radio Raheem’s boom box, leading to a “shouting” match between the competitors’ boom boxes. Buggin’ Out instigates a fight with a white brownstone owner, Clifton (John Savage) who accidentally rolls his dirty bike tire over Buggin’ Out’s Air Jordan shoes, and Da Mayor saves a boy from being run over by a car, tackling him away from a speeding car as the boy rushed to the ice cream truck. Sal argues with Radio Raheem for blasting his boombox in the pizzeria. Mookie and Pino begin arguing over which race is better, blacks or Italians, which leads to a series of scenes in which the characters, addressing the camera, spew a variety of racial insults.
In the afternoon Pino expresses his hatred of the neighborhood but Sal insists that whether Pino likes it or not, his pizzeria, and his pizza, are part of the neighborhood there, and he isn’t leaving. Mookie almosts gets fired by Sal, but Jade comes to Sal’s shop, cooling Sal’s anger. Outside, Mookie confronts her for being too close to Sal. As they’re cleaning to close the restaurant Mookie demands his weekly pay from Sal. Buggin’ Out convinces Radio Raheem and Smiley to join his protest and they begin insulting and threatening the yelling neighbors.
That night as Sal serves four teenagers prior to closing, Radio Raheem, Smiley and Buggin’ Out march into Sal’s and demand that Sal change the pictures on the wall. Sal demands that they turn the radio down or leave the shop, but the two men refuse to do so. They yell at each other, threatening, until Sal, in a fit of frustration and anger, calls Radio Raheem a “nigger” and destroys Radio Raheem’s boombox with a baseball bat. Radio Raheem attacks Sal, starting a fight with all the teenage boys, Sal and his sons, which spills out onto the street, attracting a crowd of spectators. As Radio Raheem is strangling Sal to death, Da Mayor yells at them to stop the fight.
The police arrive at the scene, break up the fight and begin to apprehend Radio Raheem and Buggin’ Out. Buggin’ Out is arrested while Radio Raheem is placed in a chokehold by one officer, killing him. The police officers, realizing they have killed a black man in front of an angry crowd, take Radio Raheem’s body back to the squad car. The angry crowd chases the police, who leave the scene with Radio Raheem’s body, and leave Sal, Vito and Pino alone with the angry crowd. The crowd is enraged about Radio Raheem’s death and blame Sal and his sons. Da Mayor attempts to tell the crowd to go home but the crowd threatens Da Mayor. Mookie grabs a trash can and throws it through the window of Sal’s restaurant, yelling “hate” which turns the collective anger towards the property and away from the owners. Da Mayor pulls Sal out of the mob’s way. Vito, Pino and Sal watch in horror as the restaurant gets destroyed.
The angry crowd becomes a riotous mob, rushes into the restaurant and destroys everything, while Smiley sets the restaurant on fire. From there, the mob begins to head for the Korean market. Sonny, the owner, tries to fight them off with a broom and yells that he is one of them causing them to spare the store. Firefighters arrive and begin spraying Sal’s building before they turn their hoses on the mob when they refuse to disperse, further enraging them. The mob disperses when the police arrive and begin arresting people. Meanwhile, Smiley wanders back into the smoldering restaurant and hangs a picture of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. on what’s left of Sal’s “Wall of Fame.”
The next day, Radio Love Daddy discusses what transpired the previous night, asking, “are we ever going to live together?” After having an argument with Tina over what it is to be a man, Mookie returns to Sal, who feels betrayed by Mookie for destroying the restaurant. They get into an argument but then Mookie and Sal cautiously reconcile. He demands his weekly pay he had earlier been demanding to receive in advance, which he gets.
Fratricide Is Bad for Fundraising
by BooMan
Tue Oct 22nd, 2013 at 06:43:46 PM EST
It appears to me that the Republicans’ government shutdown failed even in the rather modest goal of ramping up base enthusiasm. The fundraising boon did not materialize for them, but it did materialize for the Democrats.
http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2013/10/22/184346/77#4
I’ll repeat it..
IF you take a vote 43 TIMES TO REPEAL SAID LAW
You can’t have shyt to say about said law.
Beginning.Middle.End of story.
…………………………………………
GOP shut out of Obamacare briefing
10/22/13 5:46 PM EDT
House Republicans have requested a briefing with Obama administration officials about the implementation of the health care reform law after hearing that House Democrats will get a briefing on the law tomorrow.
“Far too much information about Obamacare’s rollout is being concealed from the public,” said Brendan Buck, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner. “This snub is all the more offensive after Secretary Sebelius declined to testify at a House hearing this week. It’s time for the Obama administration to honor its promises of transparency and face some accountability.”
House Democrats will be briefed by Mike Hash, the head of the HHS Office of Health Reform, at 8:50 a.m.
http://www.politico.com/story/2013/10/gop-shut-out-of-obamacare-briefing-98704.html#ixzz2iUSeOWaa
South Dakota Doctors Urge Their Governor To Expand Medicaid Under Obamacare
South Dakota doctors are urging Gov. Dennis Daugaard (R) to expand Medicaid under Obamacare, warning that a failure to do so will hurt hospitals financially and raise health care costs for people with private insurance. Current Medicaid eligibility thresholds in most states — including South Dakota — are so demanding that they disqualify even the poorest working adults from receiving coverage through the program.
In South Dakota, 15 percent of the adult population lives at or below 100 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL), which works out to be about $11,500 per year for an individual. But justeight percent of adults are covered by Medicaid. Under Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion, any adult making up to 138 percent FPL would be able enroll in the public health insurance program. That would end up cutting South Dakota’s uninsurance rate by more than half. Without the expansion, on the other hand, South Dakota’s poorest will have to continue relying on the emergency room for their medical services.
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/10/21/2808391/south-dakota-doctors-medicaid/
Ellen Show Gives Waitress Big Reward For Picking Up Military Members’ Tab
By Good News Network Monday, October 21, 2013
Ellen rewards waitress who bought lunch for service membersThe bill was $27.75, her reward for paying it was far greater. Sarah Hoidahl, a New Hampshire waitress, even though she is a single mom living on tips, bought lunch for two National Guard service members who were furloughed recently in the government shutdown.
The Guardswomen posted the kind note they received from Sarah on Facebook from which thousands of people were inspired — including the Ellen Show producers.
Sarah was flown from Concord to Los Angeles to be on the show Friday where Ellen paid her back the $27.75. Then the talk show gave her a television, because they heard Sarah’s was broken.
It didn’t stop there.
http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/inspired/individuals/ellen-awards-waitress-who-paid-tab-for-furloughed-soldiers.html
Ted Cruz: ‘Nigerian Email Scammers’ Hired to Run Obamacare Website.
http://www.mediaite.com/online/ted-cruz-nigerian-email-scammers-hired-to-run-obamacare-website/
Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) received a boisterous welcome from a hometown crowd in Houston, Texas on Monday, and repaid their enthusiasm with a shot at the Affordable Care Act’s troubled website launch.
“You may have noticed that all the Nigerian email scammers have become a lot less active lately,” Cruz told the crowd. “They all have been hired to run the Obamacare website.”
The reception was a marked change from Cruz’s treatment among colleagues and in the polls, after the Senator’s strategy to link stopping Obamacare to government funding led to a two-week-plus government shutdown and disastrous approval numbers for Republicans.
********************
Ted Cruz, I hear your dog whistle! Racist mofo!
Cruz may as well start wearing a white hood.
The racism is running rampant.
Funny. Yesterday I read elsewhere that it was a company that made heavy donations to Republicans. I forgot where otherwise I’d give a link. They stay on BS.
http://www.foxnews.com/science/2013/10/22/high-school-student-finds-bumpy-headed-baby-dino/
“Struggle and Success the African American Experience in Japan”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=_d0tgYzHzrM
Poem by Carrie Suter
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/african-american-beauty/
Health gap between states could reshape US
Rachel Maddow looks at the difference in degrees to which states are embracing Obamacare and wonders about the future of states that offer inferior coverage.
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/watch/health-gap-between-states-could-reshape-us-55320131507
The Morning Plum: Outside the conservative bubble, GOP sustains epic damage
By Greg Sargent
October 22 at 8:16 am
The Washington Post and ABC News have released a new batch of polling that shows in quite striking terms just how badly the shutdown fight has damaged the GOP.
The question, however, is: Do Republicans actually think it matters that their image is in such disastrous shape, or is that rendered inconsequential by the degree to which the House GOP majority is believed to be invulnerable? The numbers:
* Dems lead in the generic ballot matchup by 49-38. Among independents — a key midterm constituency — those numbers are 46-35.
* Only 21 percent of Americans approve of the way the Congressional GOP is handling the federal budget, versus 77 percent who disapprove. Among independents: 20-78. Among moderates: 14-85. Among seniors: 18-79. Fewer than one in three regard the GOP favorably.
* Only 20 percent think Republicans are “interested in doing what’s best for the country,” while 77 percent think they’re “interested in what’s best for themselves politically.” Among independents: 14-83. Among moderates: 18-81. Among seniors: 24-74.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2013/10/22/the-morning-plum-outside-the-conservative-bubble-gop-sustains-epic-damage/
igorvolsky @igorvolsky
Nearly 150,000 NewYorkers have signed up for Obamacare.
5:14 AM – 22 Oct 2013
Nerdy Wonka @NerdyWonka
September Jobs Report: 148K jobs added. Unemployment rate fell to 7.2% (lowest since 2008) August numbers revised up to 193K from 169K.
7:35 AM – 22 Oct 2013
Nerdy Wonka @NerdyWonka
September Jobs Report: Government sector added 22,000 jobs. In the past two months, government has added over 50,000 jobs.
7:38 AM – 22 Oct 2013
daveweigel ✔ @daveweigel
Idaho’s GOP gov sets up Obamacare exchange, gets primary challenge http://www.idahostatesman.com/2013/10/19/2823385/sen-fulcher-exploring-challenge.html …
7:42 AM – 22 Oct 2013
(This article focuses on Artist Beverly McIver)
Published October 21, 2013
http://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2013/10/beverly-mciver-feature-1022
“”What Follows” Interview Series: Beverly McIver”
“Raising Renee”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=2ui754mmRzE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=mDlS2y7qJzA
Michael R. Strain @MichaelRStrain
Why go to college? Unemployment rates for:
High school dropout = 10.3
HS grad = 7.6
Some college = 6.0
BA or higher = 3.7
Nerdy Wonka @NerdyWonka
Georgian woman says “be patient.” She was and #ObamaCare cut her premiums by 50% and her deductible from $5K to $2500 http://m.ajc.com/news/news/local/amid-the-train-wreck-signs-of-life/nbTY9/ …
7:49 AM – 22 Oct 2013
Obamacare opponents wage state-level fight
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/watch/obamacare-opponents-wage-state-level-fight-55320131759
Ohio’s Kasich expands healthcare access through Obamacare
10/22/13 08:00 AM
By Steve Benen
Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) is one of several Republican governors eager to expand Medicaid in his state, even though it means implementing the Affordable Care Act, though it hasn’t been easy. The Republican governor has faced unyielding opposition to the idea from state lawmakers in his own party, who are convinced it’s important to combat “Obamacare,” even when that doesn’t make sense.
Kasich tried nearly everything he could think, up to and including asking his party to consider what Reagan would do. Yesterday, however, the governor played the only card he had left: he circumvented the state legislature altogether and approved Medicaid expansion on his own.
…………..
There are now 26 states that have embraced Medicaid expansion – a new total that officially crosses the “more than half the nation” threshold.
Estimates vary slightly, but Kasich’s decision will bring health care coverage to as many as 330,000 low-income Ohioans, who would otherwise be forced to go without.
It’s easy to get lost in the numbers, so let’s pause to appreciate the scope of this single decision in a single state. Whenever the number of Americans without health insurance improves, it’s clearly a positive development, but in this case, a governor was able to bring coverage to a third of a million people in one afternoon.
It’s the kind of decision that will boost Ohio’s economy and fiscal outlook, but more importantly, it’s also likely to save lives.
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/kasich-expands-healthcare-access-through-aca
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/10/22/5049128/naacp-names-interim-president.html
GOP complaints over Jeh Johnson crumble under scrutiny
10/21/13 05:00 PM
By Steve Benen
It’s been a few days since President Obama introduced former Pentagon General Counsel Jeh Johnson as the White House’s choice to lead to the Department of Homeland Security, and the Republican line of criticism is coming into focus: Johnson has donated to Democrats.
It seems like a pretty weak pitch, but Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Jeff Session (R-Ala.), who’ve apparently taken the lead in opposing Johnson’s nomination, have both gone after the DHS nominee for having financially supported Democratic candidates, including the president, in recent years.
The good news is, the criticism is not made up – Johnson, as Fox News first reported on Friday, has “contributed more than $100,000 to Democratic candidates and groups” over the past decade. Sessions characterizes this support as a “deeply concerning” part of Johnson’s background, while Cornyn included this detail among his “grave concerns” about this nomination.
Whether one is concerned about a Democratic DHS nominee having contributed to Democratic candidates is, I suppose, a matter of perspective, but as Evan McMorris-Santoro noted, there is the question of a rather brazen double standard.
http://staugustine.com/news/local-news/2013-10-21/fort-mose-will-be-highlighted-pbs-series#.UmZ0xhafczZ
Looking for the congressmen from Occupy
10/21/13 11:41 AM
By Steve Benen
Remember former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty? He briefly ran for president in the last cycle, before bowing out, moving to D.C., and becoming the head of the Financial Services Roundtable, an advocacy group for the banking industry.
Pawlenty sat down with Jake Tapper last week, just a couple of days after his party ended its government shutdown and debt-ceiling crisis, and tried to make the case that his party’s radical wing isn’t too big a deal – because there’s a Democratic analog (via John Aravosis).
This is certainly the kind of argument that resonates for much of the Beltway. Both sides have fringes, both sides have extremists, both sides have radicals who try to pull their ostensible allies further from the center. Therefore, when the political process appears broken, the establishment feels comfortable blaming … both sides.
But here’s my follow-up question for Pawlenty: name all the Occupy activists in Congress.
Indeed, I think it’s probably fair to say the state of the larger Occupy movement is nowhere close to where it once was, and comparing it to the Tea Party is itself hard to take seriously, but even looking past that, the effort at bipartisan criticism here is just silly.
Democrats did not create an Occupy Congressional Caucus. We don’t see large numbers of Democratic lawmakers identifying themselves as Occupy adherents. There is literally nothing to suggest Occupy, which was nearly always non-partisan anyway, is driving the Democratic agenda at any level.
And on the flip side, we see Tea Party Republicans pushing around the Speaker of the House and shutting down the government. Pawlenty sees Tea Partiers as a mere “slice” of the GOP coalition, but if recent events are any indication, it’s a pretty powerful slice with enormous influence – something Occupy wouldn’t even pretend to claim.
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/looking-the-congressmen-occupy
9 Year Old Jomiloju Tunde-Oladipo becomes Nigeria’s Youngest Microsoft Certified Professional
Posted On
By : Spread Media
It’s so inspiring to hear news like this. Jomiloju Tunde-Oladipo of Role Model School, Oregun, Ikeja, Lagos, has emerged one of the youngest pupils to obtain the Microsoft Certified Professional certificate. He came tops among 21 pupils who sat for the professional examination in Lagos. He is now a Microsoft office specialist in office word 2010. Jomiloju scored 769 out of 1,000 in the examination held in August.
In his examination score report, the slim-built boy performed well in Sharing and Maintaining Documents, Formatting Content, Applying Page Layout, and Reusable Content, among other subjects. By the feat, Jomiloju has joined the league of young Microsoft certified professionals, including Nigeria’s 10-year-old Anjolaoluwa Seyi-Ojo; an eight-year-old Indian, Lavishnashree, and two Pakistanis, named Arfa and Thobani.
Microsoft Certified Professional is a certification programme provided by Microsoft Corporation. The certification is tailored towards building skills on Microsoft business solutions, focusing on client-end operating systems such as windows XP, Vista, Windows7 among others.
Jomiloju, whose certificate was signed by the Chief Executive Officer, Microsoft Corporation, Steven Ballmer, says he did not achieve this feat easily, but through persistence and hard work. He says, “It was not all that easy, because I had attempted the examination last year, I did not make it then. But I remained focused and I put in a lot of hard work”.
“At home and in the school, I am always on the computer. After school hours, if am not doing anything, I will go to my Information Communication Technology teacher, to learn more.” Jomiloju sat for the examination when he was in primary Five.
http://www.spreadmediang.com/9year-jomiloju-microsoft-certifed-professional/
“2013 KwanzaaFest canceled”
http://www.wfaa.com/news/local/2013-KwanzaaFest-canceled-228714861.html
http://youtu.be/crOqbWliOGQ
“Caregiver embodies MLK’s dream for the nation”
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/10/ai-jen-poo-marlene-champion-women-rule-caregiver-embodies-mlks-dream-for-the-nation-98628.html#ixzz2iSCoUhfx
Video link: Marlene Champion
Good Morning!
What a great job you are doing in bringing these important Spike Lee movies to us, rikyrah.
Thank you very much!
Good Morning, Everyone :)
Glad you’re enjoying Spike Lee Week
Thanks for WAK(ing me) UP!
Good morning, everyone!
@Rikyrah…School Daze! Thanks for the memories!
Good Morning, Everyone. I’m a big fan of Spike Lee’s movies.