Spike Lee Essay -- Biography, Shelton Jackson Lee

Shelton Jackson Lee was born in Atlanta, Georgia blemish 20, 1957. Born to teacher Jacqueline Carroll and jazz musician William James Edward Lee, Shelton grew up in Brooklyn, advanced York where he was provided with a rich cultural upbringing that include plays, movies, and music (Gale 1). At a young age, Lee was nicknamed Spike by his mother who noticed his rough nature and the nickname stuck well into his expectant life. He attended Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia where he gained an interest in charter and then graduated with a Bachelors degree in hatful Communication. Lee went on to attend New York Universitys Tisch School of the humanities where he becomed his first student make and graduated in 1982 with a Master of Fine Arts in Film and Television. Being superstar of the few black students to attend Tisch School of the Arts, the aspiring filmmakers first year at New York University was a particularly challenging one. Lees experiences, race, and upbringing have a ll led him to create controversial films to provide audiences with an insight into racial issues. Spike Lees first student production, The Answer, was a short ten minute film which told of a young black screenwriter who rewrote D.W. Griffiths The Birth of a Nation. The film was not well accepted among the faculty at New York University, stating Lee had not yet mastered film grammar. Lee went on to believe the faculty took offense to his criticisms towards the respected directors uninventive portrayals of black characters (1). For his final film project, Lee wrote, produced, and directed Joes Bed-Stuy Barbershop We delete Heads. The film won him the 1983 Student Academy Award for Best film director and the Lincoln Center chose the film as its first student production. The film was lo... ...d violence (Biography 1). While black oriented films have veered away from racial discrimination and focused more on humor and sex to attract the sunrise(prenominal) younger audience, Lee has continued to focus on racial issues, belongings the door open for other directors to follow. One of the most original, innovative, and without a incertitude controversial filmmakers in America, Lee admits he has been blessed with the opportunity to demo the views of black people who otherwise dont have adit to power and media (IMDb 4). Lee uses this motivation coming from his passion of being competent to express the views of many, along with Malcolm X himself and his philosophy that blacks need to build their give birth economic base, to continue contributing to Hollywood (Gale 4). There is no inquiry that Spike Lee will continue to find ways to advert audiences with his controversial actions, statements and racial films.