From: mattm@apple.com (Matthew Melmon)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies
Subject: Spike and 'ART'
Date: 23 Nov 92 19:15:45 GMT
Followup-To: rec.arts.movies
Organization: Apple Computer, Inc.

In article <98547@netnews.upenn.edu>, myra@saul.cis.upenn.edu (Myra
VanInwegen) wrote:

> "Primitive, dull, poorly-written, and of minor appeal"? Did you and I
> see the same movie? No matter what you may think of the content, how
> could you watch this movie and not recognize that this is a fine
> example of the artistic possibilities of the movie media? I've pointed
> out, in an earlier article in this thread, some of the techniques that
> make this film a real visual treat. And, unlike many artistic films,
> this one really *moves*. It draws you into the story, drags you along,

Nonsense.  Moves where?  What are the goals of the characters?  
What are their intentions?  They have none.  What is resolved?
Nothing.  Perhaps that is 'artistic' to you - to me, it is a
'filmaker' professing talent where it's existence is dubious.

Let's look at the script:  

Some *Italian* *Americans* run a *pizza* joint in Brooklyn.  
The sons of the owner don't like being in Brooklyn.  Some 
black kids work at the pizza joint.  Some black kids don't.
An old black man wanders around saying "Do the right thing."
Three old men sit on a bench and complain about how Koreans
are going places, but blacks aren't.  Which reminds me, 
there's a Korean grocery store.  Oh, and there's a radio
station and a funky DJ. 

And the races don't get along.  But Spike knows that.  He
just wants to make sure we get it.  So he gives us some
examples - one after the other, duh-dah, duh-dah, duh-dah:

Example one:  fat white man in convertible Cadillac drives
through town and gets sprayed by water.  Deep.

Example two:  yuppie white man buys Brooklyn flat and shows
up on a bicycle, running over the new sneakers of a black
kid.  Very deep.

Example three:  Korean grocery store owner has argument with
black customers.  Real world stuff, this.

Example four:  Black kid brings boom box into pizza joint.  
Owner asks black kid to turn of music.  Black kid refuses.
Owner smashes boom box.  Black kid leaps on owner.  White
cops show up.  Black kid dies.  There's a riot.  Pizza joint
burns down.  Now here, we have something.  Of course, it
doesn't happen until the end of the film.  And it's pretty
damn *contrived* - but there's something going on.

These are all excerpts from 'reality.'  But where is the
'filmaker' art of grabbing from reality - no story in between
(and there *wasn't* a story - just a series of 'scenes' showing
'a day in the life of your "typical" black teenager in Brooklyn) -
without adding interpretation.  Some would say there was 
'interpretation.'  Nonsense.  It was the functional equivalent
of sitting on a street-corner in Brooklyn (except for the
riot - which doesn't happen every day...).

Thus:

 
> >His stories are contrived.  His characters are contrived.

And:

> >His camera angles are contrived.  
>  ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> 
> Do you feel this way about Orson Welles too? 

Spike Lee is not Orson Welles.  Spike Lee took a look at Orson Welles
(and probably Hitch) and said - Hey, that's cool.  Move the
camera.  So we get a lot of camera movement.  Some dialog, some 
camera movement.  Some more dialog - Hey!  I just had a great idea
guys!  What say we tip the camera here!  - Hey, Spike!  That's
a great idea!  - Yeah!  I dig it!  

Brazil had unusual camera angles.  There, however, the camera angles
provided additional information.  In Do Whatever You Want, we've
got some actors staring down into the camera, and the camera's 
bouncing back and forth.  No additional information.

Camera angles for the sake of camera angles.

Artistic caca.