Spike Lee
By: by Todd McGowan
Series: Contemporary film directors; Contemporary film directors
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
Published: 2014
Language: eng
Number of pages: 163
ISBN-13: 9780252038143; 9780252079610
Subjects: Criticism and interpretation
Description: Since the release of Do the Right Thing in 1989, Spike Lee has established himself as a cinematic icon. Lee's mostly independent films garner popular audiences while at the same time engaging in substantial political and social commentary. He is arguably the most accomplished African American filmmaker in cinematic history, and his breakthrough paved the way for the success of many other African Americans in film. In this first single-author scholarly examination of Spike Lee's oeuvre, Todd McGowan shows how Lee's films, from She's Gotta Have It through Red Hook Summer, address crucial social issues such as racism, paranoia, and economic exploitation in a formally inventive manner. McGowan argues that Lee uses excess in his films to intervene in issues of philosophy, politics, and art.
Notes: Includes filmography.

Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Confronted with too much. Singular subjects; title: Driven by fantasy; title: The politics of passion; title: Fight the paranoia; title: The costs of community; title: Depictions of antagonism; title: No outside; title: Disturbing the spectator; title: The effect of Spike Lee; title: Interview with Spike Lee / by Lisa Collins.