Download or read book The Philosophy of Spike Lee written by Mark Conard and published by University Press of Kentucky. This book was released on 2011-07-22 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over his twenty-plus year tenure in Hollywood, Spike Lee has produced a number of controversial films that unapologetically confront sensitive social issues, particularly those of race relations and discrimination. Through his honest portrayals of life’s social obstacles, he challenges the public to reflect on the world’s problems and divisions. The innovative director created a name for himself with feature films such as Do the Right Thing (1989) and Malcolm X (1992), and with documentaries such as 4 Little Girls (1997) and When the Levees Broke (2006), breaking with Hollywood’s reliance on cultural stereotypes to portray African Americans in a more realistic light. The director continues to produce poignant films that address some of modern society’s most important historical movements and events. In The Philosophy of Spike Lee, editor Mark T. Conard and an impressive list of contributors delve into the rich philosophy behind this filmmaker’s extensive work. Not only do they analyze the major themes of race and discrimination that permeate Lee’s productions, but also examine other philosophical ideas that are found in his films, ideas such as the nature of time, transcendence, moral motivation, self-constitution, and justice. The authors specialize in a variety of academic disciplines that range from African American Studies to literary and cultural criticism and Philosophy.
Download or read book Philosophy Black Film Film Noir written by and published by Penn State Press. This book was released on 2008 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Examines how African-American as well as international films deploy film noir techniques in ways that encourage philosophical reflection. Combines philosophy, film studies, and cultural studies"--Provided by publisher.
Download or read book Spike Lee written by Todd McGowan and published by University of Illinois Press. This book was released on 2014-02-15 with total page 185 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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. McGowan contends that it is impossible to watch a Spike Lee film in the way that one watches a typical Hollywood film. By forcing observers to recognize their unconscious enjoyment of violence, paranoia, racism, sexism, and oppression, Lee's films prod spectators to see differently and to confront their own excess. In the process, his films reveal what is at stake in desire, interpersonal relations, work, and artistic creation itself.
Download or read book The Spike Lee Enigma written by Bill Yousman and published by Peter Lang Pub Incorporated. This book was released on 2014-09-29 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: <I>The Spike Lee Enigma is an exploration of ideology and political economy in the films and career of one of America's most controversial filmmakers. Since the 1980s Spike Lee has created numerous films that are socially challenging, some would even say radical, while simultaneously maintaining a collaborative relationship with mainstream Hollywood and the global advertising industry. Lee, thus, seemingly represents an enigma - operating on the margins of both hegemonic and counter-hegemonic cultural production. <BR> This book incorporates multiple perspectives, ranging from media effects theories, critical cultural studies, and the political economy of media, to semiotics and ideological, auteurist, and feminist approaches to film theory and analysis. Early chapters provide a clear explanation of these theoretical and methodological approaches while later chapters explore several of Lee's films in great depth. In a social environment where popular culture has supplanted education and religion as a primary force of socialization and enculturation, this book demonstrates why a popular filmmaker such as Spike Lee must be taken seriously, while introducing readers to ways of viewing, reading, and listening that will allow them to achieve a new understanding of the mediated texts they encounter on a daily basis.
Download or read book How to Analyze the Films of Spike Lee written by Mike Reynolds and published by ABDO. This book was released on 2010 with total page 116 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This title explores the creative works of famous filmmaker Spike Lee. Films analyzed include Do the Right Thing, When the Leeves Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts, Malcolm X, and Bamboozled. Clear, comprehensive text gives background biographical information of Lee. “You Critique It” feature invites readers to analyze other creative works on their own. A table of contents, timeline, list of works, resources, source notes, glossary, and an index are also included. Essential Critiques is a series in Essential Library, an imprint of ABDO Publishing Company.
Download or read book Spike Lee s Do the Right Thing written by Mark A. Reid and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1997-05-13 with total page 178 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A collection of essays on Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing.
Download or read book Spike Lee written by Jason P. Vest and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2014-09-30 with total page 516 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Spike Lee's journey from guerrilla filmmaker to Hollywood insider is explored in light of his personal background, the cultural influence of his films, and the extensive scholarship his movies have inspired. This insightful study probes the iconic filmmaker's career as a director and shaper of American culture. It not only sheds light on the ways in which Lee's background, influences, and outlook affect his films but also discusses how he participates in, transforms, and transcends the tradition of black American filmmaking. Each chapter offers a critical assessment of at least one, and sometimes multiple, Lee films, examining their production history; their place in Lee's filmography; and their aesthetic, cultural, and historical significance. Readers will come away from this first scholarly assessment of Lee's career and work with a better understanding of his penchant for stirring up controversy about significant social, political, and artistic issues as well as his role as an American artist who provokes his audiences as much as he pacifies them.
Download or read book Spike Lee s America written by David Sterritt and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2013-04-03 with total page 285 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Spike Lee has directed, written, produced, and acted in dozens of films that present an expansive, nuanced, proudly opinionated, and richly multifaceted portrait of American society. As the only African-American filmmaker ever to establish a world-class career, Lee has paid acute attention to the experiences of racial and ethnic minorities. But white men and women also play important roles in his movies, and his interest in class, race, and urban life hasn’t prevented his films from ranging over broad swaths of the American scene in stories as diverse as the audiences who view them. His defining trait is a willingness to raise hard questions about contemporary America without pretending to have easy answers; his pictures are designed to challenge and provoke us, not ease our minds or pacify our emotions. The opening words of his 1989 masterpiece Do the Right Thing present his core message in two emphatic syllables: “Wake up!” Spike Lee’s America is a vibrant and provocative engagement not only with the work of a great filmmaker, but also with American society and politics.
Download or read book The Philosophy of Ang Lee written by Robert Arp and published by University Press of Kentucky. This book was released on 2013-05-01 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ang Lee (b. 1954) has emerged as one of cinema's most versatile, critically acclaimed, and popular directors. Known for his ability to transcend cultural and stylistic boundaries, Lee has built a diverse oeuvre that includes films about culture clashes and globalization ( Eat Drink Man Woman, 1994, and The Wedding Banquet, 1993), a period drama ( Sense and Sensibility, 1995), a martial arts epic ( Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, 2000), a comic book action movie ( Hulk, 2003), and an American western ( Brokeback Mountain, 2005). The Philosophy of Ang Lee draws from both Eastern and Western philosophical traditions to examine the director's works. The first section focuses on Taoist, Confucian, and Buddhist themes in his Chinese-language films, and the second examines Western philosophies in his English-language films; but the volume ultimately explores how Lee negotiates all of these traditions, strategically selecting from each in order to creatively address key issues. With interest in this filmmaker and his work increasing around the release of his 3-D magical adventure The Life of Pi (2012), The Philosophy of Ang Lee serves as a timely investigation of the groundbreaking auteur and the many complex philosophical themes that he explores through the medium of motion pictures.
Download or read book The Philosophy of Film Noir written by Mark T. Conard and published by University Press of Kentucky. This book was released on 2006-01-01 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Explores philosophical themes and ideas inherent in classic noir and neo-noir films, establishing connections to diverse thinkers ranging from Camus to the Frankfurt School. The authors, each focusing on a different aspect of the genre, explores the philosophical underpinnings of classic films.
Download or read book Philosophy and Film written by Cynthia A. Freeland and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-01-08 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Philosophy and Film moves from broad theoretical reflections on film as a medium to concrete examinations of individual films.
Download or read book Best Seat in the House written by Spike Lee and published by . This book was released on 1997 with total page 327 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Best Seat in the House is a love letter from a passionate, unswerving fan to basketball, the New York Knickerbockers and their thirty-year relationship through disappointment, triumph, bad calls and air balls. It's a slam dunk.
Download or read book Spike written by Spike Lee and published by Chronicle Books. This book was released on 2021-11-10 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This career-spanning monograph is a visual celebration of Spike Lee's life and career to date. Featuring hundreds of never-before-seen photographs by David Lee, Spike's brother, this book includes behind-the-scenes, insider images that underscore his creative process, and his significant impact on the culture at large. Print run 15,000.
Download or read book Fight the Power written by Janice D. Hamlet and published by Peter Lang. This book was released on 2009 with total page 460 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Shelton Jackson «Spike» Lee is one of the most culturally influential and provocative film directors of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Bringing together seminal writings - from classic scholarship to new research - this book focuses on this revolutionary film auteur and cultural provocateur to explore contemporary questions around issues of race, politics, sexuality, gender roles, filmmaking, commercialism, celebrity, and the role of media in public discourse. Situating Lee as an important contributor to a variety of American discourses, the book highlights his commitment to exploring issues of relevance to the Black community. His work demands that his audiences take inventory of his and their understandings of the complexities of race relations, the often deleterious influence of media messages, the long term legacy of racism, the liberating effects of sexual freedom, the controversies that arise from colorism, the separatist nature of classism, and the cultural contributions and triumphs of historical figures. This book seeks to stimulate continued debate by examining the complexities in Lee's various sociopolitical claims and their ideological impacts.
Download or read book The Philosophy of Martin Scorsese written by Mark T. Conard and published by University Press of Kentucky. This book was released on 2007-05-31 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Academy Award--winning director Martin Scorsese is one of the most significant American filmmakers in the history of cinema. Although best known for his movies about gangsters and violence, such as Mean Streets, Goodfellas, Casino, and Taxi Driver, Scorsese has addressed a much wider range of themes and topics in the four decades of his career. In The Philosophy of Martin Scorsese, an impressive cast of contributors explores the complex themes and philosophical underpinnings of Martin Scorsese's films. The essays concerning Scorsese's films about crime and violence investigate the nature of friendship, the ethics of vigilantism, and the nature of unhappiness. The authors delve deeply into the minds of Scorsese's tortured characters and explore how the men and women he depicts grapple with moral codes and their emotions. Several of the essays explore specific themes in individual films. The authors describe how Scorsese addresses the nuances of social mores and values in The Age of Innocence, the nature of temptation and self-sacrifice in The Last Temptation of Christ and Bringing Out the Dead, and the complexities of innovation and ambition in The Aviator. Other chapters in the collection examine larger philosophical questions. In a world where everything can be interpreted as meaningful, Scorsese at times uses his films to teach audiences about the meaning in life beyond the everyday world depicted in the cinema. For example, his films touching on religious subjects, such as Kundun and The Last Temptation of Christ, allow the director to explore spiritualism and peaceful ways of responding to the chaos in the world.Filled with penetrating insights on Scorsese's body of work, The Philosophy of Martin Scorsese shows the director engaging with many of the most basic questions about our humanity and how we relate to one another in a complex world.
Download or read book Spike Lee written by Kaleem Aftab and published by W. W. Norton. This book was released on 2006-10-01 with total page 430 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The provocative filmmaker describes his early achievements in the 1986 film, She's Gotta Have It, through his contributions to such movies as Do the Right Thing and Malcolm X, in a personal portrait complemented by numerous firsthand accounts that also discuss the role of race in his work and his relationships with famous stars. Reprint.
Download or read book Spike Lee written by Spike Lee and published by Delmonico Books. This book was released on 2022 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For nearly four decades, Spike Lee has made movies that demand our attention. His extensive filmography reflects an unflinching critique of race relations in the United States, from the Student Academy Awarda?winning short Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads and the ever-relevant Do the Right Thing to the more recent Oscara-winning BlacKkKlansman and Da 5 Bloods. A lifelong cinephile and film scholar, Lee draws inspiration from other artists working across a range of eras, genres and global cinemas. He has also devoted much of his career to teaching the next generation of filmmakers. Spike Lee: Director's Inspiration presents Lee's personal collection of original film posters and objects, photographs, artworks and more - many of these inscribed to Lee personally by filmmakers, stars, athletes, activists, musicians and others who have inspired his work in specific ways. Straight from the walls of Lee's 40 Acres and a Mule production studio in Brooklyn, his faculty office at NYU and his Martha's Vineyard home, these objects offer a glimpse into what shapes Lee's signature filmmaking approach. Spike Lee: Director's Inspiration also includes a conversation between Lee and Shaka King (Judas and the Black Messiah), Lee's list of 95 essential films and brief texts by some of the many artists Lee himself has inspired.
