A Visit From Spike Lee

Spike Lee visited Flagstaff yesterday, January 27th, as a speaker for International Holocaust Day. The Martin-Springer Institute at NAU recognized Lee’s work, which focuses on culture clash, class division, racial tension, and most recently, the social and political turmoil that followed Hurricane Katrina.

Lee created a 4 hour documentary called "When the Levees Broke", chronicling the aftermath of Katrina in New Orleans. In the film, he interviewed residents from all walks of life and politicians from Louisiana. Lee exposed the corruption, the confusion, and some really inhumane treatment towards the New Orleans population that was and still is a reality for Hurricane Katrina victims. He also criticized the media portrayal of Katrina and it’s aftermath, looking at the denial of governmental mishaps and the lack of longevity in coverage.

Lee briefly compared the aftermath of Katrina to the aftermath of Haiti in his speech last night. He called for the audience and the American people to realize that after the first wave of aid, the despair is not over. The initial destruction reverberates within the area for an indefinite amount of time.

Despite the relationship with “When the Levees Broke” to International Holocaust Day, Lee barely spoke about New Orleans. Although his speech was relevant on other levels, I had hoped to hear more about his experiences in New Orleans while filming. And perhaps some insight on the current state of the aftermath of Katrina, as I am sure he has resources to obtain more information than many of us have.

Lee did talk about the importance of media (which he called “culture”) in shaping society. He recognized that this can more often than not, be a negative influence. However, he praised filmmakers that reflect social issues in their work. Lee’s resounding message throughout his career is to “Wake Up”.

I hope Lee makes more documentary films that expose social injustice in our country. Discussing Native American issues, he described an interest in looking at the relationship of African American slaves and Native Americans who helped them out in Florida. I think Lee has a great amount of ideas for future projects and look forward to seeing what he offers to the film world.