Aule Turbolente

I am only 18 years old and I just saw the movie School Daze. I do not attend a H.B.C.U., but I have friends that tell me what goes on there. To the older people out there, can you believe that that type of stuff is still going on?! My friends and I were just talking the other day about how this guy on her campus would only date lighter skinned girls. If that is his thing, than it is, however, he would not date them because of their personality. He said they just "looked better on his arm." My mother and I always discuss the future of African-Americans and I am going to tell the truth. I am scared. We hurt each other more than any other race and we have to stop. I am a dark-skinned female and I just learnd to love myself. I thank Spike Lee for not being ashamed to call us out when we needed it. No, I do not think that the movie was an Oscar winner, but I do know that it was a mind opener and should be a lesson to all of us on how we allowed the European standard of beauty to shape our self-worth.

School Daze is billed as a musical comedy but is better described as a comedy-drama with musical numbers as commentary--the only non-diegetic number is "Good and Bad Hair," Lee's all-girl fantasy homage to West Side Story that addresses colorism between the "paper bag-light" sorority Gamma Rays and the darker activist girls. Ebert wrote that this was the first movie he'd seen in a while where the black characters relate to each other instead of a hypothetical white audience--it is this that gives the movie its engrossing authenticity. (If it matters, I'm white.)

As funny as the movie can be, it's also incredibly hard-hitting--there's a sequence in the last 20 minutes where Julian, "Big Brother Al-migh-tee," insists his girlfriend "prove" her love, that's almost unwatchable and yet brutally honest. Lee has been called sexist for his underwritten female characters--there may be some truth to that but School Daze is far more critical of the men than the women. Rachel, Dap's girlfriend, is perhaps the most levelheaded, likable character in the movie, and is strong and supportive of Dap while still maintaining her independence. Even the Gamma Rays, who come off as shallow and colorist in the beginning, are sympathetic as they stand up for and try to aid the pledges during hazing. The characters who come off the worst are the GPG brothers who are, almost to a man, brutish, sadistic and crude. Julian in particular is unredeemable--clever, manipulative and almost sociopathic in his treatment of Jane. Lee supposedly based the movie on his observations at Morehouse and the movie stands as a scathing indictment against the black fraternity system and its abuse of the women's auxiliaries (aka "Little Sisters").

The movie has structural weaknesses (the ending is problematic and seems to come out of nowhere although it fits thematically) but its biggest problem is Lee's flat performance as Half-Pint (and, frankly, he looks a little too old for it). I love Lee's movies but his early tendency to cast himself in major roles was a real weakness--he's just not a good enough actor and his performance always jerks me out of the story. The rest of the cast is fantastic, though, especially Tisha Campbell as Jane and Giancarlo Esposito as Julian. Notice must also be given to Bill Lee's wonderful score. Ultimately it's a movie whose heart and imagination overcome its flaws.

Spike Lee's School Daze is an interesting film, one that reveals the struggle of black society in the 1980's. This was the time period when they were struggling to keep their head afloat in this world despite the civil rights movement some decades before. This film has many flaws, but it's not a letdown thanks to the clear message Spike Lee was able to bring across. The opening of this film is powerful as Lee is showing the history of his people and the end.....well it came out of nowhere but I think it's rightly justified.

Spike Lee's film takes place at a historically black college during homecoming weekend and it's about how the sororities and the fraternities clash against each other.

The acting is decent: nothing to rave home about, but nothing to be ashamed of either. Laurence Fishburne may have had the best role as the revolutionary leader who wants to change how his school is ran.

Overall, School Daze is very interesting and it sends the message to America and more specifically to black people, to wake up and be proud of their heritage. These morals are a strong presence throughout the film and quite frankly, they elevate the movie. For the music itself, it's quite enjoyable though some songs are a tad too long. Kudos to Spike Lee for going somewhere that directors rarely go. I rate this film 8/10.

There are things I liked about "School Daze." In particular, there was the scene near the end of the film between Giancarlo Esposito's Julian and his girlfriend. It's when he breaks up with her for sleeping with another student, all the while completely aware that he made her do it. I've actually seen guys do this -- trick their girlfriends into doing something that, later on, they can use as cause to dump them -- and the reality of the scene carried such a raw, emotional weight that it nearly derailed the rest of the film.

"School Daze" is, first and foremost, a period piece of 1980s pop culture. Many of the sequences, especially the ones requiring dancing and choreography, are hopelessly dated, like early break-dancing videos.

Dated is okay, as long as there are other elements to counterbalance its datedness. Example: "All That Jazz" is a relic of Bob Fosse's toxic, overindulgent mind, a '70s time capsule item. However, the untouchable authority and supreme confidence he brought to it, along with the visual beauty, and the letter-perfect performances, made up for any drawbacks, and then some. "...Jazz" went from silly to sublime inside of sixty seconds.

Lee's direction is alarmingly hesitant and amateurish, giving no hint of the originality, vitality, and sheer genius he would display in his later films. It's certainly difficult to believe he made this film between "She's Gotta Have It" and "Do the Right Thing." His editing is sloppy, his staging is slapdash, and the performances from his actors and actresses range from sleepy to histrionic. The stories lose their punch through careless juggling, and the illogical "Wake Up!" scene at the end is unearned and unwarranted. Most disappointing of all, the thing I value his films for most -- his constant pushing of the cinematic envelope in all sorts of unexpected ways -- is all but totally absent.

I love most of Lee's films. I'll go so far as to say that he's one of the last risk-takers left in the business (Stanley Kubrick is dead, Quentin Tarantino is MIA, and anything done by Spielberg, God love him, automatically becomes non-risk). His "Do the Right Thing" is as good as any other film released in the '80s. The best thing I can say about this one is: I'm glad he got it out of his system.

I'm a fan of Spike Lee and look up to him, being an aspiring director. I wouldn't rank this film up there with "Do the Right Thing," since it has its flaws, but I still found it entertaining and the characters generally engaging. Spike has a knack for writing, as well as directing. The minor problems I had with "School Daze" were that it dragged a bit (quite a few scenes could've used trimming), some of the acting is wooden, the occasional music numbers seemed forced (this is also considering I'm not a big fan of musicals) and the ending didn't satisfy me. Aside from the end scene being pretentious, it seemed way too forced in an otherwise realistic film. Laurence Fishburne, who's a naturally brilliant actor that never disappoints, gives the best performance of the film. He compensates for some of the more amateurish members of the cast. By the way, expect to see a lot of Spike's regulars--including Bill Nunn, Ossie Davis and Samuel L. Jackson in a nice bit part. Also, expect to see several actors from "A Different World." It's evident that Spike was probably in a frat back in his college days, since the film feels authentic and the frat scenes are rich with detail. I recommend "School Daze," if you're a Spike fan like me, though it's nowhere near as powerful as most of his work. (7 out of 10)