Spike Lee Informative Speech

Many directors are in the business for the money, the fame, and the glory. They wish to seek acceptance from their peers while trying not to step on the toes of others. Spike Lee is not one of those directors. Spike has this aura about him, which you could easily distinguish due to his, dare I say, “short” stature. He seems to be the type to stick up for the little guy because he in fact one of the little guys. His burst onto the scene was accelerated due to the racial tensions present during his early years as a director and he seized the opportunity to shed light on the issues that still plague our beautiful country to this day. Today, I plan to give you a brief history on Spike Lee while also discussing his major films that have influenced …show more content…
In one of his latest films Chi-Raq, Lee brings to light the ever-present gun violence that plagues Illinois, specifically Chicago, which has some of the highest crime and murder rates in the nation, and even the world. This is one of Lee 's better films as it not only seeks to entertain, but it also brings anger into the hearts of the viewer for they get a small glimpse at what life is like through the eyes of the loved ones of people who are either doing the shootings or getting shot at (Buckley 1). This movie came at a controversial time for Lee, as the Oscar nominations had been released about a week after his film released. If you couldn 't see it on his face, Lee would gladly let you know how distraught and disappointed he was with the results of the nominations, pointing to the fact that all acting nominees were, for the second consecutive year, white. This enraged Lee which caused him to boycott the award ceremony, joining many other famous actors including Will and Jada Pinkett Smith as those who would not attend the ceremonies. This is why Spike Lee stays relevant and influential, even almost 30years after his arguably best film was released. He continually fights injustices at all levels, whether it be from the entertainment industry or flipping the bird to the government and letting them know they 're slacking in their efforts. By boycotting the Oscars, he 's giving others a …show more content…
The film ends with two quotes, one from Martin Luther King Jr. who states that all violence is unnecessary, while Spike Lee follows it up with a quote from Malcolm X that states that in the face of violence, sometimes the only way to combat violence is with more violence itself. These two quotes help to replay the theme, the notion that peace and social unrest/social violence are always at odds, with compelling reasons for both as to why the other should cease. These are the struggles that African Americans faced in the past and still face to this day. They must choose whether they want to continue on a path of peace and have their voices smothered, or attempt to gather and commit violence so that our nation will hear their