Late Thursday afternoon, clad in comfortable green pants and a loose gray sweater and just having turned 45 the day before, acclaimed writer and director Spike Lee walked onto Wharton Center’s Great Hall stage.
For nearly an hour and a half, he discussed his career, American society and the impending Oscars ceremony.
“He carries a good, solid political message,” said Steve Heslip, a 2001 MSU graduate. “He reaches out to a wide variety of people. He adds some flavor to the speakers we get here.”
That sentiment was echoed by Novi resident David Walle, who saw Lee speak for the first time when he attended Vanderbilt University.
“He was really entertaining,” Walle said a few minutes before Lee’s MSU appearance began. “You just see him as a normal person. He doesn’t carry that image of a great filmmaker - which he is.
“He’s a great wit.”
Everyone in attendance was privy to that wit, as Lee not only spoke openly, walking back and forth across the wide stage and forgoing the podium, but also as he answered random questions from the audience submitted via cards.
Interesting and, as expected, controversial, Lee’s discussion of modern America and its entertainment industry fit the bill for the World View Lecture Series, a collection of speakers designed to bring different perspectives to the university.
“It always disappointed me that the rich African American culture you see out your door isn’t represented on-screen,” Lee said. “With the films that have come out in the past few years, not much has changed.”
A large part of Lee’s early discussion dealt with problems he sees in modern film, highlighted by films such as “The Green Mile” or “The Legend of Bagger Vance,” in which powerful black characters are unable to use their strengths for their own benefits and instead help white characters.
Another key part of the talk was the Oscars themselves. Lee spoke at length about the nomination of Denzel Washington as well as Will Smith and Halle Berry, but told the crowd that he doesn’t believe that the nominations signal any big changes in the industry. He also talked about the impact of America’s entertainment industry on the rest of the world.
“The reason America is so powerful is not because we have more bombs,” Lee said. “Popular culture is how we dominate.”
The question-and-answer session proved to be entertaining as well, with even MSU football head coach Bobby Williams taking full advantage of the opportunity, asking if Lee had time to speak to his players. While Lee said they’d talk later, he was willing to talk about the large salaries involved in the entertainment industry.
Lee said people should benefit from generating large amounts of money, specifically college athletes at large schools.
“In an ideal world, teachers should be paid more than anyone,” Lee said. “But we don’t live in an ideal world. We live in a capitalistic society where the amount you make is determined by the amount you generate.”
Lee, who received a bachelor’s degree from Morehouse College and a master’s degree from New York University, spoke directly to the college students in the room.
“I’m saddened by some of my (college) classmates who are bitter, old beyond their years, bald and overweight,” Lee said. “The common thread, the reason for their unhappiness, is that they chose a profession they don’t love.”
Much of Lee’s speech drew a warm reception, with much of the crowd standing as Lee said goodbye for the evening. As the hall emptied, audience members seemed content with what they had heard.
“It was a great speech,” said Fifer Wells who was on the board of directors of the lecture series last year. “He touched on a lot of topics that me, as a minority, had in mind.”
