EUR This N That | Urban Black News Blog

Ed Gordon interviews Spike Lee at the 14th Annual Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Conference

Sheldon Jackson Lee, affectionately known as Spike Lee, came to Detroit for the 14th Annual Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs conference and was interviewed by Ed Gordon on the film industry and his career.

He has always been very outspoken with his ideas and opinions in race relations and politics and this time is no different.  He has a body of work that is more impressive than any other black filmmaker, yet he can’t get the draw of, a sayyyyyy, Tyler Perry.

The question on the table remains, “What is it in Perry’s formula that is different than Spike’s?”  Gordon put it out there that the imagery African Americans are flocking to see, Tyler Perry’s, is not in any way reflective of let’s sayyyyyyyyyyyyy a Spike Lee.  Spike’s take on the image of Black America on film is a “complex subject,” said Lee.  He told Gordon that everyone should be able to express themselves however they want, but while we can do better than what we’re doing with image, the people are who make or break our image.

He said when addressing the Tyler Perry images, “When John Singleton–people came out to see Boys in the Hood. He did Rosewood, nobody showed up. So a lot of this is on us. You vote with your pocketbook, your wallet. You vote with your time, sitting in front of the idiot box. And the man has a huge audience…”  He went on to say that he felt Perry was smart in the moves he’s made, but the imagery is still “troubling” to him.

Watch the full interview for yourself.  To be fair, Spike is always good for giving you something to think about:

Credit to RadioFacts.com for bringing this to our attention.