I've been reading the journal for Spike Lee's film, Do The Right Thing, as he was developing the pitch and script he was wrapping up his second film, School Daze. So I thought I should watch it.
School Daze is a film set inside am African American University during the apartheid in South Africa and the imprisonment of Nelson Mandela. We have two black groups: the Gammites; a fraternity and another group of socially conscious students, among the males and a parallel division among the women. The male groups are both pushing for the same cause; the freeing of Mandela. The women they struggle with identity and beauty standards; the "wanna be whites" with their lighter, straighter hair, and the "jigaboos" a derogatory word for a black person, which they refer to as a natural ethnic black person, who is in touch with their roots.
This is the very last scene of School Daze. Which I found just perfect for my site! Such a powerful, profound 3 minutes and 20 seconds, with no more words than, "please wake up". Here, Fishborn has a realization of how ineffective and destructive this division between the groups are. Fishborn is calling for everyone. Everyone. To united and wake up! wipe the eyes of its blindness, and address the issues head on as a group. In the morning we have the opportunity to make change. and bring about a different day. I just love how Spike ends the movie with the ringing of an alarm clock. Today is truly, A New Day.
Now I understand that my readers (well for now reader; aka me hahah) may not see the connection, since Mr. Lee here is focusing on the division between the African American.
But ultimately, Spike Lee is saying Wake Up to everyone! Divided we are defeated united we are strong! and as my brother Malcolm has put it,
"I believe there will ultimately be a clash between the oppressed and those who do the oppressing. I believe that there will be a clash between those who want freedom, justice, and equality for everyone, and those who want to continue the systems of exploitation…but I don’t think that it will be based upon the color of the skin"
Join the movement . Mental Freedom. Demand Change. Wake Up. Question.
