He Got Game

1) Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the screening.

One thing to grab my attention more than the plot between Do the Right Thing and He Got Game is the music that was chosen to accompany the two films. I took note of the fact that this particular topic was discussed in each class lecture about the two films. If my job at the writing center hasn’t done anything else, I’m definitely sure that it taught me to pick out patterns. Do the Right Thing is daring and bold with its electrifying “Fight the Power” pounding on our eardrums, commanding attention with every note and every lyric. The song coincided directly with themes shown in the film and became what Andy’s opera singing was to the shocked men standing outside listening to two women blare through the loud speaker in the prison in Shawshank Redemption. Although Do the Right Thing was my first time watching a Spike Lee “joint”, I still cocked my head to the side in curiosity as Aaron Copland’s soundtrack caressed the film and almost seemingly graced the ball of the game through every shot. This was, to me, unusual even for the very unusual Spike Lee.

Evan Carter from AllMusic suggests that, “Lee wanted to make the point that basketball is as quintessentially American as cowboys, Lincoln, and Copland himself.” In addition, basketball is American, but is “connected to an entirely different stream of Americana” (Carter, AllMusic). What is Carter trying to say here? After thinking for some time on it, I concluded that maybe Lee wasn’t trying to confirm that basketball is an American game and that it is just as important as other “American” things. Maybe, a thought that may not have an answer yet, Lee was trying to bring up the question of: What is American? The term America, when heard, definitely sounds like a definition, yet so many people find it hard to find a way to explain “American”. Lee’s vision could’ve been trying to overcome the categories and boxes that we willingly put ourselves and other things in as a society to try and understand something. Maybe there’s not supposed to be a reason why he put a rather bluntly classical score to such a hardcore game.

***Link to article used***

Carter, Evan. "AllMusic Review." AllMusic. Web. 20 Apr. 2016.

<http://www.allmusic.com/album/he-got-game-the-music-of-aaron-copland-motion-picture-soundtrack-mw0000382819>.

2) Find a related article and summarize the content. 

The article that I chose by Owen Gleiberman comes from Entertainment Weekly, and opens already on the topic of Copland’s music as the score of the film, calling basketball “a majestic myth” (Gleiberman, par. 1). The article gives some rather interesting insights, amidst some exposition about the film, as it hones in on Denzel Washington’s character (Jake Shuttlesworth) and gives an opinion of not really fully accepting his character portrayal and declares that Jesus (Jake’s all star son) is pushed too far into the “role model” portrayal. The article ultimately concludes, making sure to mention Spike Lee’s love for the game, by touching on the end of the film when Jesus and Jake are playing a one on one game of basketball, something highly anticipated since the beginning of the film. Gleiberman assures his readers that this one on one act is a concept that has been recurring since the start of the film when Jake comes back around into his children’s lives.

***Link to Article Used***

Gleiberman, Owen. "He Got Game." Entertainment Weekly's EW.com. 8 May 1998. Web. 20

Apr. 2016. <http://www.ew.com/article/1998/05/08/he-got-game>.

3) Apply the article to the film screened in class.  

The article that I chose didn’t seem to really affect my views that I already had of the film. The article was rather short and did not touch on too much, but I did find it interesting that the author did not fully approve of Denzel Washington’s performance as Jake. I honestly don’t know what I would like to say about his performance. I suppose it was rather good if I can be pulled into the world of the film enough to completely disregard paying attention to detail like that. When thinking about other roles that I have seen Washington play, I can definitely tell which is his older roles and which is his younger roles, but I haven’t given much thought yet to how I would rank this performance officially. What I have given some thought to is the difference between the two film in terms o the portrayal of African Americans. Do the Right Thing and He Got Game are two great films. One portrays black men to be upstanding citizens and all star basketball players headed toward success in direct contrast to an alcoholic and violent black man that society seems to associate more so with the race than anything else. The other film portrays balck people in general as exactly what society sees them as: loud mouthed, violent, and chaotic. I would say Lee tried to give “Da Mayor” an important role in the neighborhood, but that was undercut by his lack of know-how and his ability to drink all day and roam the town in rags. Not to mention Sal, the pizzeria owner who does well by his community but seems to have contradictory ideas about his most predominant customers as expressed by Chistopher Michaelson in the handout that was passed out in class about the film. Two very different films with very important messages is what I have summed them up to be.

4) Write a critical analysis of the film.

In conclusion, He Got Game was a descent film although my preference would be to have a little less nudity. The film really grappled with the inevitable issue that many people have in their lives: temptation. Lee did such a good job of portraying the whirlwind that was Jesus’ mind during the process of making important decisions for himself and his career. Let’s not forget how simply and gracefully he weaved as story of father and son into the mix as well, which seems to be a prevalent theme in many young African American boys lives. I don’t think I liked He Got Game better than Do the Right Thing, but I’m glad that I got the chance to be exposed to Spike Lee’s work, and I will continue to further my knowledge of his work from this day forth.

1) ( x ) I have not handed in this assignment for any other class.

2) ( x ) If I reused any information from other papers I have written for other classes, I clearly explain that in the paper.

3) ( x ) If I used any passages word for word, I put quotations around those words, or used indentation and citation within the text.

4) ( x ) I have not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited in the bibliography in the text of the paper.

5) ( x ) I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally read.

6) ( x ) I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be stated in another way. I cited the source within the paper and in the bibliography.

7) ( x ) I did not so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or originality.

8) ( x ) I checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent about the research and ideas used in my paper.