I'm not sure but i think i read somewhere about Spike Lee complaining because some of the black characters portrayed in this movie were "too white".
"The only way to stay out of trouble is to grow old, so I guess I'll concentrate on that".
For a film that isn't even about race, but more importantly focused on human emotions, too many people bring up the issue of race in Cassavetes' Shadows. As for Spike Lee, he's an imbecile who's mere infatuation in life is looking for reasons to cry "racisim."
"I hope I never get so old I get religious." Ingmar Bergman
You don't think this film is about race?
shareI think Shadows is one of those films, because it centers around a black family and contains an interracial relationship, that it's commonly misconceived as being about "race."
For me, I saw a film about emotions, expectations, aimless wandering, friendship, retaining artistic integerity, not wanting to live by structure etc. I don't think race is what concerned Cassavetes; it's really just a film about a group of individuals trying to "get by" in life.
"I hope I never get so old I get religious." Ingmar Bergman
Very well put. In my opinion, the racial aspect is intertwined with the emotions and expectations, however – especially when you consider how Ben's feelings toward Lelia change once he meets her brother and realizes she's of mixed race. The fact that Cassavetes doesn't give this the "Jungle Fever" treatment makes this a better film, but I don't think the racial aspect can be ignored.
shareInterestingly enough, I recall reading that Cassavetes, while making Shadows, wanted to, in fact, be a black man, because he thought of it as being the ultimate challenge in life.
"I hope I never get so old I get religious." Ingmar Bergman
Do you mean he wanted to be a black man in real life, or portray one on the screen? I think had he been one in the '50s (or the '60s, or the '70s ...), he'd have found his options severely limited.
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This film is totally about race, from the plot to the title. It is to Cassavetes' credit that this doesn't feel like a standard racial drama from the '50s – with bigotry and distrust resolved by a realization that we have should use our common humanity to work together. Rather, he appears to be looking beyond race and using the racial aspect of the story as one of many plot points. But it's still about race – and jazz, and economics.
shareHasn't Spike Lee himself been the subject of ridicule for always casting light skinned black girls as romantic leads while the darker girls are always the sidekicks?
shareIsn't Spike Lee's wife light-skinned black? Or is it dark-skinned white? Spike himself has said that anyone who has a drop of black blood in them is black (referring to Barack Obama), so I would think that skin tone wouldn't be a consideration.
I like his films, but it seems at times his agendas get in the way of his storytelling (and often the agenda isn't storytelling).
@bijou
No,he hasn't. Don't know where you heard that one from,but it's not true.
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Cassavetes himself also said, "The story is of a Negro family that lives just beyond the bright lights of Broadway, but we did not mean it to be a film about race."
I'm a movie critic and columnist at KillerRobotGo.com. Go check it out!
What does cry racism even mean?
share[deleted]
if it were up to spike lee, he would be the only filmmaker in history to tackle racism. and thank god that's not the case because he hasn't made a decent movie in years.
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Spike Lee insisted that Norman Jewison could not make Malcolm X because he is not black. I think Mr Jewison would have done a fine job. I can not watch that movie because of my resentment. Spike Lee has a thing for light skin blacks.
shareJewison might have muddled through Malcolm X but Lee had a passion for the material, a personal connection to the material that Jewison couldn't have had. Lee did a tremendous job with the biopic so I can't fault a frame of what he shot. I can't see any white filmmakers of the time doing better than he did.
On Shadows, I think Lelia had to be able to pass as white. Otherwise the love interest plot wouldn't have made sense. How her boyfriend reacts when he sees that her brother is clearly black. I just assumed that Lelia had one white parent. That her older brother was a half-brother. Also the black and white film did a good job of masking just how white Lelia Goldoni really was.
I am glad you responded to my statement about Spike Lee making Malcolm X. Thank You. Becaue of your in sight I have changed my opinion.
share@eduardo
Never read anything about Spike saying anything about this flick--where's the link to it, if you say he did?