Spike Lee

McGowan (English, Univ. of Vermont; Out of Time) takes a solid look at director Spike Lee's often controversial and always to-the-point films and analyzes several themes accentuated in both Lee's early groundbreaking fiction offerings and his later documentaries. McGowan's main point is that Lee showcases "excess in society" and how it affects community and humanity and its destructiveness when fueled by passion. Calling Lee a "disturbing filmmaker" because he often leaves his characters without any clear way out of their situations, the author maintains that Lee's movies are almost their own genre and should be critiqued as such. Nods are given to Lee's use of his now signature camera shots that allow a character to separate momentarily from his/her environment and the use of whirling 360° angles for accentuation of the moment. Some of McGowan's arguments, especially when discussing Malcolm X and the impetus of racism, leave room for disagreement. For a deeper understanding of this director, try Lee's own autobiography, Spike Lee and David Sterritt's Spike Lee's America.