In what could turn out to be his most controversial work yet, Spike Lee takes on African-American images in the media. Inspired by such films as Network and A Face in the Crowd, Lee looks at television from behind the camera. The film stars Damon Wayans as Pierre Delacroix, the sole African-American television writer for an upstart network. Harvard-educated Delacroix writes the most outrageous and unbelievable farce he could dream up in a last-ditch effort to save his job–a modern minstrel show. With two actors (Savion Glover and Tommy Davidson) performing in black-face, the spoof turns into a runaway hit, loved by critics who applaud it as a hip, self-conscious way to tackle black stereotypes. But Delacroix is left to defend his show to his African-American friends, who are angry with him for adding fuel to the racist fire. See “Opening Friday” for theaters and times.
