School Daze

Name	School Daze
Caption	Theatrical release poster
Director	Spike Lee
Producer	Grace Blake Loretha C. Jones Spike Lee Monty Ross
Writer	Spike Lee
Starring	Laurence Fishburne Giancarlo Esposito Tisha Campbell Kyme Spike Lee
Music	Bill Lee
Cinematography	Ernest Dickerson
Editing	Barry Alexander Brown
Studio	40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks
Distributor	Columbia Pictures
Released	February 12, 1988
Runtime	121 min.
Country	United States
Language	English
Gross	$14,545,844

School Daze is a 1988 American musical-drama film, written and directed by Spike Lee, and starring Laurence Fishburne, Giancarlo Esposito, and Tisha Campbell-Martin. Based in part on Spike Lee's experiences at Atlanta's Morehouse College and Clark Atlanta University, it is a story about fraternity and sorority members clashing with other students at a historically black college during homecoming weekend. School Daze was the second feature film directed by Spike Lee, and was released on February 12, 1988 by Columbia Pictures.

Synopsis

Vaughn "Dap" Dunlap (Laurence Fishburne) is a politically conscious African American student at Mission College who leads anti-apartheid demonstrations encouraging students and school administrators to completely divest from South Africa; he is also feuding with Greek fraternal system member, Julian Eaves (Giancarlo Esposito) aka Dean Big Brother Almighty of Gamma Phi Gamma Fraternity, Incorporated. Meanwhile, Dap's younger cousin, Darrell (Spike Lee) aka "Half-Pint", is a Gamma pledge; the Gamma women's auxiliary, the Gamma Rays, battle with non-Greek fellow co-eds; and Dap's friends battle the locals.

Cast

Laurence Fishburne — Dap

Giancarlo Esposito — Julian (Dean Big Brother Almighty)

Tisha Campbell-Martin — Jane Toussaint

Kyme — Rachel Meadows

Joe Seneca — President McPherson

Ellen Holly — Odrie McPherson

Art Evans — Cedar Cloud

Ossie Davis — Coach Odom

Bill Nunn — Grady

James Bond III — Monroe

Branford Marsalis — Jordam

Kadeem Hardison — Edge

Eric Payne — Booker T.

Spike Lee — Half-Pint

Anthony Thompkins — Doo-Doo Breath

Darryl M. Bell — Big Brother X-Ray Vision

Joie Lee — Lizzie Life

Alva Rogers — Doris Witherspoon

Jasmine Guy — Dina

Samuel L. Jackson — Leeds

Cassi Davis - Paula

Phyllis Hyman - Phyllis

Vanessa L. Williams was originally considered for the role of "Jane Toussaint," and Phyllis Yvonne Stickney for the role of "Rachel Meadows." However, Spike Lee was so impressed by Tisha Campbell's singing performance in Little Shop of Horrors (1986) that she got the part; Stickney left the production over "artistic differences."

Controversy

While it received positive reviews, School Daze also aroused resentment over Spike Lee's vision of a dysfunctional college. Many black colleges and faculty heads attacked the film for using bad charactizations and racial language and ephithets to show a college not working. They objected to words like "frizzie" and "nappy headed" among the words used. In a couple of colleges, Spike Lee was not allowed to come and speak. He even had to finish filming at Morris Brown College after three other colleges in Atlanta, Georgia, would not let him complete the film, among them was Clark Atlanta University.

Production

Spike Lee had the actors stay in separate hotels during filming. The actors playing the "wannabes" had better accommodations than the ones playing the "jigaboos", which contributed to the on-camera animosity between the two camps. (A similar tactic was employed in the making of Animal House with similar results.) In School Daze, the method approach yielded strong results — the fight that occurs at the step show between Dap's crew and the Gammas was not in the script; on the day of the shooting of the scene, the fight broke out, and Lee ordered that the cameras keep rolling.

Spike Lee was asked to stop production on the campuses of Morehouse, Spelman, and Clark Atlanta University during filming because the colleges' Boards of Directors had concerns on how historically black colleges were being portrayed in the film. Lee had to finish filming at the neighboring Morris Brown College.

Three members of the School Daze cast -- Kadeem Hardison, Darryl M. Bell, and Jasmine Guy -- became principal cast members on the Cosby Show spin-off A Different World, a TV series about life at a historically black college. Other School Daze cast members also appeared on A Different World, including Dominic Hoffman, Tisha Campbell-Martin, Art Evans, Guy Killum and Roger Guenveur Smith.

One member of the "School Daze" cast, Alva Rogers, starred in Daughters of the Dust, another independent African-American film of that time.

Though "Mission College," and "Gamma Phi Gamma" were fictional, a chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity actually appears in School Daze.

In 2009, singer Alicia Keys spoofed "School Daze" in the music video for her song "Teenaged Love Affair." (Imitated scenes include the rally in front of the school building, the pajama party, and the scene where Tisha Campbell and her court perform at a homecoming concert.)

Soundtrack

Da Butt, written by Marcus Miller and Mark Stevens, and performed by the group EU (who appear in the film), hit number 1 on Billboard's R&B; chart and number 35 on its Pop chart. The School Daze soundtrack also features the song, Be One, written by Bill Lee and performed by the late Phyllis Hyman, who also appears in the film.

See also

School Daze (soundtrack) — Original soundtrack to this film.

Historically black colleges and universities

Colorism

Stepping

References

External links

Category:1988 films Category:1980s comedy films Category:1980s drama films Category:1980s musical films Category:American comedy-drama films Category:American coming-of-age films Category:American musical comedy films Category:American musical drama films Category:Films directed by Spike Lee Category:Race-related films Category:Independent films Category:African American films Category:English-language films Category:Columbia Pictures films Category:40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks films Category:Films about fraternities and sororities