Media Contact: Lori N. Jones, ljones@fairfield.edu, 203-254-4000 x2975
FAIRFIELD, Conn. (September 1, 2019) — On Thursday, September 19, 2019 at 8 p.m., Academy Award-winning film director, producer, writer, and actor Spike Lee will present “Creating Social Change Through Film: Do the Right Thing,” to kick off the Quick Center’s 2019-20 Open VISIONS Forum. Now in its 23rd year, the Open VISIONS Forum — Fairfield University’s signature public affairs lecture series — has become a catalyst for community-wide conversation about a spectrum of news topics and cultural trends.
Tickets for the Spike Lee event are sold out. Please call the box office at 203-254-4010 or email boxoffice@quickcenter.com to be added to the waiting list.
Since his first film in 1986, She’s Gotta Have It, Lee has served as an activist and voice for black America. Known for his uncompromising, provocative approach to controversial subject matter, his films examine race relations, race discrimination and inequality, the role of media in contemporary life, urban crime and poverty, and other political issues.
In the forum, Lee will discuss how radical storytelling in film can positively impact communities and foster change. He has previously stated, “I think black people have to be in control of their own image because film is a powerful medium. We can’t just sit back and let other people define our existence.”
Lee’s production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films. Noteworthy films include Do the Right Thing (1989), a call to arms when violence erupts in response to the killing of an African American man by white police officers, and Jungle Fever (1991), in which he addresses issues of race, class, and gender by presenting the stereotypes that surround interracial relationships.
Lee’s most recent film BlacKkKlansman (2018) tells the story of a black detective's success at infiltrating the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) in the 1970s. The movie draws comparisons between the KKK of the 70s and the current Presidential administration, asking us to critically examine race relations in American today. The final scenes of the film include footage from the 2017 white supremacist rallies in Charlottesville, Va., which ended in violence and death. The film won a 2019 Academy Award for Writing/Adapted Screenplay.
Lee has won numerous awards for his work, including Academy Awards, BAFTA Film Awards, Emmy Awards, Peabody Awards, and Cannes Film Festival Awards. Since 2002, he has been artistic director of the graduate film program at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts where he received his Master of Fine Arts in film production and has taught for the past 15 years.
The Open VISIONS Forum is generously sponsored by TV Eyes, Artisan Restaurant, Delamar Southport, Delamar Spa, and Moffly Media. For more information, visit www.quickcenter.com or call the box office at 203-254-4010 or toll free at 1-877-ARTS-396.
Posted On: September 2, 2019
Volume: 52 Number: 17
Fairfield University is a modern Jesuit Catholic university rooted in one of the world’s oldest intellectual and spiritual traditions. More than 5,000 undergraduate and graduate students from the U.S. and across the globe are pursuing degrees in the University’s five schools. Fairfield embraces a liberal humanistic approach to education, encouraging critical thinking, cultivating free and open inquiry, and fostering ethical and religious values. The University is located on a stunning 200-acre campus on the scenic Connecticut coast just an hour from New York City.