Spike Lee On His Issue With 'Soul Man' (1986) | The Dick Cavett Show
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 11 ก.พ. 2020
- Film Director Spike Lee outlines his issue with the 1986 movie 'Soul Man' in which a white actor depicts a black person with the use of 'black face'
Date aired - 12/2/1986 - Spike Lee
#DickCavett #SpikeLee #SoulMan #TalkShow #Filmmaking #Director
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Dick Cavett has been nominated for eleven Emmy awards (the most recent in 2012 for the HBO special, Mel Brooks and Dick Cavett Together Again), and won three. Spanning five decades, Dick Cavett’s television career has defined excellence in the interview format. He started at ABC in 1968, and also enjoyed success on PBS, USA, and CNBC.
His most recent television successes were the September 2014 PBS special, Dick Cavett’s Watergate, followed April 2015 by Dick Cavett’s Vietnam. He has appeared in movies, tv specials, tv commercials, and several Broadway plays. He starred in an off-Broadway production ofHellman v. McCarthy in 2014 and reprised the role at Theatre 40 in LA February 2015.
Cavett has published four books beginning with Cavett (1974) and Eye on Cavett (1983), co-authored with Christopher Porterfield. His two recent books -- Talk Show: Confrontations, Pointed Commentary, and Off-Screen Secrets (2010) and Brief Encounters: Conversations, Magic moments, and Assorted Hijinks(October 2014) are both collections of his online opinion column, written for The New York Times since 2007. Additionally, he has written for The New Yorker, TV Guide, Vanity Fair, and elsewhere.
#thedickcavettshow - บันเทิง
Wow. Didn't know Cavett was stilll doing his show during this period.
Me either
He had a line of different talk shows on different networks with his name on it up until about '96.
In my mind, he was a thing from the 70s (even his logo is from the 70s). I had no idea he was still around when i graduated from high school.
The real problem, “all good comedy is somewhat offensive”
Eddie Murphy’s Delirious is extremely disrespectful to elders, but so funny.
Soul Man wasn’t exactly good comedy.
@@RocStarr913 actually I thought it was funny, “now go get my hypodermic needle with my herion in it Roc
RocStarr913, the part where everyone thinks he can play basketball is hilarious!
Ya gotta understand, Dick is from NE. I am from NE. This is how most from either Lincoln and/or Omaha speak to each other. It’s not condescending in anyway. Dick is coming from a place of endearment. All he is trying to do is to understand Spike. He is speaking the quintessential, dry, inquisitive tone that we Nebraskans all have in some degree.
Interesting.. thanks for sharing.
There is no endearment here because this tone is too common from white people who are underline prejudice. People who are on the opposite side of prejudice is never understand
You nailed it, bizzy rizzy. Cavett as always, is utterly polite & respectful here - questioning Lee's bias without ever criticizing it.
@@maestroofamore8948 You are a bigot.
Marlon Brando was from Nebraska too and he never acted like he was afraid of black people or looked uncomfortable around us .
Cousin Larry!
Comedy has different colors and shades and is just that COMEDY. it is not to be taken serious. So it is not an insult to any group of individuals irregardless of race. Unless they choose and decide to make it a serious issue. The Wayan Brothers made a film where they were 2 Black men portraying 2 white girls it was ridiculous but it was COMEDY. So really making an issue and pointing fingers and complaining about all these things is frivolous "Live and let Live". And don't sweat the small stuff.
@Kevin L There's so many white people who love White Chicks it's jaw-dropping.
10:15 as an artist you’re walking a tight rope
Spike Lee seems like a cool 😎
"Buttah on my whole wheat bread." *LMAO!*
35 years later... can still smell the champagne
What a treat for Spike to be on this show with that other guy from Perfect Strangers right?
Happy Day Mark-Linn Baker. “Perfect Strangers” was one of the most-popular sitcoms in the mid-‘80s.
@@roglo06 Never watched it. But at least it brought us Family Matters.
Spike was always chill. He never seemed nervous on camera. I wish he was more prolific with his output of films though.
.......I just died in your arms tonight it must've been something you said?!😬 Spike Lee was a young man, and he was just getting his work out, as a director, so that might account for some of his nervousness in the interview, but, I think he did great a job expressing, himself, Dick cavett seems to be all over the place.🤔
@@Zeldarw104 I didn't mean to imply that he was being nervous in this interview. Obviously he's very calm, confident, and poised in it. I was just making the point that I never saw him be nervous in front of the camera ever.
TH-cam banned the most forbidden documentary ever published but it’s still available at archive-dot-org: "Europa The Last Battle". Watch it while you still can.
The fact that he wasn't more prolific may have something to do with why you can remember them all. Quality over quantity :)
@@Ronnie-JonesAutism
$175K - what an achievement
THANK YOU!
for a typically smooth interviewer, the first few minutes of this interview are pretty awkward.
Spike you are everything. Young and unafraid
And a black supremacist!
Wonderful interview i got to watch more . I like the way he does not try and trap anyone he seems like he was fair and a all around good interviewer and good person
I always felt for all the interesting guests Cavett seemed awkward as an interviewer especially with black guests. He's nice and all just a bit clumsy.
Does selling tube socks pay for his season court side Knick tickets?
Hey, you gotta hustle in these streets!!
I must have a completely distorted view of how standards of racial sensetivity were in the 1980s... wouldn't the question/answer be : "What's the problem with 'Soul Man?'..... IT'S BLACKFACE!!!!"
My guess is you haven't seen the film?
@@albertcovington9942 like Spike lee, I have not watched the film and will not watch it. The preview makes it crystal clear that it is a movie about a guy who dresses up in black face to attempt to get an African-American scholarship. why would anyone need to watch any more of that to understand why it's terrible?
Don't watch Tropic Thunder then, if you think blackface is completely unacceptable in every context.
Believe it or not, this movie wasn't actually that controversial in the '80s and grossed a lot of money. It was a hit. Me and all my friends saw it as kids (I'm black) and never considered that what we were watching was blackface. I was so young though that I probably didn't know what blackface was yet, but the adults around me didn't seem to have a problem with it either. It actually is a very funny movie, I think it's much more controversial now than it was back then.
The blackface is the tip of the iceberg. The ultimate issue is it’s just another dumb young adult comedy.
*She's gotta have it is in my top5 of all time, Spike Lee is a genius and I have total respect for the guy. And I'm Italian*
Aren't you a great guy! Your virtue signaling is obvious.
Spike is a racist, a bigot, and a sexist and he hates you. Where’s your self respect?
WOW! Spike Lee in his very very early days!!!
Spike Lee... Still here!
BTW 'the next one'? Do The Right Thing. The undying classic.
Legend!
Spike Lee right here is cool and chill. Nowadays he got his finger in everybody's Kool aid and just overall having a attitude where he thinks his opinions really matter. But then again......
.........who am I?
Dudes never been cool.
@@mrHoppedupford Which celebrities are? Other than the ones you know personally, of course. Very few people act the same when their opinions suddenly start to matter to millions of people.
LOL. That's what people said back then.
I admire your humility.
@@riverc.820 Exactly. Spike's always been like that
The guy didn’t see it. He can’t …..
"she Gotto Have It" I think was his first film. I am not that Big a Spike Lee Fan, but I think most people think more of his other Movies like "Do the Right Thing, Jungle Fever, etc.
He had one before She's Gotta Have It, "Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads."
The only movie of his that I liked was 25th hour because it didn’t have any racial undertones like every other film of his.
@@mikekock927 snowflake
Inside Man is a very underrated movie of his.
I watched Eddie Murphy play white and thought it was great, although not real at all.
??? I’m trying to pay for this newspaper.
What are you doing??? Just take it.
Dick Cavett could do this tv show today in the same form. He is using the old school interview style but it always ends up as conversations, like on podcasts.
He is a racial nada. He does not know anything about anything and he insults his guest and doesn’t even get to the core of any of the issues he raises. The only place he could do this today is Charlottesville, and even there he’d rate badly.
If this was a "conversation" it was an awkward one.
What happen to that spike? After he made that documentary about my city New Orleans (he went backwards)
Have you seen any of his recent movies. Blackkklansman and Da 5 Bloods are both fantastic imo
@@123brendan12 I thought those were okay. Don't hold a candle to do the right thing and malcolm x though.
Did he give RDJ a pass though? He did admit it was part execution and Topic Thunder was much better executed.
kaguth well that was 22 years later too
@@EZ-IZZY1995 Yeah, I'm not trying to criticize him. I'm honestly just curious why people are less mad or more mad at something that is kind of the same. I think the details make the difference, and like Spike said no one would really think C Thomas was black in Soul Man, but in Tropic thunder everyone knew he was white, which I think helps and adds to the self aware irony.
kaguth Exactly. White Chicks is the same deal; everyone pretty much knew that the makeup was bad and the voices sucked and the main characters were even baffled at how they pulled off their disguises. Soul Man though....”white man cant get in to prestigious law school so he pretends (horribly) to be black to do it” is just a weird concept for a movie
Thematically, Soul Man depicts a white person trying to take a black person's spot and becoming a fish out of water. While you could frame RDJ in Tropic Thunder as a white person trying to take a black person's spot, the comedic angle is completely different- his character isn't funny because he's a 'fish out of water', he's funny because he is so arrogant and narrowly focused on his craft he is blind to the impact he is having on his audience....and to the fact that the explosions and gunfire around him are now real....and to everything else except himself.
I simply listen to what another person has to say and consider their perspective instead of asking for some sort of checklist or litmus. Think about the context of when that movie came out. it's not even 20 years after the civil rights act has passed and not a lot has changed for black America. Its a clueless movie, not directly racist, but the Reagan era in general really missed this country up from moving forward.
people say this was an uncomfortable interview, i think both Spike and the host were fine. They got their points across, not to bad.
13:46
This is weird. He mentions Mars Blackman around 3:45 but I don't recall that character coming on the scene until the early 90's. In fact I don't even remember Spike Lee being a prominent director around this time. Strange stuff.
Mars Blackmon was originally in Lee’s very first movie She’s Gotta Have It, which was what he was mainly known for at the time. He was an up and comer at this time.
I have nothing against the other celebs that were on this show but is this channel ever going to show the Dick Cavett shows where he interviews Jackie Gleason or Art Carney? How about any Honeymooners actors that were part of the main cast? These are rarities much like the other videos on YT.
Reminds me of Tupac here.
He never had a black guest on without bringing up race. I like him but I never liked that
Sit down.
Be Humble
Whadda dope
Do the right thing is a classic oh, one of my favorite films of all
This is very uncomfortable
He got game?
No need to be offended by Soul Man. If it's not funny, then it's not funny, but offensive? please.
They should make soul man part 2 with Rachel Dolezal and Megan Markle. Soul Woman!
Why Megan Markle?
Thanks for recommending, enjoyed the comedy film.
I also checked it out, it was boring AF
"Soul Man" is a very funny movie and way better than anything Spike Lee ever made.
In 1986, a young black man couldn't tell a genial but clueless older white man off on national TV and have his career survive so Spike knew he had to keep his cool.
Lee's second film, School Daze, made $14,545,844 against a $6,000,000 budget so he did ok : ) 12:07
Outside of do the right thing i don't care for this race baiter's movies
@@wwbuirkle keep crying loser... I swear you want to be persecuted so badly😭
@@123brendan12 Who's crying genius.You're not even making any sense dummy
@@wwbuirkle He Got Game is the worst example of that I've seen. Malcolm X however is IMHO his masterpiece.
@@wwbuirkle Calling someone a race baiter is race baiting.
Spike is measured here...Dick brings in other race issue film`s..." yeah but what about this " etc..attempting to make it a competition instead of judging Spike`s work and how he is subtly trying to change the narrative, whilst at the same time attempting to challenge perceived race narratives hopefully moving us all forwards with real change...as of today not a lot has changed...but at least he tried...big up to him from the UK..
Dick Cavett is a perfect example of the well-meaning but ignorant white liberal.
Spike Lee attempting subtlety was the most shocking part of the entire interview.
Robert Downey Jr- --- Hold my beer....
Sheeeeeesh
Spike lee condemned the movie without seeing it.
I don't respect him in this interview.
I’m sure Spike is losing sleep over it
The movie isn’t exactly very good.
I’m more interested in seeing cousin Larry
Is perfect strangers on a streaming service somewhere?
Looks like Hulu has it. I don't understand why it's not on HBO Max because Warner Brothers produces the DVDs. I can't figure out streaming, LOL.
@@jedijones It probably doesn’t do well enough to justify being on that particular service. It’s all about what demographic of viewers go on a streaming service.
yada, yada, yada ...i'm offended. smoke a joint, spike.