Director Spike Lee is an influential and iconic filmmaker. Spike Lee is one of the most fascinating figures in popular culture. He has impacted the world of film, sneakers and entertainment in a career that spans decades.
Shelton Jackson Lee
Spike Lee was born Shelton Jackson Lee on March 20, 1957. He was born in Georgia, but soon moved to Brooklyn, New York. Lee was drawn to moviemaking at a very young age. He would graduate from New York University Film School in 1982.
Do The Right Thing
Lee’s 1989 masterpiece, Do The Right Thing, changed not just the filmmaker’s career, but the film business as a whole. Do The Right Thing became an instant classic as soon as it hit theaters. It took on controversial topics like race relations and police brutality with no filters. Do The Right Thing would go on to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. Lee would go on to craft many other memorable and important films.
IV
The Air Jordan 4 was the first Air Jordan shoe in the franchise to go global. With a wide release outside of the United States. The IV also took the Air Jordan brand to another level of fame and pop culture prominence. Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing featured the Air Jordan IV in a memorable scene and helped the shoe transcend the game of basketball. Spike Lee played a major role in helping the Jordan Brand achieve the prestige it currently has in the culture.
The Shoes
The Air Jordan sneaker’s success is of course primarily due to the brilliance of Michael Jordan and Nike’s product. It would be unfair however to overlook the contributions of Spike Lee to the brand’s enduring legacy. The Air Jordan commercials that featured Lee’s Mars Blackmon character and Michael Jordan did not take themselves too seriously. They were humorous but at the same time created with respect for the product. The humor displayed in the spots featuring both Lee and Jordan allowed the public to relate to MJ. They showed a different side of the competitor, which was a departure from his aggressive demeanor on the court. The Mars Blackmon character first appeared in 1986’s She’s Gotta Have It. The film was Lee’s breakout project. He wrote and directed and appeared in the movie as Mars Blackmon. Blackmon had a love for Michael Jordan and Air Jordan’s in the film. The charisma of Spike Lee and the devotion he had to Michael Jordan made him an easy choice for Nike to partner with for a marketing campaign.
Legacy
Do The Right Thing is one of the most important films made in the past 50 years. It opened the doors for Hollywood filmmaking to focus on stories centered around Black characters and the issues that are facing the Black community.
- Adam C. Better
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