School Daze is a
1988-Top grossing films :source: http://boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?yr=1988&p=.htm- Awards :Academy Awards:* Alice * Alien Nation, starring James Caan and Mandy Patinkin* Amsterdamned...
musicalThe musical film is a film genre in which several songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative. The songs are usually used to advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but some musical films simply plop the songs in as unrelated "specialties" - as with Carmen Miranda's...
-
dramaDrama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a collective...
filmFilm encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. Films are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects....
, written and directed by
Spike LeeShelton Jackson "Spike" Lee is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. He also teaches film at New York University and Columbia University...
, and starring
Laurence FishburneLaurence John Fishburne III is an American actor of screen and stage, as well as a playwright, director, and producer. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Morpheus in the Matrix science fiction film trilogy, Cuba Gooding, Jr.'s character's father Furious Styles in Boyz N The Hood, "Cowboy...
,
Giancarlo EspositoGiancarlo Giuseppe Alessandro Esposito is an American film and television actor and director.-Early life and personal details:...
, and
Tisha Campbell-MartinTisha Campbell-Martin is an American TV and film actress, known for her starring role in such programs as the House Party franchise Rags to Riches, Martin, and My Wife and Kids...
. Based in part on Spike Lee's experiences at Atlanta's
Morehouse CollegeMorehouse College is a private, all-male, historically black college located in Atlanta, Georgia. It is one of four remaining traditional men's colleges in the United States, and a member of the Black Ivy League....
, it is a story about
fraternity and sororityFraternities and sororities are fraternal social organizations for undergraduate students. In English, the term refers mainly to such organizations at colleges and universities in North America, although it is also applied to analogous European groups also known as corporations...
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 PicturesColumbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
.
Vaughn "Dap" Dunlap (
Laurence FishburneLaurence John Fishburne III is an American actor of screen and stage, as well as a playwright, director, and producer. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Morpheus in the Matrix science fiction film trilogy, Cuba Gooding, Jr.'s character's father Furious Styles in Boyz N The Hood, "Cowboy...
) is a politically conscious
African AmericanAfrican Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa. In the United States, the terms are generally used for Americans with at least partial Sub-Saharan African ancestry...
student at Mission College who leads anti-apartheid demonstrations encouraging students and school administrators to completely
divestIn finance and economics, divestment or divestiture is the reduction of some kind of asset for either financial or ethical objectives or sale of an existing business by a firm...
from
South AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of Africa, with a coastline on the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. To the north lie Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland, while Lesotho is an independent country surrounded by South Africa.Modern...
.
School Daze is a
1988-Top grossing films :source: http://boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?yr=1988&p=.htm- Awards :Academy Awards:* Alice * Alien Nation, starring James Caan and Mandy Patinkin* Amsterdamned...
musicalThe musical film is a film genre in which several songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative. The songs are usually used to advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but some musical films simply plop the songs in as unrelated "specialties" - as with Carmen Miranda's...
-
dramaDrama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a collective...
filmFilm encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. Films are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects....
, written and directed by
Spike LeeShelton Jackson "Spike" Lee is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. He also teaches film at New York University and Columbia University...
, and starring
Laurence FishburneLaurence John Fishburne III is an American actor of screen and stage, as well as a playwright, director, and producer. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Morpheus in the Matrix science fiction film trilogy, Cuba Gooding, Jr.'s character's father Furious Styles in Boyz N The Hood, "Cowboy...
,
Giancarlo EspositoGiancarlo Giuseppe Alessandro Esposito is an American film and television actor and director.-Early life and personal details:...
, and
Tisha Campbell-MartinTisha Campbell-Martin is an American TV and film actress, known for her starring role in such programs as the House Party franchise Rags to Riches, Martin, and My Wife and Kids...
. Based in part on Spike Lee's experiences at Atlanta's
Morehouse CollegeMorehouse College is a private, all-male, historically black college located in Atlanta, Georgia. It is one of four remaining traditional men's colleges in the United States, and a member of the Black Ivy League....
, it is a story about
fraternity and sororityFraternities and sororities are fraternal social organizations for undergraduate students. In English, the term refers mainly to such organizations at colleges and universities in North America, although it is also applied to analogous European groups also known as corporations...
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 PicturesColumbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
.
Synopsis
Vaughn "Dap" Dunlap (
Laurence FishburneLaurence John Fishburne III is an American actor of screen and stage, as well as a playwright, director, and producer. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Morpheus in the Matrix science fiction film trilogy, Cuba Gooding, Jr.'s character's father Furious Styles in Boyz N The Hood, "Cowboy...
) is a politically conscious
African AmericanAfrican Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa. In the United States, the terms are generally used for Americans with at least partial Sub-Saharan African ancestry...
student at Mission College who leads anti-apartheid demonstrations encouraging students and school administrators to completely
divestIn finance and economics, divestment or divestiture is the reduction of some kind of asset for either financial or ethical objectives or sale of an existing business by a firm...
from
South AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of Africa, with a coastline on the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. To the north lie Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland, while Lesotho is an independent country surrounded by South Africa.Modern...
. He also eschews the buffoonery and social climbing of the
Greek fraternal systemFraternities and sororities are fraternal social organizations for undergraduate students. In English, the term refers mainly to such organizations at colleges and universities in North America, although it is also applied to analogous European groups also known as corporations...
. Dap's craven younger cousin, Darrell, aka "Half-Pint" (
Spike LeeShelton Jackson "Spike" Lee is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. He also teaches film at New York University and Columbia University...
), is pledging Gamma Phi Gamma (also known as G-Phi-G or simply G-Phi) fraternity and is willing to endure any humiliation to join the fraternity. While Half-Pint tries unsuccessfully to impress the Gammas with his inept womanizing, Dap engages in debates with Rachel (
KymeKyme is an American film and television actress. Her television credits include guest appearances on Chicago Hope, The Parkers, Frasier, NYPD Blue and 24. She is mostly remembered for her portrayal of "Rachel Meadows" in the 1988 film School Daze....
), his girlfriend, as well as other Mission students.
Throughout the film, the predominantly light-skinned
African AmericanAfrican Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa. In the United States, the terms are generally used for Americans with at least partial Sub-Saharan African ancestry...
women of the Gamma Rays, a women's auxiliary to the Gamma Phi Gamma fraternity, battle it out with a number of natural-coifed fellow co-eds, who are predominantly dark-skinned. The students at Mission College also battle with the local unemployed and uneducated people living around the campus, who resent the Mission students for taking all of the good jobs.
Half-Pint eventually survives the pledge initiation and joins G-Phi-G. Shortly afterwards, his chapter president Julian Eaves, aka Dean Big Brother Almighty (
Giancarlo EspositoGiancarlo Giuseppe Alessandro Esposito is an American film and television actor and director.-Early life and personal details:...
), manipulates his girlfriend, Jane Toussaint (
Tisha Campbell-MartinTisha Campbell-Martin is an American TV and film actress, known for her starring role in such programs as the House Party franchise Rags to Riches, Martin, and My Wife and Kids...
), to prove her love to him. He brings Jane to Half-Pint (whom he discovered was a virgin during pledging) and tells him that in order to become an official Gamma man, he must lose his virginity by having sex with Jane. After Half-Pint's last test, Julian ruthlessly breaks up with Jane, claiming that she loved Gamma Phi Gamma and not him. After Half-Pint brags to Dap about his episode with Jane, Dap loses all respect for him and shoves him away from him, declaring "You're not my cousin!" The movie ends the following morning, with Dap running through the campus and to the middle of the school courtyard, yelling
"Wake up!"
Cast
- Laurence Fishburne
Laurence John Fishburne III is an American actor of screen and stage, as well as a playwright, director, and producer. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Morpheus in the Matrix science fiction film trilogy, Cuba Gooding, Jr.'s character's father Furious Styles in Boyz N The Hood, "Cowboy...
— Dap
- Giancarlo Esposito
Giancarlo Giuseppe Alessandro Esposito is an American film and television actor and director.-Early life and personal details:...
— Julian (Dean Big Brother Almighty)
- Tisha Campbell — Jane Toussaint
- Kyme
Kyme is an American film and television actress. Her television credits include guest appearances on Chicago Hope, The Parkers, Frasier, NYPD Blue and 24. She is mostly remembered for her portrayal of "Rachel Meadows" in the 1988 film School Daze....
— Rachel Meadows
- Joe Seneca
Joe Seneca was an American film and television actor who had a lengthy Hollywood career, portraying bit parts in many major films and television sitcoms spanning from the 1970s to the 1990s....
— President McPherson
- Ellen Holly
Ellen Holly is an American actress.-Career:Holly began her career on stage appearing in the Broadway productions of Tiger, Tiger Burning Bright and A Hand Is on the Gate before embarking on a television and film career...
— Odrie McPherson
- Art Evans
Arthur James "Art" Evans is an American actor who has made multiple film and television program appearances over the span of three decades....
— Cedar Cloud
- Ossie Davis
Ossie Davis was an American film actor, director, poet, playwright, writer, and social activist.-Early years:Davis was born Raiford Chatman Davis in Cogdell, Clinch County, Georgia....
— Coach Odom
- Bill Nunn
-Early life:Nunn was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of William G. Nunn, Jr., a well-known journalist and editor at the Pittsburgh Courier, as well as an NFL scout. Nunn's paternal grandfather was the first African American football player at George Westinghouse High School. Nunn attended...
— Grady
- James Bond III — Monroe
- Branford Marsalis
Branford Marsalis is an American saxophonist, composer and bandleader. While primarily known for his work in jazz as the leader of the Branford Marsalis Quartet, he also performs frequently as a soloist with classical ensembles and has led the group Buckshot LeFonque...
— Jordam
- Kadeem Hardison
Kadeem Hardison is an American actor. He is best known for portraying college student Dwayne Wayne on the Cosby Show spin-off A Different World, which aired on NBC from 1987 to 1993.-Childhood:...
— Edge
- Eric Payne — Booker T.
- Spike Lee
Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. He also teaches film at New York University and Columbia University...
— Half-Pint
- Anthony Thompkins — Doo-Doo Breath
- Darryl M. Bell
Darryl M. Bell is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his role as college student Ron Johnson, Jr. on the NBC sitcom A Different World...
— Big Brother X-Ray Vision
- Joie Lee
Joie Susannah Lee is an American screenwriter, film producer, film director and actress. She has appeared in many of the films directed by her brother, Spike Lee, including She's Gotta Have It , School Daze , Do the Right Thing , and Mo' Better Blues...
— Lizzie Life
- Alva Rogers — Doris Witherspoon
- Jasmine Guy
Jasmine Guy is an American actress, singer and dancer. She is best known for her starring role as Southern belle Whitley Gilbert in the television series A Different World.-Biography:...
— Dina
- Samuel L. Jackson
Samuel Leroy Jackson is an American film and television actor. After Jackson became involved with the Civil Rights Movement, he moved on to acting in theater at Morehouse College, and then, films. He had several small roles, before meeting his mentor, Morgan Freeman, and the director Spike Lee...
— Leeds
- Cassi Davis
Cassandra "Cassi" Davis is an American actress. She is known for her role as Ella Payne in Tyler Perry's House of Payne. Davis has done extensive work with director and writer Tyler Perry, and has played many roles in his various productions...
- Paula
- Phyllis Hyman
Phyllis Linda Hyman was an American soul singer and Tony-nominated actress.- Early years :Phyllis Hyman was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and grew up in the St. Clair Village, the south end section of Pittsburgh. After leaving Pittsburgh, her music training started with a scholarship to a...
- Phyllis
Vanessa L. WilliamsVanessa Lynn Williams is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Williams made history on September 17, 1983 when she became the first woman of African American descent to be crowned Miss America. Williams' reign as Miss America came to an abrupt end when scandal led to her subsequent...
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 HorrorsLittle Shop of Horrors is the musical film adaptation of the off-Broadway musical comedy of the same name by composer Alan Menken and writer Howard Ashman, about a nerdy florist shop worker who raises a vicious plant that feeds on human blood...
(
1986-Events:*April 12 - Actor Morgan Mason marries The Go-Go's Belinda Carlisle*Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger marries television journalist Maria Shriver.*Actress Heather Locklear marries Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee....
) that she got the part; Stickney left the production over "artistic differences."
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 showStepping or step-dancing is a form of percussive dance in which the participant's entire body is used as an instrument to produce complex rhythms and sounds through a mixture of footsteps, spoken word, and hand claps...
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
MorehouseMorehouse College is a private, all-male, historically black college located in Atlanta, Georgia. It is one of four remaining traditional men's colleges in the United States, and a member of the Black Ivy League....
,
SpelmanSpelman College is a four-year liberal arts women's college located in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The college is part of the Atlanta University Center academic consortium in Atlanta. Founded in 1881 as the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary, Spelman was the first historically black female...
, and
Clark Atlanta UniversityClark Atlanta University is a private, historically black university in Atlanta, Georgia. It was formed in 1988 with the consolidation of Clark College and Atlanta University.-Academics and demographics:...
during filming because the colleges' Boards of Directors had concerns on how
historically black collegesHistorically black colleges and universities are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before 1964 with the intention of serving the black community...
were being portrayed in the film. Lee had to finish filming at the neighboring
Morris Brown CollegeMorris Brown College is a four-year, private, coed, liberal arts college located in the Vine City Community of Atlanta, Georgia. It is a historically black college, affiliated with the African Methodist Episcopal Church...
.
Three members of the
School Daze cast --
Kadeem HardisonKadeem Hardison is an American actor. He is best known for portraying college student Dwayne Wayne on the Cosby Show spin-off A Different World, which aired on NBC from 1987 to 1993.-Childhood:...
,
Darryl M. BellDarryl M. Bell is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his role as college student Ron Johnson, Jr. on the NBC sitcom A Different World...
, and
Jasmine GuyJasmine Guy is an American actress, singer and dancer. She is best known for her starring role as Southern belle Whitley Gilbert in the television series A Different World.-Biography:...
-- became principal cast members on the
Cosby ShowThe Cosby Show is an American television situation comedy starring Bill Cosby, first airing on September 20, 1984 and running for eight seasons on the NBC television network, until April 30, 1992...
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, Art Evans, Guy Killum and Roger Guenveur Smith.
One member of the "School Daze cast --Alva Rogers, starred in
Daughters of the DustDaughters of the Dust is a 1991 independent film written and directed by Julie Dash. It tells the story of three generations of Gullah women at the turn of the 20th century and focuses on the family's migration from the Sea Islands to the American mainland.Featuring an unusual narrative device,...
--another classic African-American/ independent film of that time.
Though "Mission College," and "Gamma Phi Gamma" were fictional, a chapter of
Alpha Phi AlphaAlpha Phi Alpha is the first intercollegiate fraternity established by African Americans. Founded on December 4, 1906, on the campus of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, Alpha Phi Alpha has initiated over 185,000 men into the organization and has been open to men of all races since 1940...
Fraternity actually appears in
School Daze.
In 2009, singer
Alicia KeysAlicia Augello Cook , better known by her stage name Alicia Keys, is an American recording artist, musician and actress. She was raised by a single mother in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan in New York, where Keys made a television appearance on The Cosby Show at the age of four. She attended...
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
Musical performances are throughout, including the production "Good or Bad Hair", a fantasy dis-fest between the Wannabes and Jigaboos, and "Be Alone Tonight" performed by Campbell (as Jane Toussaint and her Royal Court) at a talent competition. The
go-goGo-go is a subgenre of funk that originated in the Washington, D.C., area during the mid- to late-1970s. A handful of bands contributed to the early evolution of the genre, but singer-guitarist Chuck Brown is credited with having developed most of the hallmarks of the style.In technical terms,...
anthem "Da Butt" is performed by the group
E.U.Experience Unlimited is a Washington, D.C.-based go-go band that enjoyed its height of popularity in the 1980s and early 1990s. Fronted by lead singer/bassist Gregory "Sugarbear" Eliot, the group has had a fluctuating membership over the years, but they have maintained a fairly loyal following...
during the after-party for the Gammites.
See also
- School Daze (soundtrack)
School Daze is the original soundtrack to the 1988 film School Daze.-Track listing:#"Da'Butt" — E.U. – 5:14#"Perfect Match" — Tech & The Effx – 6:03#"Be Alone Tonight" — Rays – 3:56#"Straight And Nappy" — Jigaboos & Wannabees Chorus – 6:08...
— Original soundtrack to this film.
- Historically Black colleges and universities
Historically black colleges and universities are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before 1964 with the intention of serving the black community...
- Imus in the Morning: Rutgers women's basketball remarks
- Colorism
Colorism is a form of discrimination in which human beings are accorded differing social and treatment based on skin color. The preference often gets translated into economic status because of opportunities for work. Colorism can be found across the world...
- Stepping
Stepping or step-dancing is a form of percussive dance in which the participant's entire body is used as an instrument to produce complex rhythms and sounds through a mixture of footsteps, spoken word, and hand claps...