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School Daze Customer Reviews (1 - 3 of 16 Reviews)

Spike NAILED the HBCU experience!
It takes an HBCU graduate to write about the HBCU experience, period. Just look at "A Different World" and how bad the first season was. Debbie Allen (a Howard grad, I believe) stepped in and gave the show the authenticity it sorely needed. So it's no surprise that Spike Lee, the Morehouse man, would make a movie that sparked so much emotion on both sides of the coin. I'm not saying that you had to attend an HBCU to UNDERSTAND "School Daze", but you had to have attended one to get the real "flavor" of what it was like. And you have to have an open mind.

Any HBCU alum saying that this film wasn't realistic is flat-out lying. Yes, it hit on some things that the old folks call "dirty laundry" (such as hazing, color issues, those who think that getting an education makes you "white", and so on), but those things are real at HBCUs - yes, even today. (Major props to Spike for having that ONE dark-skinned sista in the Gamma Rays. Isn't that ALWAYS the way?) And there are no "good" people or bad people; Spike leaves that decision up to you. Julian had his good points (his intelligence, leadership and pride in his town, school, etc) and Dap had his bad points (his blatant bigotry and bullying), and both of them had legitimate points.

One thing Spike nailed right on was the confrontations that the students tended to have on a regular basis. No offense to whites or anyone who graduated from a PWC, but in my experience at a predominately white high school, I noticed that students there were a lot more subtle with their dislike; they particpated in a more "destroying from within" kind of system, and grew wide-eyed and offended when confronted, even with solid proof. ("I would NEVER spread rumors about you/sleep with your boyfriend/steal your term paper!") Black students, on the other hand, will take ANYONE head-on, whether that person is the school president, captain of the football team, the richest kid on campus, crippled...doesn't matter. Your "status" doesn't count if you go to an HBCU. I had a friend who saw SD and said "That is SO unrealistic! Since when do college kids go fighting with each other all the time?" She graduated from the University of Texas. Enough said.

I'm so grateful for this film, and its realistic portrayal of black HBCU students for those who think that all young black people do is have babies and suck up welfare, and that people only go to HBCUs because they can't get into a "real" college. I wouldn't trade my experience at Florida A&M University for a degree at any PWC. RATTLERS!

True black college experience...
Any one who has gone to an HBCU can aprreciate this movie. The events that took place in this film still take place today, in 2006. This is a true to life story with dynamic characters. Please do not let this movie deter you from wanting to become aprt of the Divine Nine. Spike Lee did a wonderful job. This movie set a higher standard for Black films of its time. This movie also helped many careers flourish.

A Movie Filled with Universal Truths
Even with a small budget, Spike Lee can still get a lot done and still find great actors. Spike Lee's "School Daze" is probably his best flim standing next to "Malcomb X" respectively. The movie was released in 1988, 10 years before I even entered college, and all of issue that disrupted and seperated the black student body then, were still at the forefront when I went to college. Every character can be found somewhere on your college campus now whether you are at an HBCU or not. The movie is filled with many memorable scenes and will leave you with a feeling of belonging to one group or the other: either a black-frat-cat or a black conseious community builder. The movie also embodies Spike Lee's theatrical style that depicts the black culture of the time, talks about its issues, and in turn influences its future. For example, this movie influend late 80's and early 90's Hip-Hop music, the way we dressed and how we thought about HBCU's. As a matter of fact, southern HBCU's had a enormous growth in enrollment from blacks across the country after this movie was realeased in '88 and the ever so popular "FreakNeak" in Atlanta, GA was born out of this movie. It's a must see for any person wanting to know more about college life for black students. A great movie.

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