1) Relate what was
discussed in class or the text to the screening.
Spike Lee’s film He
Got Game utilizes the different settings as a very important aesthetic of
the film. The different settings in the film go hand in hand with the emotions
of each of the characters. For example, in the two scenes where Jesus is basketball
with his father (once when young, and once when older) the darkness and
emptiness of the basketball court makes the mood of the scene a little more
moody and eerie. Also the college
environments Jesus is placed in are filled with parties and girls throwing
themselves at him, which are essentially there just to appeal to him and
influence him to attend a certain school. The same thing can be said about the
agent’s house. The sports agent is clearly flashing all of his high priced
items to try and entice Jesus to join the NBA early. Having specific or
convincing settings is a requirement to help change the way certain characters
and the audience think about a scene, and Spike Lee did a good job of using the
various settings to help tell the story of He
Got Game.
2) Find a related
article (on the film, director, studio, actor/actress, artistic content, etc.) and
summarize the content. You may use the library or the internet.
The article form ESPN titled, “Ray Allen mulls 'He Got Game'
sequel” discusses the recent talks between NBA star Ray Allen and Spike Lee
about making a sequel to He Got Game. Ray
Allen played the role of one of the lead characters in the film, Jesus
Shuttlesworth. Spike Lee has been in
constant contact with Ray Allen and the two of them have been discussing the
possibility of making a sequel to He Got
Game over the past few months (at the time the article was written). Both
Allen and Lee are aware that most sequels that come out are filled with fluff,
and the two want to make sure that if they do create a sequel that it has a
solid story to follow up the original film. Allen also made it known that if a
sequel were to be released at any point that Denzel Washington and Rosario
Dawson would be required actors to make the new story work.
3) Apply the article
to the film screened in class. How did the article support or change the way
you thought about the film, director, content, etc.?
It is definitely interesting to hear that a possible sequel
to He Got Game is being considered. I
am usually not a fan of sequels, especially ones that take place over fifteen
years after the original film. However I feel that Spike Lee is a good enough
director and admires basketball too much to go through with making a sequel and
not give the film his all. He Got Game was
a great story on its own though and I don’t think that it would be really
necessary to add on to what has already been done. Then again I am not Spike
Lee and have no idea what kind of story he may be thinking of to follow up the
original film. If the film does end up ever getting made I could see this
heavily influencing my opinion on Spike Lee. Every one of Spike Lee’s movies
that I have seen does an amazing job of telling a story through moving
pictures, and if he were to sacrifice the story telling aspect in any way just
to make a sequel I think it would definitely hurt his reputation. Ray Allen is 39 years old and is most likely
towards the end of his career, and being that the story of He Got Game was heavily based on Allen’s character getting into college
basketball/ The NBA it would be interesting to see what kind of story the
sequel would have. Overall it was interesting to see that Spike Lee has been
thinking about a sequel for He Got Game, but
I am still unsure of what a sequel to that film would look like.
4) Write a critical
analysis of the film, including your personal opinion, formed as a result of
the screening, class discussions, text material and the article.
Even though I think He
Got Game has some flaws, the film is a very good twist on a somewhat traditional
sports movie. The film is about a high school sports phenomenon that needs to
make a tough decision on what to do with his basketball career after high
school. However the twist comes when the basketball star’s father, played by
Denzel Washington is a prisoner released on the condition that he has to
convince his son, who he has not seen in years, to attend the governor’s al ma
matter in exchange for being able to leave prison early. The film did many
things great but there are two things that I think could have been changed or
removed all together that would have helped improve the story. I was really
intrigued by the dynamic between Mary (the daughter), her father and brother.
She is the first main character that Denzel Washington see’s after he is
released from prison but I feel like she was easily forgotten. She was very
forgettable in the second and third act, if she was even there at all. Also the
Dakota character played by Milla Jovovich was completely unnecessary. I failed to see what actual purpose she had with
story besides being sexual relief to Denzel Washington. Aside from those two
issues with the story I thought the film did a great job of portraying the
struggles that Ray Allen’s character and Denzel Washington’s characters had to go
through. Also the music and cinematography were great as in most of Spike Lee’s
films. I also really thought the ending was another great way to put a twist on
traditional sports movies that usually finishes with a happy ending. We see
that the governor probably had no intention of ever releasing Denzel Washington
from prison even after Jesus choses the governor’s al ma matter. Even though I thought
the story had a few flaws, the overall story was great and a good change of
pace from most sports movies.
I agree! I thought the daughter was great and Dakota was superfluous.
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