School Daze
Directed by	Spike Lee
Produced by	Monty Ross Loretha C. Jones Spike Lee Grace Blake
Written by	Spike Lee
Starring	Laurence Fishburne Giancarlo Esposito Tisha Campbell
Music by	Bill Lee
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date(s)	February 12, 1988
Running time	121 min.
Language	English
Budget	$6,500,000
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

School Daze is a 1988 musical-drama film, written and directed by Spike Lee, and starring Laurence Fishburne, Giancarlo Esposito, and Tisha Campbell. Based in part on Spike Lee's experiences at Atlanta's Morehouse College, it is a story about fraternity and sorority members clashing with other students at a historically black college during homecoming weekend. School Daze was the second feature film directed by Spike Lee. Spike Lee was asked to stop production on the campuses of Morehouse, Spelman, and Clark Atlanta University during filming because the colleges' Boards of Directors had concerns on how Historically Black Colleges were being portrayed in the film. Lee had to finish filming at the neighboring Morris Brown College. Image File history File links SchoolDazeMP.jpg‎ Official movie poster for the film School Daze. ... Shelton Jackson Lee (born March 20, 1957 in Atlanta, Georgia), better known as Spike Lee, is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor noted for his films dealing with controversial social and political issues. ... Shelton Jackson Lee (born March 20, 1957 in Atlanta, Georgia), better known as Spike Lee, is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor noted for his films dealing with controversial social and political issues. ... Shelton Jackson Lee (born March 20, 1957 in Atlanta, Georgia), better known as Spike Lee, is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor noted for his films dealing with controversial social and political issues. ... Laurence Fishburne as Morpheus in The Matrix Revolutions Laurence Fishburne III (born July 30, 1961) is an Academy Award-nominated American film and occasional stage actor. ... Giancarlo Esposito (b. ... Tisha Campbell-Martin (born October 13, 1968 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA) has starred in television shows such as Martin (as Gina Waters) and My Wife and Kids (as Janet Kyle). ... Bill Lee (born July 23, 1928 in Atlanta, Georgia) is an American musician. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... February 12 is the 43rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... // Michael Jacksons first film was Moonwalker Rain Man, starring Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise Who Framed Roger Rabbit, starring Bob Hoskins Coming to America, starring Eddie Murphy Big, starring Tom Hanks Twins, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito Crocodile Dundee II Die Hard, starring Bruce Willis The Naked Gun... The musical film is a film genre in which several songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative. ... This does not cite its references or sources. ... Film is a term that encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. ... Screenwriters, scenarists or script writers, are authors who write the screenplays from which movies and television programs are made. ... The film director, on the right, gives last minute direction to the cast and crew, whilst filming a costume drama on location in London. ... Shelton Jackson Lee (born March 20, 1957 in Atlanta, Georgia), better known as Spike Lee, is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor noted for his films dealing with controversial social and political issues. ... Laurence Fishburne as Morpheus in The Matrix Revolutions Laurence Fishburne III (born July 30, 1961) is an Academy Award-nominated American film and occasional stage actor. ... Giancarlo Esposito (b. ... Tisha Campbell-Martin (born October 13, 1968 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA) has starred in television shows such as Martin (as Gina Waters) and My Wife and Kids (as Janet Kyle). ... This article is about the state capital of Georgia. ... Morehouse College is a private, all-male, historically black liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia. ... The terms fraternity and sorority (from the Latin words and , meaning brother and sister respectively) may be used to describe many social and charitable organizations, for example the Lions Club, Epsilon Sigma Alpha, Delta Sigma Phi, Rotary International, Ordo Templi Orientis or the Shriners. ... In the United States, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) (a type of Minority Serving Institution or MSI) are colleges or universities that were established before 1964 with the intention of serving the African-American community. ... Morehouse College is a private, all-male, historically black liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia. ... Spelman College is a four-year liberal arts womens college in Atlanta, Georgia. ... Clark Atlanta University (CAU) is a private institution of higher education in Atlanta, Georgia. ... In the United States, Historically black colleges and universities (HBCU) are colleges or universities that were established before 1964 with the intention of serving the African American community. ... Morris Brown College (MBC) is a four-year, private, coed, liberal arts institution affiliated with the African Methodist Episcopal Church. ...

Plot summary

Spike Lee & Giancarlo Esposito

Vaughn "Dap" Dunlap (portrayed by Laurence Fishburne) is a politically conscious African American student who leads anti-apartheid demonstrations encouraging students and school administrators to completely divest from South Africa. He also eschews the buffoonery and social climbing of the Greek fraternal system. Dap's craven younger cousin, Half-Pint (portrayed by Spike Lee), 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 philosophical debates with Rachel (Kyme), his girlfriend, as well as other Mission students. Image File history File links SchoolDazeScreenshotPledge. ... Image File history File links SchoolDazeScreenshotPledge. ... Shelton Jackson Lee (born March 20, 1957 in Atlanta, Georgia), better known as Spike Lee, is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor noted for his films dealing with controversial social and political issues. ... Giancarlo Esposito (b. ... Laurence Fishburne as Morpheus in The Matrix Revolutions Laurence Fishburne III (born July 30, 1961) is an Academy Award-nominated American film and occasional stage actor. ... An African American (also Afro-American, Black American, or simply black) is a member of an ethnic group in the United States whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Africa. ... A segregated beach in South Africa, 1982. ... In finance and economics, divestment or divestiture is the reduction of some kind of asset, for either financial or social goals. ... The terms fraternity and sorority (from the Latin words and , meaning brother and sister respectively) may be used to describe many social and charitable organizations, for example the Lions Club, Epsilon Sigma Alpha, Delta Sigma Phi, Rotary International, Ordo Templi Orientis or the Shriners. ... For other uses, see Cousin (disambiguation). ... Shelton Jackson Lee (born March 20, 1957 in Atlanta, Georgia), better known as Spike Lee, is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor noted for his films dealing with controversial social and political issues. ... Kyme (born November 21, 1962) is an American film and television actress. ...

Half-Pint eventually survives the pledge initiation and joins G-Phi. Shortly afterwards, his house president Julian (portrayed by Giancarlo Esposito) manipulated his girlfriend Jane (portrayed by Tisha Campbell) to prove her love to him. He brings Jane to Half-Pint (whom he discovered was a virgin during pledge) and tells him, 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 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, 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!" Giancarlo Esposito (b. ... Tisha Campbell-Martin (born October 13, 1968 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA) has starred in television shows such as Martin (as Gina Waters) and My Wife and Kids (as Janet Kyle). ... In Roman times, Vestal Virgins were strictly celibate or they were punished by death. ...

Throughout the film, hair weave-wearing African American women of the Gamma Rays (a women's auxiliary to the Gamma Phi Gamma fraternity) battle it out with their, Afro-headed fellow co-eds. 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. Hair weaves are a form of hair extensions. ... An African American (also Afro-American, Black American, or simply black) is a member of an ethnic group in the United States whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Africa. ... An afro, sometimes called a natural or shortened to fro, is a hairstyle in which the hair extends out from the head like a halo, cloud or ball. ...

Musical performances are throughout, including the production "Straight and Nappy", "Be Alone Tonight" performed by Campbell (as Jane Toussaint and her Royal Court), and a dis-fest between the Wannabes and Jigaboos on campus. The go-go anthem "Da Butt" is performed by the group E.U. during the after-party for the Gammites. Go-go is a subgenre of funk music developed in and around Washington, D.C. in the mid and late 1970s. ... Experience Unlimited (EU) was a Washington, DC go-go band that enjoyed its height of popularity in the 1980s and early 1990s. ...

Cast

Dap (Laurence Fishburne) shouts "Wake Up!"

Laurence Fishburne as Morpheus in The Matrix Revolutions Laurence Fishburne III (born July 30, 1961) is an Academy Award-nominated American film and occasional stage actor. ... Giancarlo Esposito (b. ... Tisha Campbell-Martin (born October 13, 1968 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA) has starred in television shows such as Martin (as Gina Waters) and My Wife and Kids (as Janet Kyle). ... Kyme (born November 21, 1962) is an American film and television actress. ... Joe Seneca was born Joel McGhee January 14, 1919 - August 15, 1996 , in Cleveland, Ohio. ... Ellen Holly (born January 16, 1931) is an American actress. ... Art Evans is without a doubt a hero of the film industry, with his new found acting techniques and ability to light up the screen, Art Evans is the actor everybody else in the industry wants to be. ... Ossie Davis in The Green Pastures, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1951 Ossie Davis (December 18, 1917 – February 4, 2005) was an African American film actor, director and social activist. ... Bill Nunn (born October 20, 1953) is an African American actor. ... Branford Marsalis. ... Kadeem Hardison (born July 24, 1965 in New York City) is an actor, best known for portraying Dwayne Wayne on the Cosby Show spin-off A Different World and playing Marlon Wayans brother in the basketball comedy, The Sixth Man. ... Shelton Jackson Lee (born March 20, 1957 in Atlanta, Georgia), better known as Spike Lee, is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor noted for his films dealing with controversial social and political issues. ... Darryl M. Bell (sometimes credited as Daryl Bell) was born in 1961, in Chicago, Illinois. ... Joie Lee (born Joie Susannah Lee on June 22, 1963 in Brooklyn, New York, USA) is an American screenwriter, film producer, film director and actress. ... Jasmine Guy Jasmine Guy (born March 10, 1964 in Boston, Massachusetts) is an American actress. ... Samuel Jackson redirects here. ... Image File history File links SchoolDazeScreenshotWakeUp. ... Image File history File links SchoolDazeScreenshotWakeUp. ...

Trivia

• Vanessa Williams was originally considered for the role of "Jane Toussaint." However, Spike Lee was so impressed by Tisha Campbell's singing performance in Little Shop of Horrors (1986) that she got the part.

• 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.

Vanessa Williams on the cover of her 2005 album Everlasting Love Vanessa Lynn Williams[1] (born March 18, 1963) is an American R&B/pop/theatrical singer and actress. ... Little Shop of Horrors is a 1986 screen adaptation of the off-Broadway stage musical of the same name. ... // April 12 - Actor Morgan Mason marries The Go-Gos Belinda Carlisle Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger marries television journalist Maria Shriver. ...

See also

• School Daze (soundtrack) — Original soundtrack to this film.
• Historically Black colleges and universities
• Colorism
• Stepping

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

School Daze

School Daze is the original soundtrack to the 1988 film School Daze. ... In the United States, Historically black colleges and universities (HBCU) are colleges or universities that were established before 1964 with the intention of serving the African American community. ... Colorism is a form of discrimination which primarily occurs in the United States. ... Stepping or step-dancing is a dancing tradition formalized in the traditionally black college fraternities and sororities around the middle of the 20th century. ... Image File history File links Wikiquote-logo-en. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

External links

• School Daze at the Internet Movie Database
• School Daze at Rotten Tomatoes