Spike Lee Inspires Students in Tallahassee

Acclaimed filmmaker Spike Lee, 50, was welcomed to Tallahassee with a standing ovation on April 3, 2007 at Florida State University's Ruby Diamond Auditorium.

"Flew in from Atlanta today. Anyone watch the game last night?" While motioning his arms in a gator chomp, Spike Lee was referring to Florida State University's rival, the University of Florida and their win over Ohio State to clinch the NCAA National Basketball Championship. The crowd booed.

Spike Lee continued how he enjoys being in Florida because it's "known for some funny counting." The crowd laughed at his joke poking fun at hanging chads from the 2000 U.S. Presidential election.

"Katrina fatigue"
A New Orleans friend recently called Spike Lee to tell him how the levee pumps were not properly working. He then asked the audience if they knew their former governor [Jeb Bush] was a co-owner of the company making those pumps. "How did he get the contract?"

Lee met his friend while filming his 2006 documentary about Hurricane Katrina. Called "When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts," the film documents the lives of people in New Orleans, telling their side of devastation and survival.

Spike Lee proceeded to describe "Katrina fatigue," the phenomenon within the United States that people living outside the Gulf Coast region believe things are back to normal in New Orleans. Despite seeing happy images of Mardi Gras and football returning to the Superdome, "things are not back to normal in New Orleans," Lee said.

"Americans have short attention spans," he continued. "[they've] moved on to who's going to be the next American Idol."

"...didn't know what I was doing."
Speaking to a crowd primarily of Florida State University and Florida A & M University students, Spike Lee's lecture focused on the life of a young filmmaker. He described his triumphs and struggles earning an undergraduate's degree at Atlanta's Morehouse College followed by a master's at New York University. His thesis film, "Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop" (1983) earned him a Student Academy Award.