Like a fine wine, great movies only get better with age. Spike Lee’s film She’s Gotta Have It is certainly no exception. Debuting in 1986, She’s Gotta Have It introduced movie goers to Nola Darling, a black heroine that knew exactly what she wanted, how she wanted it and how to get it. As a predecessor to recent films like Friends with Benefits and No Strings Attached, Lee’s movie heralded a soon-to-be popular archetype: the sexually-liberated, independent woman who unabashedly has male friends on the side. Of course, even in ’86 this portrayal would prove to push many hot buttons, causing the film to initially be considered too controversial for America. Read on to find out more facts behind the making of the movie and the evolution of the Nola Darling’s of movie past and present.
(via The Urban Daily)
His name has been in the news quite a bit this week, thanks to 2 new projects he’s developing; but for those who weren’t already aware, Spike Lee’sfeature film debut, She’s Gotta Have It, released in 1986, is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year!
If you were already aware of that fact, did you know that She’s Gotta Have It was initially given, not an R, but an X-rating by the MPAA?
Why? The exact quote, according to Spike, was that the MPAA said it was “saturated with sex.”
You can’t help but laugh at the ridiculousness and hypocrisy of that given reason. Talk about a double-standard!
Thus, Spike had to re-edit the film three times and it was still considered too risque. So when he first screened it in New York, he had to do so with an unrated version. However, Lee was contractually obligated to deliver an R-rated movie (if he wanted to get paid) and eventually did.
What was Spike’s response to the whole thing 25 years ago?
Read the rest of this article at The Urban Daily now.
Spike Lee’s ‘She’s Gotta Have It’ Turns 25! was originally published on giantlife.com
