Only a year after Kenneth Branagh’s semi-autobiographical film “Belfast” landed him an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, the 62-year-old actor-director returned for his third Agatha Christie book-to-film adaptation, “A Haunting in Venice.”
Dr. Jarvis Watson, the assistant dean for multicultural affairs, sat in his almost cleared-out office in the Student Activities Center and reflected on his 14-year professional career at Stony Brook University.
Black fatherhood, mental health, racism and familial trauma are just a few of the topics discussed in the film. There is no one size fits all mold for the Black experience, but “Da 5 Bloods” is able to speak to the universal fight for freedom.
On Wednesday, Feb. 5, acclaimed filmmaker Spike Lee joined a packed room of students, faculty and staff as part of the Presidential Lecture Series at the Staller Center. Lee owned his own narrative, was as authentic as can be and said what he wanted to say with no filter.
The film, “BlacKkKlansman,” is buried in the story of a Ku Klux Klan infiltration in the 1970s and is a summary of modern-day race issues and a blatant call to action.
The list of possible guest speakers to come to Stony Brook University is out and the names are, to say the least, quite impressive. Among them are Dennis Rodman, NBA legend and “Diplomat to North Korea”; Michio Kaku, world-renowned theoretical physicist; Lil B, famous rapper; and Spike Lee, film director and producer. Each of these men will undoubtedly will share indispensable insight on topics ranging from politics to music to science, but nonetheless, to me, there are two that stand out for distinct reasons.
