Opinion on Spike Lee’s viewpoint

To a certain extent, I agree with Spike Lee’s opinion that you cannot properly create a film reflecting  a certain experience of a gender, ethnicity, religion or culture if you are not of that particular group. I think this because despite the extent of research, you cannot truly experience what the person is going through because it is not the same as your experiences. It is hard to put yourself in their shoes despite what you think that you know, especially with a sensitive topic.

Topics such as race or gender can be sensitive to make, since there is typically a large audience for these specific films; they can be extremely hard to get right. Personally, I think these films should be wrote or directed by someone who understand and experience them to a certain extent because I think they are able to relate to the topic well enough to offer a valid and interesting representation

There can be serious issues with films trying to express sensitive views if they have not experienced it first-hand. Sometimes despite research, a director or screenwriter can misinterpret any part of the film. This can feel disrespectful to the audience, usually those linked in with the gender, ethnicity or religion that the movie is expressed.

On the other hand, I can understand the topic of diversity and why experienced directors or screenwriters would want to produce films with sensitive topics. Some of the best films express sensitive topics and not necessarily all are directed by directors who reflect these experiences. This shows that some directors can approach these types of films with such sensitivity and maturity that they produce excellent work which represents the topic positively

There is also the issue of subjectivity, which suggests that we can only direct or write films which reflect us. This is such a problem because it implies that we understand the whole genre. For example, stating a black man should only direct films about a black man limits his potential and suggests that all he knows is retelling himself in a different format. In this retrospect, I think everyone should be offered equal opportunities because this ensures that a wide range of films are covered as much as possible