S

Spike Lee

12 quotes

Not every great thinker makes it into the history books, but Spike Lee's words speak for themselves. With equal ease, Spike Lee moved between Hope and Education, finding connections others missed. Discover 13 of Spike Lee's most memorable quotes, ranging across Hope, Education, Women, Power, and Movies. Readers often gravitate to this one: "A lot of times you get credit for stuff in your movies you didn't intend to be there."

“A lot of times you get credit for stuff in your movies you didn't intend to be there.”

— Spike Lee

Movies

All Quotes by Spike Lee

“It has been my observation that parents kill more dreams than anybody.”

— Spike Lee

Dreams

“My grandmother lived to be 100 years old. Her grandmother was a slave, yet she was a college graduate in the Spellman class of 1917. She taught art for 50 years and she saved her Social Security checks for her children's education.”

— Spike Lee

Education

“A lot of times you get credit for stuff in your movies you didn't intend to be there.”

— Spike Lee

Movies

“We grew up in a very creative environment and were exposed to the arts at a very young age, so it's not a surprise that all of us are in some form of the arts.”

— Spike Lee

Age

“I'd like to state that Spike Lee is not saying that African American culture is just for black people alone to enjoy and cherish. Culture is for everybody.”

— Spike Lee

Alone

“Any film I do is not going to change the way black women have been portrayed, or black people have been portrayed, in cinema since the days of D.W. Griffith.”

— Spike Lee

Change

“I had a great education. From kindergarten to John Dewey High School in Coney Island, I am public-school educated.”

— Spike Lee

Education

“Fight the power that be. Fight the power.”

— Spike Lee

Power

“Violence is a part of America. I don't want to single out rap music. Let's be honest. America's the most violent country in the history of the world, that's just the way it is. We're all affected by it.”

— Spike Lee

History

“Right now a lot of people are still choosing to go to Toronto instead of shooting in New York City, something I haven't done and something I hope I'll never have to do.”

— Spike Lee

Hope

“I don't think I'm a total pessimist, so I think you can find hope in all my films.”

— Spike Lee

Hope

“If we became students of Malcolm X, we would not have young black men out there killing each other like they're killing each other now. Young black men would not be impregnating young black women at the rate going on now. We'd not have the drugs we have now, or the alcoholism.”

— Spike Lee

Men