In the South of the United States are taking place confrontations between two groups of students who have different ideas and are not able to accept the one of the opponent.
Written by
Volker Boehm
Plot Synopsis:
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On Friday of homecoming weekend at the historical African-American college, Mission College in Georgia, senior Vaughn "Dap" Dunlap (Laurence Fishburne) leads a protest rally regarding the school's involvement with apartheid in South Africa. However, the fraternity Gamma Phi Gamma and their pledge class, the Gammites, arrive to interrupt the demonstration. Julian "Big Brother Almighty" Eaves (Giancarlo Esposito), Gamma leader and Dap's former friend, informs Dap he does not agree with his protest. Upset, Dap and Julian began to fight, but Student Government Association president Virgil Cloyd breaks up the rally.

At the administration building, Board of Trustees Chairman "Cedar Cloud" (Art Evans) orders College President Harold McPherson (Joe Seneca) to stop Dap from protesting. Later, Julian taunts Gammites pledge Darrell "Half-Pint," (Spike Lee) saying he will drop out of pledging just as his cousin Dap did years earlier.

In the evening, Dap asks his activist friends, Grady (Bill Nunn), Monroe (James Bond III), Jordan (Branford Marsalis), Edge (Kadeem Hardison), and Booker T. (Eric A. Payne), to return with him to the administration building to protest. Although supporters of Dap's cause, they want to complete their college education and get good jobs in the future.

The following day, Dap is called into President McPherson's office and informed by Cedar Cloud that if he continues with his protests he will be expelled.

That evening, Half-Pint and the Gammites complete their pledging and become fraternity brothers. During the celebration with the Gamma Ray sorority, Julian becomes annoyed with his girl friend, Jane Toussaint (Tisha Campbell). Singling out Half-Pint, Julian orders him to sleep with Jane as a final test. Although Half-Pint is uncomfortable with Julian's request, Jane insists she would do anything for Julian. Afterward, Julian accuses Jane of loving the fraternity and his position as leader "Big Brother Almighty" instead of him, and breaks up with her.

Meanwhile, Half-Pint brags to Dap that he slept with Jane by Julian's orders. Seeing his cousin turned into an entitled Gamma, Dap runs to the center of the campus quad. Ringing a bell, Dap awakens the student body and administration. As they gather, Julian, remorseful of his treatment of Half-Pint and Jane, joins Dap. Looking out to the gathered crowd, Dap tells them, "Wake up!"

Spike Lee had the actors stay in separate hotels during filming. The actors playing the "wannabes" had better accommodations than those playing the "jigaboos", which contributed to the on-camera animosity between the two camps. The step show scene was was result of that animosity. According to Lee, the fight between the jigaboos and wannabes was real.
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Spike Lee was kicked off the campuses of Morehouse, Spelman, and Clark Atlanta University during filming because the colleges' Boards of Directors were concerned about how black colleges were being portrayed. Lee finished filming at the neighboring Morris Brown College.
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Vanessa Williams was originally considered for the role of Jane Toussaint. However, Spike Lee was impressed by Tisha Campbell-Martin's singing in Little Shop of Horrors (1986), so she got the part.
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Tisha Campbell-Martin said she had no idea what a "jigaboo" was prior to joining the project.
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Alton Brown, host of Good Eats (1999), was the Steadicam operator for this film, and director of photography for R.E.M.'s "The One I Love" video.
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Laurence Fishburne's signature tooth gap is noticeably missing. He had his teeth capped for the role.
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Branford Marsalis performed many of the saxophone solos in the score.
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Kyme and Tisha Campbell-Martin's matching kneepads in the Straight and Nappy scene were not part of the wardrobe. Campbell-Martin had a knee injury, and the stylist gave Kyme kneepads to match.
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This is the first studio-funded musical to be directed by an African-American.
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"Straight and Nappy" was written by Spike Lee's father, Bill Lee. His sister, Joie Lee, also had a small part in the film.
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Thanks to Columbia Pictures Executive David Pickler, Spike Lee got final cut rights for the film, which was rare for any director at the time.
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Despite mixed reviews, the film cost six and a half million dollars to make, and grossed fifteen million dollars, making it one of Columbia Pictures's most profitable films of 1988.
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The last words spoken in the film, "Wake up!", are also the very first words spoken in Spike Lee's next film, Do the Right Thing (1989).
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Darryl M. Bell is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. This is the first fraternity to perform in the step show scene.
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In the DVD commentary, Tisha Campbell-Martin said the blonde dye damaged her hair so badly she had to cut it out.
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This was supposed to the second film in Spike Lee's three-film deal with Island Pictures, after She's Gotta Have It (1986). He got a call from Island saying they no longer wanted to make the film because it was too expensive, and they'd lost confidence in Lee and his production people. The next day, Lee was at Columbia Pictures with David Puttnam and David Picker for a negative pick-up deal. The budget was increased to six and a half million dollars, and the film was made.
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The film came out when A Different World (1987), which was also set at a fictional historically African-American college, was in the middle of its first season. Jasmine Guy, Darryl Bell, and Kadeem Hardison starred on the show. Tisha Campbell-Martin appeared in two episodes as Josie Webb, an HIV-positive student. Roger Guenveur Smith appeared in five episodes as Professor Howard Randolph, an African-American History professor.
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Gamma Phi Gamma is a combination of two historically black fraternities: Alpha Phi Alpha and Omega Psi Phi. Omega Psi Phi members are known as the "Que Dogs", and their pledges used to shave their heads and eyebrows prior to becoming members. Alpha Phi Alpha colors are Black and Gold, and their mascot is the Sphinx. In the parade scene, the Gammas float has an Egyptian theme.
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Toward the end of "I Don't Want to Be Alone Tonight", the audio is slightly ahead of the video.
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During "I Don't Want To Be Alone Tonight," the Gamma Rays' black gloves go from above the elbow, to below the elbow, and back again between shots.
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