Spike Lee, tell us that we didn’t just see a character in your new movie trailer use a racial slur. What happened to you? You have always been known as a thinker who prompted thought. From Do the Right Thing to Bamboozled, your films have sparked dialogue about identity, and the complexities of culture. I will repeat what happened for you…we just saw the trailer for your latest film, Highest 2 Lowest, and unfortunately, you have a character who is using a racial slur–in the trailer? We know that you’re better than this and that you know better than this. Sadly Spike, in this moment you have become part of the problem and it has to be addressed.
Aren’t You Better Than This?
Your decision to do this is particularly jarring when we consider your previous work, such as Bamboozled, which explored the harmful effects of racial stereotyping and the dehumanizing power of racial tropes. Bamboozled was a clear examination of how entertainment and media perpetuate racial tropes with the permission of the passive. Yet in your latest project, Spike, you seem to take a step backward by allowing this harmful language. Why? At this point in your career, aren’t you better than this–more intelligent than this–more aware than this? We want to believe that you are.
People attempt to act like the use of this racial slur, particularly between African American characters, is some complex issue. It’s really not. That’s just a commonplace excuse for intellectual laziness, low self-esteem and irresponsibility. It’s just a bunch of rhetoric from cowards–as my colleague Brian Cohen points out in his article, African Americans Are a Monolith?–who are afraid to take a stand for their own dignity and self-respect. You guys have really lost it. You have surrounded yourselves with teachings (mostly in the form of modern rap music) that this use of a racial epithet is acceptable and now you not only believe it, but you mindlessly defend it. What happened to you people? What happened to you, Spike? Do you remember our fathers and our mothers? Do you respect the history of the African Diaspora?
You Already Know This
The decision to use this word in your film and trailer—being a filmmaker as influential as you are, Spike Lee—carries significant weight. Words have power, and the impact of their usage in media extends far beyond the screen, influencing attitudes and behavior in real life. Again, you already know this.
We just cannot believe that you would be so absent-minded as to put a racial slur in the trailer for this movie. I have never seen this level of ignorance and disregard anywhere serious. The only place where you might see something that stupid is in a project done by some knock-off, low-grade Youtube wannabe who is attempting to get clicks from a dull-minded audience. Is this what you’ve become, Spike Lee? If someone like Ryan Coogler would have done this, I would have quickly called him a complete moron. In fact, his irresponsibility had to be addressed as well, along with Michael B. Jordan’s irresponsibility in Sinners, Dear Ryan Coogler and A Very Serious Question.
Ryan Coogler Address
The irony in all of this is that I addressed Ryan Coogler’s racial slur choices and problematic direction in part, by referencing elements of your movie, Bamboozled. Spike, since you’re now the one who has made this blunder–in all fairness, I am calling you a complete moron. Actually, this makes you more of a moron because the world knows that you know better. Your body of work says that you know better. Bamboozled alone, says that you know better. Malcolm X says that you know better. Come on, Spike!
All of Your Experience
You’ve invested decades of your life examining racial dynamics with what appeared to be an acute awareness. What happened to you? Of all people, you should understand the short-term and long-term consequences of normalizing the casual use of a racial slur. In the short term, it reinforces harmful stereotypes. Over time, this only desensitizes audiences to the historical trauma of an entire people group, as you explained in Bamboozled.
Spike, much of your work has been a mirror to society’s most pressing issues, but the Highest 2 Lowest trailer alone may risk tarnishing your reputation as a filmmaker who challenges audiences to think critically. The film’s trailer leaves much to be desired in terms of addressing the consequences of language. As a filmmaker who has previously tackled these issues with nuance and insight, it’s disheartening to see a project that appears to gloss over the profound implications of using a racial epithet. We expect more from you, Spike Lee.
In an era where representation and cultural awareness are more important than ever, it’s essential for an artist like yourself to remember that with great power comes great responsibility.
That’s what ithinkie.
“People pay for what they do, and still more for what they have allowed themselves to become–and they pay for it, very simply by the lives they lead.” -Pierre Delacroix
Published: August 17, 2025
