“It’s rare enough that black people are seen in films, but even when we are, it’s always in stereotypical roles of making people laugh, or as singers and dancers. [...] Even the top stars like Eddie Murphy and Richard Pryor never get to have any love interest in their films. How often have you seen a black man and woman kiss on the screen?”

Spike Lee1

• 1. Larry Rohter, “Spike Lee Makes His Movie,” The New York Times, 10 August 1986.