What a Great Conversation!
Watch here: Talking Spike Lee with Dr. Jemar Tisby and Rev. Tyler Burns
Welcome to The Empathetic Imagination! This newsletter was born out of my interest in the relationship between the arts and spiritual formation, particularly the cultivation of empathy (which also led to my book). In this weekly newsletter, we will look at the connections between art, theology, and the hard work of being a loving, truthful human being. Thank you to all who subscribe, especially those who have opted for a paid subscription. This helps me to continue to do this work! Along with writing on the arts and theology, I will be offering some (non-credit) go–at–your-own–pace courses on these topics for paid subscribers.
Thank you to Dr. Jemar Tisby and Rev. Tyler Burns for such a fantastic, enriching discussion this Saturday on Do the Right Thing. I know I learned a lot. And after listening to Jemar and Tyler, I want to emphasize even more that the popular discourse on the speaking/writing of MLK and Malcolm X has lacked nuance. This film highlights the complexity of the issues addressed by each of these leaders. If you have not yet, you can read from them in this post and this post.
You can watch the video below:
We had a very active chat thread during the conversation, including many great resources shared by Jemar! You can access it here:
If you want to learn more about the making of the film, here is a fascinating, free documentary on youtube:
I also recommend watching this (short) video from The New York Times in which Spike Lee narrates the “anatomy of a scene.” It is very powerful and hard-hitting.
Last of all, here is a great article from The Criterion Collection called “10 Things I Learned: Do the Right Thing.”
Don’t forget that you can preorder Jemar Tisby’s The Spirit of Justice HERE.
You can listen to Jemar and Tyler’s podcast Pass the Mic HERE. You can also virtually attend Rise City Church and hear Pastor Tyler’s sermons HERE.
You can learn more about The Witness: a Black Christian Collective (and donate!) HERE.
I will be sending another newsletter tomorrow with info for this week’s film: Memento by Christopher Nolan.
Here are the places that you can stream, rent, or buy. Free Vee is FREE!
Thanks for reading!