Apres Culture

This week we’re celebrating MLK Day with two films by African-American writer-directors. Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing is the tale of one day on one street in New York’s predominantly black Bed-Stuy district, and the thousand small moments that lead to a conflagration come nightfall. Gina Prince-Bythewood’s Love and Basketball traces the romance of two dedicated basketball players from their time as childhood sweethearts through their volatile college and professional careers, and how their love of the game alternately unites them and tears them apart. We’ve also brought guests Bahiyjaui Allen and Edwin Walker on with us to make token black friend jokes and talk about what Lee’s and Prince-Bythewood’s work has meant to them as aspiring filmmakers themselves. Pull up a chair and order a slice with extra cheese — it’s time for Après Culture. NEXT WEEK: Little House on the Prairie, by Laura Ingalls Wilder Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott TIPPLE OF THE WEEK: Dirty Shirley Temples