For his Senior Independent Project, Ryan Bellamy ’25 analyzed how Black people are represented in Spike Lee films. “Spike Lee’s portrayal of Black people differs from that of other Black producers because Spike Lee doesn’t show a lot of gun violence, drug use, and Black-on-Black crime,” Bellamy explained. “Spike Lee portrays Black people as intellectuals in his movies.”
Inspired by a previous Winter Project on Black stereotypes in television, Bellamy was guided by history teacher Jim McDougal to examine positive portrayals in Lee’s films. Through his research, Bellamy found that negative stereotypes of Black people in media are often what sells, while Lee’s films prove that successful movies can highlight Black excellence without relying on harmful themes. “I think it’s important for all races to be positively portrayed in film because negative portrayal of a race can translate to negative stereotypes,” he said. “I also think it’s important for young kids to see a positive portrayal of people who look like themselves in film.”
Bellamy presented his findings to the Board of Trustees during the Trustee weekend in January and received extremely positive feedback. “Eventually I would like something like my project and independent study to be available for the whole school as a class,” Bellamy stated. He also shared his research with the Black Student Union, leading a group discussion on He Got Game.
“Bellamy is a thoughtful young man, and I am pleased that he was able to find an opportunity to pursue an interest. It is important for all students to find a place where they can see themselves and have an opportunity to pursue a passion or question that they believe is important. Bellamy’s project reflected his desire to learn how people of color are represented in history and popular culture,” said Bellamy’s faculty advisor Jim McDougal.
While Bellamy plans to study economics in college, he hopes to continue examining the impact of media representation and storytelling.
by Missy McCluskey