JUNGLE FEVER

'''Jungle Fever''' is a 1991 film directed by Spike Lee, starring Wesley Snipes and Annabella Sciorra. It is Lee's fifth feature length film.

Contents

Plot

Theme

Soundtrack

Popular culture

Awards

External links

Plot

The plot centers on the interracial romance between a successful married African American architect, Flipper Purify (played by Snipes), and an Italian-American woman, Angie Tucci (played by Sciorra). The two meet at their workplace in New York, an architectural firm where Purify works and Tucci is hired as a temporary secretary. The lovers come under intense pressure from their friends and family as a result of their relationship. The title of the film refers to the sexual attraction between two different races.
A subplot considers the problems of drug abuse, with Flipper's brother Gator (played by Samuel L. Jackson) a suffering crack addict.
The film also features John Turturro, Halle Berry, Charlie Murphy, Queen Latifah, Anthony Quinn, Ossie Davis, Tim Robbins, Ruby Dee and a then-unknown Michael Imperioli.
The film is notable as the screen debut of Halle Berry, who would later become the first African American winner of the Academy Award for Best Actress for ''Monster's Ball''. It was also Queen Latifah's screen debut, as well as Samuel L. Jackson's first notable performance; both would go on to become Oscar nominees.

Theme

Though many people would view this movie as negativity towards interracial dating, it does have a message of hope. Flipper and Angie's relationship was the result of being "curious" of the notion of being with someone from another race, especially coming from neighborhoods and backgrounds that consider this taboo. They did not love each other or even have a chemistry together, so their relationship was doomed from the beginning. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the beginning of Paulie and Orin's relationship at the end seems sincere as there is an attractiveness that is genuine and not fueled by curiosity.

Soundtrack

:''See: Jungle Fever (soundtrack)''.

Popular culture

The success and popularity of this film has also spurred the usage of "Jungle Fever" to mean a couple of more than one race, or one who is attracted to a member of another race from themselves is considered to have "Jungle Fever". An offshoot of this term, "Yellow Fever", was coined to pertain to an interracial relationship where one of the participants is East Asian.

Awards

★ Cannes Film Festival

★
★ Best Supporting Actor – Samuel L. Jackson

★
★ Prize of the Ecumenical Jury (Special Mention)

★ Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards

★
★ Best Supporting Actor – Samuel L. Jackson

★ National Board of Review

★
★ 10th best film of the year

★ New York Film Critics Circle Awards

★
★ Best Supporting Actor – Samuel L. Jackson

★ Political Film Society Human Rights Award

External links