Bet You Didn’t Know: Secrets Behind the Making of “Jungle Fever”

Art Imitating Life

Just because Spike wasn’t discouraging interracial relationships doesn’t mean he needed to neglect the viewpoint that was strongly opposed. You remember the scene where black women of all hues are sitting around discussing the plight of relationships with black men and their [negative] feelings regarding interracial relationships? That’s almost all ad-lib. Lee said that those women could improv better dialogue than he could ever write. And as a black woman, we know he’s right. So right in fact, that Lonette McKee, the woman who played Flipper’s wife Drew said she wept when she saw the final, edited scene. Being a biracial woman (black father and white mother), McKee was neglected by the white side of her family and really related to that part of the movie. She said, “I live it everyday.” She wasn’t the only one who felt it. The women in the scene were so connected they formed friendships once filming wrapped.