Akeelah and the Bee, 2006, Keke Palmer, Laurence Fishburne
Akeelah and the Bee is a 2006 film written and directed by Doug Atchison. It tells the story of Akeelah Anderson, portrayed by Keke Palmer, an 11-year-old girl who participates in the Scripps National Spelling Bee, her mother portrayed by Angela Bassett, schoolmates, and also her coach, portrayed by Laurence Fishburne. It also explores issues of education in the black community. It has been given a PG rating from the MPAA for some language.
The film was developed over a period of 10 years by Doug Atchison, the germ of the idea having started after his watching the Scripps National Spelling Bee of 1994 and combined with his experiences spent tutoring disadvantaged students in the area around the University of Southern California, where he attended film school. After four years of trying to secure funding for the film, the documentary film Spellbound came out in 2002 and perhaps, according to one producer, Sid Ganis, facilitated funding. Spellbound features a black girl, Ashley White, from Washington, D.C., in rough parallel to the independent idea developed in Akeelah and the Bee.
The film has been heavily promoted by Starbucks as a result of a partnership between Lions Gate Films, 2929 Entertainment, and Starbucks Entertainment. It became the first DVD offered for sale at Starbucks.
The film earned positive reviews from most critics, getting an 84% from 115 people at Rotten Tomatoes.
Tagline: Changing the world... one word at a time.
Reviewers praised the positive image of African Americans presented, but note usage of prominent stereotypes of Asian Americans in the portrayal of Akeelah's rival Dylan Chiu and his father.
Rotten Tomatoes claimed that Dylan was portrayed as being arrogant and obnoxious and his father racist for slamming the door in Akeelah's face on the eve of the National Bee and deploring her color, though Dylan was feeling pressure from his father for placing second twice and having the last opportunity this year to win.”Wikipedia
