Can a film be of its time and before its time?

Girl 6 is certainly not a film that most people think of when they talk about Spike Lee. It was both a critical and commercial failure when it came out and is now almost impossible to track down. It’s the first Spike Lee film that was not written by him, instead enlisting playwright Suzan-Lori Parks.

It follows an unnamed, aspiring actress (Theresa Randle) to a series of auditions and acting classes that leave her with nothing but frustration. Disillusioned with the film industry after a nasty proposition by filmmaker “Q.T.” (played by one Quentin Tarantino, a scene which bell hooks described as a critique of Hollywood’s understanding of what blackness is), her quest for new work lands her in the warm, supportive embrace of a women-run phone sex agency.

A natural from her first day at the agency, Girl 6 soon becomes dangerously engrossed in her work, isolating herself from her neighbours and love interest.

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