| Director | Spike Lee |
|---|---|
| Budget | $6.1 million |
| Box office | $14.5 million |
On Friday of homecoming weekend at Mission College, a prestigious historically black college in Atlanta, Georgia, Vaughn "Dap" Dunlap, a politically militant and socially conscious black senior, leads an anti-apartheid demonstration, demanding that the school divest from South Africa. However, the fraternity Gamma Phi Gamma and their pledge class, the Gammites, arrive to interrupt the demonstration. Julian "Dean Big Brother Almighty" Eaves, the head/president of Mission College's Gamma Phi Gamma Fraternity chapter and Dap's former friend, upsets Dap by stating his opposition to the protest, after which Student Government Association president Virgil Cloyd breaks up both their subsequent fight and the rally. Dap's younger cousin Darrell, a Gamma pledge known as "Half-Pint" to Julian and his fellow Big Brothers (Chucky, Dr. Feelgood, Lance, X-Ray Vision, and General George Patton; the assistant dean of the pledge class), is ordered to bring a girl to the fraternity that night, and goes to Dap for advice.
Cedar Cloud, chairman of Mission's board of trustees, warns college president Harold McPherson that Dap's divestment protests may scare off the school's wealthy donors. In the evening, Dap asks his friends Da Fellas (Grady, Monroe, Jordan, Edge, and Booker T.) to return with him to the administration building to protest. Although supportive of Dap's cause, they decline, wanting to complete their college education and get good jobs in the future. Meanwhile, the Gamma Rays ("wannabes", who are mostly light-skinned black women with straightened hair), the Gamma women's auxiliary led by Julian's girlfriend Jane Toussaint, clash with some of their non-Greek classmates ("jigaboos", who are mostly dark-skinned black women with natural hair), including Dap's girlfriend Rachel Meadows, over skin color and hair politics. Unsuccessful in courting any female students, Half-Pint and his fellow Gammites (Doo-Doo Breath, Double Rubber, Mussolini, Mustafa, Yoda, Slim Daddy, and Sir Nose) are hazed by the Big Brothers. Dap and Rachel have a falling out when she plans to rush a sorority, and she accuses him of colorism.
On Saturday, the weekend's festivities begin, and the Gamma brothers nearly come to blows with Dap and his fellow protestors at the homecoming parade. After the Mission football team suffers an embarrassing loss at the homecoming football game, Dap is called into McPherson's office and informed by Cloud that if he continues with his protests he will be expelled. Da Fellas drive into town to eat at a local KFC, where they are harassed by locals who resent them as privileged college boys. Returning to campus, Dap confronts Julian about Half-Pint's pledge status. On Sunday, at the Greeks' step show, a performance by Da Fellas (as "the brothers of Fellas Phi Fellas") leads to a brawl with the Gammas. Seeking out Rachel, Dap is humiliated by her dorm neighbors, but he and Rachel reconcile.
That evening, following a grueling initiation, the Gammites are welcomed as new members. At the school dance, Dap's roommate Grady hits it off with a female student and coaxes her to his room, but she refuses to stay when Dap and Rachel are already there. As the Gammas celebrate, Julian becomes annoyed with Jane. Singling out Half-Pint, Julian orders him to sleep with Jane as a final test. Although Half-Pint and Jane are both uncomfortable with Julian's request, she insists she would do anything for Julian. Afterward, Julian accuses Jane of prioritizing the fraternity and his position as leader over him, and breaks up with her. Half-Pint excitedly informs Dap that he slept with Jane by Julian's orders; infuriated that his cousin has become an entitled Gamma, the two disown each other. At sunrise, Dap runs to the center of the campus quad and awakens the entire campus from the previous night's debauchery by ringing a large bell. A tearful Julian, remorseful for his treatment of Half-Pint and Jane, arrives and stands eye-to-eye with Dap, who breaks the fourth wall to tell the audience directly, "Please, wake up."