Spike Lee Slams Clint Eastwood Over Representation Of Black Soldiers

UPDATE: Clint has responded Spike and told him, among other things, to "shut his face."

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CANNES, France - Spike Lee is slamming Clint Eastwood over his two recent Iwo Jima movies, saying the filmmaker overlooked the role of black soldiers during World War II.

Lee _ whose next film is this fall's "Miracle at St. Anna," the story of an all-black U.S. division fighting in Italy during the war _ said Eastwood's 2006 movies "Flags of Our Fathers" and "Letters From Iwo Jima" were whites-only affairs.

"He did two films about Iwo Jima back to back and there was not one black soldier in both of those films," Lee said Tuesday at the Cannes Film Festival, where he was a judge in an online short-film competition.

"Many veterans, African-Americans, who survived that war are upset at Clint Eastwood. In his vision of Iwo Jima, Negro soldiers did not exist. Simple as that. I have a different version," Lee said.

Eastwood was in Cannes for his missing-child drama "Changeling," starring Angelina Jolie. At a news conference for the film, a reporter tried to ask for his reaction to Lee's criticism, but the moderator cut her off and told journalists to limit questions to Eastwood's own movie.

Due in U.S. theaters in October, "Miracle at St. Anna" centers on four Americans _ played by Derek Luke, Michael Ealy, Laz Alonso and Omar Benson Miller _ in the Buffalo Soldiers division in Tuscany.

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On the Net:

http://www.festival-cannes.fr/en.html

Comments

[cla62]

Spikes just pissed because not all of the hollywood jerks feed into the left wing propaganda that he is a part of. Their are a few that aren't brain washed into thinking that socialism and anti morality are the direction this country needs to go.

[queensboro]

in hollywood as in this society, it is what it is

[vandegrasse]

Oh, get a grip, Spike. Not everyone has your perfect color vision.

[brainuser]

AA Marines on Iwo Jima
http://www.nps.gov/archive/wapa/indepth/extContent/usmc/pcn-190-003132-00/sec10.htm

[adled]

I am of two minds here. One, Spike is right. But two, Clint is guilty not of malice but of a white man's omission; sort of like, 'out of sight, out of mind'. However, if Spike and Clint were to make a film about Black participation in the war Clint would probably do it ala 'Myles Davis', where as Spike would do it ala, 'Funk' or 'Hip-Hop' style. Me, I like jazz.

[K-Dog76]

Spike Lee apparently didn't see Eastwood's almost all-black movie... BIRD. About Charlie Parker.

Fact: Letters from Iwo was about Japanese solders, nothing to do with white or black...
Fact: Flags was about the guys who raised the flag at Iwo Jima, apparently they weren't black.

I'm Spike but Clint isn't the racist.... YOU ARE.

[cla62]

Amen!! The truth will set us free, but obviously not Spike or the racist lefties!!

[Leper]

What do smart Republicans and UFOs have in common? You always hear about them but never see any!

[BetterAmerica]

What is he complaining about? An African American is an inch away from being our president and he still finds something to complain about.

[Mattie]

the man is a constant whiner, who sees racism in everything. It's boring, it's disgusting, and most of all it's just a big turnoff!

[Puller58]

Well gang, the TV series "Shark" has been cancelled. Spike Lee got it on the air. Guess he should find someone to blame for its cancellation.

[Puller58]

Even at Clint's age, I still think he can take half pint. Go get 'em Clint.

[THINKB4USPEAK]

I like Clint's work.As an actor he has been criticized as wooden, but those critics fail to pick up on the nuance-laden gestures he incorporates into his charactorizations. Clint can say more with one eyebrow than most can do with an entire movie. His films are well-crafted tales with a central message, even that sometimes things are ambiguous. Clint has addressed many issues of social injustice; the econo-terrorism of big business in"PALE RIDER" springs to mind, the repression of fascist government in "UNFORGIVEN", the flaws of American justice in"DIRTY HARRY", (Someone already mentioned "THE OUTLAW JOSIE WELLS" ,which adresses issues of both racial and class discrimination. Clint's work ENTERTAINS me, more to the point. Conversely, Spike Lee's efforts strike me as "shock-flick" dressed up in a social commentary gown. And, they're mostly boring. If I want to hear people saying motherf***er, I'll just go to work, a bar, or an elementary school playground. As to Clint being racist, maybe Spike should be calling Morgan Freeman an uncle tom. Anyway, Iheard Clint was planning to reshoot some scenes depicting all the brave, black Japanese soldiers in a better light.

[blytzd]

The pot called the kettle black... or should I say white... err better keep my mouth shut for fear of beaing called a racist.

[Mattie]

but your comment was right on!

[TheWarOnHorror]

There were no black Marines depicted in "Flags of Our Fathers"?

1. Rent a copy of "Flags of Our Fathers".
2. Place the DVD in a DVD player.
3. Fast Forward to approx. 16:40 into the film.

You will see black Marines listening to a briefing on the landing.

At any rate, this film is not about depicting every single marine, sailor, or serviceman on the island. Instead, it focuses on the experiences, feelings, and lives of PhM2 John "Doc" Bradley, CPL Rene Gagnon, and CPL Ira Hayes -- before, during, and after the actual battle. In fact, I have seen the film numerous times and can say that the overall battle scenes barely make up a third of the movie.

Obama/Webb '08

[dora rice]

One advice to Spike Lee. Quit inventing History. I lived in Europe when the victor forces moved in.
They were white. Only later , when the fighters went home and left the service , the army really stocked up with whites and blacks. The French brought the Maroccons soldiers, first black people we ever saw, they lived in tents on the town square and butchered sheeps for food.

[pkafin]

"I lived in Europe when the victor forces moved in."

I have several comments regarding this:

1) This movie is in regards to the fighting in the Pacific.

2) You didn't live in all parts of Europe.

3) Regardless of where you lived, when"the victor forces moved in" was a small part of the fighting effort. African Americans were absolutely part of the fighting effort in Europe in WWII. Nearly one million African American soldiers took part in WWII.

4) I suggest you follow the following links to start educating yourself (the second one has pictures in case you have a problem believing the words).:

http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2005-05/2005-05-10-voa47.cfm
http://www.archives.gov/research/african-americans/ww2-pictures/
http://www.coax.net/people/lwf/WW2.HTM

African Americans

[meanpeoplesuck]

Spike Lee is a racist creep. His movies stink and the only reason he has any 'credibility' in the film business is because of white guilt. There, I said it.

[dora rice]

hmmm....sound to me like sombody else. hmmmm

[pkafin]

"There, I said it."

You speak nonsense. It's nothing to be proud of.

[uheardme]

He has some credibility in the film business because a few of his films have made money. Moron.

[Kremfresch]

I would say that he has credibility in the film business because of his 20 year career of putting out successful movies. Maybe you don't like them, maybe some of them suck, but some of them are pretty damn excellent.

[galaxian]

I like Spike Lee's films--25th Hour, Clockers, He Got Game, others. But suddenly it's up to Ken Burns and Paramount Pictures to provide a 'correct' history of everything American? Nah.
If only so much attention was paid to, say, our fraudulent U.S. history textbooks.

[dora rice]

Spike Lee films stink. But what do I know, I am just a big ape.

[SanityNowPlease]

Spike is just speaking the truth. There were over 900 black marines at Iwo Jima.

http://www.bvsj.org/Black%20Soldiers%20at%20Iwo%20Jima.pdf

[DebofMD]

Thank you.

[dora rice]

compared to how many whites? A drop in the bucket.

[RRK70]

900 out of 110,000. The outfits were also very segregated at the time. Both the Eastwood films on Iwo Jima focus on a specific spectrum of the battle, the Japanese in Letters and the flag raisers in Sands.

I think Lee may have a point in general, but to single out Eastwoods films specifically is weak and ridiculous. I do have to congratualte Mr. Lee in being able to generate a debate with specious criticism over films that are already a year or two old.