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

[scruffyandspunky]

P.S. One of my cousins is a Tuskeegee Airman - where, oh where, is the 100% comprehensive and accurate portrayal of THEIR role in WWII? Spike, I hope yours shows even a portion of that rich history - but, the bottom line is, no matter how good it is, it will still only present a FRACTION of all the stories out there. I just hope we don't hold that against you. Please, let's stop fighting about these trivial, meaningless differences, people!

[awcbuddy8]

"The Tuskeegee Airmen" 1995, starring Laurence Fishburne

[scruffyandspunky]

I saw it. My cousin was a consultant on that film and he said there were many inaccuracies inserted for "dramatic" effect....­besides that, my larger point is that no theatrical film can or should be expected to factually portray all aspects of any historical event.

[DrJimmy]

George Lucas as in Star Wars is in PreProduction about THE TUSKEEGEE AIRMEN....­.

[ejay579]

I like Clint: I like Spike. I agree with Spike on this one. There is not reason he could not have included some African American soldiers somewhere in the movies.

[awcbuddy8]

There was some on a boat. But it doesn't really matter, he directed it and he made it the way he wanted. It was a decent film and I don't really think it will be remembered for the number of black people it had in it.

[john85msy]

You are right its his movie and its my money. If you are going to direct a movie based on facts you have to cover all the angles. I will hold on to my 60 bucks and my family will check out something else.

[scruffyandspunky]

I just find it kind of sad and ironic that Spike Lee was put under a microscope - and, in some cases, harshly criticized - for not presenting "THE" view of "black life," or "the black perspective," or however you want to characterize the ridiculous notion that ANY one person can represent anything more than ONE PERSON'S perceptions. I am an African-American woman who has consistently rejected the idea that Spike Lee accurately or comprehensively represents MY perspective or life experiences, no matter how much I may enjoy his creative endeavors. Further, even though I was also somewhat disappointed that Eastwood did not choose to meaningfully portray African-Americans in his war films, I do not believe that Clint Eastwood is a "racist" anymore than I believe Spike Lee is a "racist." EVERYONE views life through the prisms of their own identity, which includes gender and racial identity. That mere fact, in and of itself, may be "racist" or "sexist," without being inherently discriminatiory. What about the fact that Eastwood chose to portray the JAPANESE perspective on such an iconic American event? I'd give him credit for that. Unless and until we can get beyond the idea that artists have a duty to "represent" such ambiguous and ill-defined concepts as a uniform "cultural" or "racial" perspective, we are doomed to stupid arguments like this.

[Dannydel]

Raise your hands if you're sick of Spike Lee complaing.­....He's mad a career out of being angry...at whites, at Hollywood, at every team that beat his pathetic Knicks. Enough already Spike, Smile once in awhile man, it won't kill ya...

[Mekarri]

I'm not a fan a Spike Lee but he is right on this one. Why shouldn't he complain. Our blood is just as red as theirs. Our lives are just as important as white Americans and our family loves us just as much as yours loves you. For Clint Eastwood not to have any black representation in a war movie where plenty of blacks died fighting for the same thing say a lot about Clint Eastwood and the white people of his era. This speaks to Rev Wright anger about the way things were when he was young. And the way things still are for black Americans. So Dannydel if you are sick of the complaints think about how sick we are been treated, and portrayed as if we didn't bleed , die and sacrificed for this country. So deal with it, trust me it is a lot eaiser than what I have to deal with day in and day out.

[pithymaxim]

blacks need to look out for themselves­...Hollywo­od doesn't care

[diboss]

Well said! You also have an excellent point. For every white person that thinks black people complain too much, just try to put yourself in the shoes of those black people, who are given so many reasons to complain.

[SNS]

Judging by this one comment of yours, you seem like a person who needs to smile more, yourself.

[delysia]

I think that all Spike Lee is saying is that Clint Eastwood's movies, though brilliant movies, are historically incorrect. This is nothing new, however, and Eastwood is not the only one quilty of presenting historical films in this way. Spike Lee is merely bringing to the forefront what most learned people already know and that is that blacks, though not portrayed in these type of films, did play a very important part in America's war histories and victories. History should be presented correctly, completely and inclusively, in every medium, (i.e books, movies, documentaries, etc..) Racism and bigotry should have no place and in role reporting or recording American history.

[timinhi]

(Part 1:) I like Spike Lee and his work, but this made-up controversy is misguided. Clint Eastwood wasn't just making a fictionalized drama when he told the stories of "Flags" and "Letters." "Flags" was specifically about the men who took part in the raising of the flag on Mt. Suribachi. If no black soldiers happened to be present during the particular incidents and vicinities portrayed in the film, is Lee suggesting that Eastwood should have made them up to appease African Americans? It's not exactly like Clint set out to glorify white Americans in the film. Look at the portrayal of the Native American who was one of the flag-raise­rs--Eastwo­od rightly and sensitively showed the racism and patronizing treatment he endured from not only the military, but White America, and which led to his tragic death, fueled by alcoholism and no doubt post-tramatic syndrome. (Continued­...)

[amanda85]

""Flags" was specifically about the men who took part in the raising of the flag on Mt. Suribachi.­"

Yes, and one of them was a Navajo code talker. Instead of showing movie goers (most of which almost totally clueless about Iwo Jima and WWII in general) how heroic these "Indian Marines" were and how vital their contribution was to the final victory (a FACT that the USMC officially acknowledges), he chose to depict him as a drunk and sociopath. Eastwood gets an F for accuracy and fairness.

"If no black soldiers happened to be present during the particular incidents and vicinities portrayed in the film, is Lee suggesting that Eastwood should have made them up to appease African Americans?"

You have arbitrarily established that no African-American marines were involved in the flag raising. Sorry to say that you're WRONG again. Here's the proof:

"Mr McPhatter, who went on to serve in Vietnam and rose to the rank of lieutenant commander in the US navy, even had a part in the raising of the flag."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2006/oct/21/usa.filmnews

[timinhi]

(Part 2:) As for "Letters"--Did Lee even watch that film? It's completely from the Japanese perspective and is even in the Japanese language, with English subtitles. Only a very few Americans are even depicted in the film--the fact is that in the event that a Japanese soldier were to actually come into close contact with an American on Iwo Jima, the overwhelming likelihood is that it would be a white or hispanic American. At that time, the Army was sadly segregated (to America's shame), and the vast majority of blacks in the military were consigned to support roles--i.e­., food service, truck drivers, etc. It was appallingly the opinion of decision-makers that African Americans were not capable of serving in combat roles because they were "lazy," "cowardly," or "undiscipl­ined." The few that managed to take up arms against the enemy were therefore not likely to be seen in every circumstance. Would it be right to create fictional heroes to atone for that glaring wrong, and in the process rewrite history? I'd rather the truth be portrayed and highlighted to illustrate the horrible racist policies of our government and military at the time. The absence of blacks in the films can be shown to speak much more loudly of our sad racial history.

[Wanod]

I'll take issue with those that says Spike Lee is off base, when he highlights Eastwood short comings in those two movies. Some one mention how many years Eastwood been in the business, and no up and coming producer should be able to tell him what to do. I was in line one day at a post office, and the post master there was rude is hell with an elderly customer. He rationalize his action's by saying he'd been doing it that way for 20 or more years, i chimed in from the back of the line and said maybe you been doing it wrong for 20 or more years. The room went silent, and he did not reply, but then the whole room started to clap. That post master shrinked about 10 inches, and left the room. The point is Eastwood has been doing the devils bidding, by not putting Black's is those films, and he surely know that they were there in the war.

[PioneerKing]

sort of like the 9/11 movie "World Trade Center" Nicholas Cage was one of the actors in this particular movie changed one of the central characters from black to white

[whatgive]

Soon, there will be movies about the Iraq and Afghanistan wars with no Black or Hispanic soldiers..­.oops, sorry, Clint already has that in Post-Production! Silly me, what was i thinking..­. A wrong depiction of history? Well, thank God for the Internet, Google and Youtube.

[Wanod]

Spike Lee is correct. As a military man, i get sick and tired of seeing all White heroic soldiers, when i know that Blacks participated in those Wars also. It's good that he's highlighting it, but it's not just Eastwood that's doing it, it's the Movie industry as a whole.

[awcbuddy8]

So you just want to see a tolkein black guy in every war movie?

[LettuceB1]

Not a token, but representation for the soldiers of color that were there...yo­u know, the TRUTH!
By stating "token" you have shown that you bought into the revisionists version of history as spoon fed to you by Hollywood and history class. Books are useful things when opened and read.

[luckyoldson]

Most of the comments here directed at Lee are nothing more than personal attacks that have little of relevance to the topic at hand.

I'm a fan pf Eastwood but it is rather strange that he would make two films relating to such important historical events and not include blacks.

Racism is an ugly thing to behold.

[PatrickWalker]

Were there Blacks in the Japanese Imperial army???

[GallopingCat]

The proportion of black and white people who don't like each other seems to be about as equal and about as fervent. Showing their true colors seems to pull their counterparts out of the woodwork, especially in an anonymous online setting. Electing a new President won't heal this deep divide...

Many commentors seem ignorant of the respective directors' WORK on efforts to humanize characters of the opposite race (Lee's "25th Hour") or applaud the artistry of those of the opposite race (see the Eastwood-produced Monterey Jazz Festival and Monk docs, as well as Lee's superb "When the Levees Break"). Huffpo seems more interested in pushing hot buttons than in relaying the reasoning behind Lee's words.

Lee disagreed with Eastwood's vision, so he created his own. That's an American ideal. He may pander to black America at times, but that's not all of who he is, and I'd rather ignore his flaws (and some of his flawed films) for the ones that inspire me. People are complicated (As Obama noted in his speech on racism). Bigotry ignores their positive values.

I see a lot of criticism of people of other races, but few rising above the fray to build bridges. There's a lot of differences, there's a lot of pain, but whether people really want to heal the anger within themselves remains to be seen.

[adamsmith]

Spike Lee is a rascist.

[amanda85]

Yeah, and you are America's best speller...

[najablah]

Spot on.

[THINKB4USPEAK]

Wait, maybe Spike Lee IS a rascist. Isn't that a Rasta who cuts off his dreads?

[luckyoldson]

Right.

And there weren't any black soldiers.

[MariaHopeful]

Yeah, and you teach English.

[Horus]

Yeah, and the sky is blue.

[grailknight]

Spike Lee movies are very well made, but he's very ignorant of certain aspects of military history. First, there were no soldiers at Iwo Jima, they were marines. Don't think there's a difference, ask a soldier, ask a marine. Second, blacks weren't even allowed in the Marines until 1939. Third the armed forces remained segregated until President Truman's executive order to integrate in 1948. Moreover, it's clear that Spike didn't the book by James Bradly and Ron Powers, which never addressed American racial issues. It was the story of the six marines photographed by Joe Rosenthal.
I reccomend Spike see "A Soldier's Story" with Harold Rollins and Denzel Washington for a fair portrayal of how life in the army was for blacks. And I reccomend Spike get his head out of his ass and make a movie about black soldiering.

[amanda85]

"he's very ignorant of certain aspects of military history"

Is he? Really?

"While the film's battle scenes show scores of young soldiers in combat, none of them are African-American. Yet almost 900 African-American troops took part in the battle of Iwo Jima, including Sgt McPhatter.­"

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2006/oct/21/usa.filmnews

[useyourbrain]

Yes, but they were on the other side of the island so you didn't get to see them.

[Marshall Lucky]

Am I the only person who thinks the idea of Spike Lee telling Clint Eastwood how to make movies as absurd as the 40-year-old Virgin trying to tell Hugh Hefner how to score babes?

[Freedomscap]

That's not the issue. He is talking about accountability and an accurate depiction/­reflection of history.

[luckyoldson]

You're absolutely right, Freed.

The idiots here who limit their comments to personal attacks on Lee illustrate nothing more than racist blather.

[amanda85]

Thousands of critics, film makers, actors, screenwriters, members of film academies all over the world etc. who have given Lee an impressive collection of international awards seem to disagree with you:

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000490/awards

Something tells me you'd rather watch "Rambo" than "The Seventh Seal"...

[Marshall Lucky]

All those people are brown nosers and parasites. So the Tulsa Film Academy gave him an award and both members applauded -who cares? How many people will actually pay to watch one of Lee's "joints". Very few because his movies suck.

"Something tells me you'd rather watch "Rambo" than "The Seventh Seal"..."

And you would be wrong. However, since we're on the subject of things I'd prefer to do, I'll let you in on something:

I'd rather drink a quart of hot lye, put on a set of brass knuckles and punch myself in the cock than watch another Spike Lee "joint".

[Rendon76]

It's not your movie Spike.

[NYCIC]

Shelton Lee. Self-appointed Ultimate Arbiter of all things black. Sho nuf.