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."

********

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.

___

On the Net:

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

Comments

[Rendon76]

It's not your fucking movie Spike... Jesus.

[BadgersBite]

That Spike Lee is superstitious, lazy, and ignorant. Not to mention unintelligent, loud, and criminal. The next time Clint makes a musical he'll be sure to include some athletic African Americans known for their musical/rhythmic abilities. - did I miss any black stereotypes?

Of course just try having a "Miss White America" pagent and Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton will be knocking at your door...calling you a racist.

[luckyoldson]

What the hell are you talking about??

Lee is "superstitious, lazy, and ignorant???"

Based on what? Your racist and ignorant opinion of him?

[BadgersBite]

Guess you don't get Sarcasm - were your parents Siblings?

[Waitaminute]

"just try having a miss white American pagent"? Thats been the case already. For decades.

[BadgersBite]

1984 Vanessa Williams was the first African American "Miss America" - How many white Miss Black America have there been - honestly I really don't know?

[JohnPone]

Didn't Lee also slam Eastwood when he dared to make Bird? I'm not a CE fan but I don't listen when Lee speaks. Inside Man was good though.

I believed the reason we didn't see black soldiers in Flags was because the Army was still segregated and racist at the time.

If there were black soldiers in the unit Eastwood was covering in the movie then it's a grave factual error in a movie that was sold as an attempt to set the record straight.

[amanda85]

Once again, for those who refuse to pay attention:

"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

[Marshall Lucky]

One in 100. Since you're extremely ignorant about American history, let me explain a few things:

1) The Guardian is a dubious source

2) A disproportionately large number of people who served in combat in all of this country's wars have been rednecks, yet aside from the token peckerwood, they are very much underrepresented in movies, too. Worse yet, when they are depicted, it's usually as thugs.

Besides, Spike Lee is just Uwe Boll with less talent and a worn out race card.

[Horus]

Who gives a ****? The thing is that no matter how much you wanna suck Spikes ****, Clint can still make the movie however he pleases and shouldn't have to answer to anyone. Its called creative freedom. He doesn't HAVE to be accurate. Its a movie, not a documentary! trying to paint Clint as racist is bull****! Trying to change the way he works is bull****! This country is still free for the most part. I don't see any hitler's around here!!

[JohnPone]

PS; Many of the soldiers shown in battle don't really exist... quite a few are CGI. It was filmed in Iceland and the extras were mostly locals and crew. The real question may be to ask is "how many african americans are on clint's crew." I'll ask. The black population of Iceland is minute.

[luckyoldson]

Yeah, that must be it.

There just weren't any black soldiers fighting during the battle.

Here's a suggestion: Pick up a history book.

[JohnPone]

you missed the point old son, what i said was if there were black soldiers in the unit the movie was following then they should have been shown. I never said there weren't black soldiers fighting I said we didn't see them because the movie was about a white unit.

[chamberslee]

If you watch the History Channel documentaries on WWI and WWII, you have to believe, if you did not know any better, that blacks were not involved. It is a canard, however--the resut of white supremacy revisionism. Blacks were vital to Pattons success. They did what was thought impossible: getting all of the equipment and supplies to front so that Patton could make his stand. That is one example of many. Spike is smiply challenge Clint and others to do the right thing. If it is a docudrama, be factual,. Nothing more.

[amanda85]

Let's not forget that the USMC "code talkers" (many of which landed at Iwo Jima and Okinawa) were Navajo Native-Americans, speaking their own native dialect to communicate orders (and the Japanese were squeezing their brains but never figured out what kind of language or code it was...) Today's USMC has officially recognized their work as instrumental in the final victory. And yet it seems all good ol' GOP Eastwood could do to honour their memory was to depict them as drunks...

[Waitaminute]

To some people, if you ain't white you ain't right. Only they are portrayed as hero. They won all these wars without the participation of any minorities. Heck, until recently, a lot of people didn't know free blacks and runaway slaves fought in the civil war. Its important for children of color to know they have heroes also.

[MoeSart]

Spike Lee has a long term practice of insulting people for the sake of publicity for his own crap movies.

[Melissa]

Who cares what he thinks? Last night he told Hillary to drop out of the race. What an idiot.

[BayAreaResident]

More than half of the democratic party is telling HRC to drop out, so who is the idiot here?
Pathetic.

[Okieborn]

Mellisa,
I am a great fan of Clint Eastwood and always will be !
I am 100% for Sen. Barack Obama and I am so proud to be an American, and as an American I know every one has a right to choose whom ever they want as President or run as long as their is a trail !!!!
Let's hear it for Clint and his GREAT CAREER and all of the Movies he has brought to the BIG Screen !!!!!!

[chamberslee]

Is it an insult to ask Clint and others to state the facts? Blacks served in WWI and WII. I know many racists--due to their belief in American history as it is taught--do not want to accept this fact. It is not new to blacks, however; we understand how white supremacy works

[Horus]

"Is it an insult to ask Clint and others to state the facts?"

Yes, it is. If Clint was making a documentary or something meant to teach history to people then a misrepresentation of the facts would be a terrible thing. In this case though its JUST A MOVIE. Movie-making is an art form and should not be skewed by external pressure. If you are learning your facts from movies than let me help you out...Forrest Gump was not really a prominent figure throughout many of histories biggest events and in fact, did not exist at all. In other news, Howard the Duck was NOT REALLY a humanoid alien duck pulled from his homeworld to earth on a mission to save our planet from space invaders. That story was TOTALLY MADE UP.

[politicky]

I think Spike Lee thinks he's more important than he really is.

"As of July 1, 2006, the estimated population of black residents in the United States, including those of more than one race. They made up 13.4% of the total U.S. population."

http://www.infoplease.com/spot/bhmcensus1.html

[nuglet304]

why is it that every time spike lee has a new movie coming out he always chooses this kinda path in order to promote it? why criticize other filmmakers for the work they've done? he's nowhere near clint eastwood's league, and i think this only makes him look like a whiny amateur.

let your work speak for itself, spike: shut your mouth for once.

[BayAreaResident]

I think he clearly criticized only the level of the objectivity of what was supposed to have been a recreation of the important historic fact, he said not a word that CE was a bad director. So please, separate the seeds from the pulp.

[amanda85]

"separate the seeds from the pulp"

Here lies the problem: no pulp, just sheer bigotry.

[Dadoftwins]

Spike needs to study a little history. The Marines in WWII were segregated and the Pacific island hopping campaigns were accomplished almost exclusively by Marines. I think Iwo Jima was an all Marine battle. If there were blacks in the Marines, they were cooks and support personnel. The USMC was confined to the Pacific Theatre. There were black units in the Army and they fought mostly in Italy. There were also black fighter pilots in the ETO and they did well. Perhaps Spike is not aware of this.

[amanda85]

This needs to be reposted over and over and over, until the bigots here understand that the wartime racist propaganda that depicted the Japanese as "bespectacled yellow monkeys" and African-Americans as "too stupid to fight" has nothing to do with the factual truth:

"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

[Robert59]

The reason Eastwood left them out is because their role was miniscule. Out of 72,000 Marines (3 divisions) there were 3 to 5 companies of African Americans. A Marine Corps company consists of 4 platoons (3 combat, one support, 108 total men). So, between 324 and 540 African Americans, in a support role, were at Iwo Jima.

Give me a frigging break Spike.

I read somewhere that African American casualties during WW2 were less than a thousand. It was a Jim Crow military so historically Eastwood is accurate.

Does everything have to be about race?

[rodgertlangley]

Apparently it does (and has for some time) matter to Mr. Lee
Unfortunately I don't think Mr. Eastwood had "black" on his mind making films about Iwo Jima.
Speak with some of the other black directors about making movies a touch more "brainy" and "urbane" than something like "Little Man" .
Urge your brothers to leave the minstrel days behind, sit them all down at their typewriters and see how long it will take to hammer out a enduring piece of work
So Spike, STFU, so far you're maybe a footnote to film history.

[fortyniner]

It was classy of Mr. Eastwood to get such a terrific performance out of Adam Beach, in "Flags Of Our Fathers". As Ira Hamilton Hayes, the Pima Indian from Arizona, he, Mr. Eastwood, rejected the stereotype of the stoic Native American; instead, he showed Ira Hayes finally releasing a whole lot of emotion. After all, Ira Hayes had seen his buddies in the worst possible way, what with the torn limbs, decapitations, etc!
For a young man to experience all this horror, it was so natural that he wept mightily when he finally allowed the floodgates to open.
For that, thank you, Mr. Eastwood!

[bugsbonzai]

Yeah, how DARE some old white guy direct movies that didn't focus on the black experience? The nerve. Hey Spike, I noticed that in your documentary "The Original Kings of Comedy", you didn't feature ONE white comedian. Not even once! This gives a completely false representation of white males to the comedy culture of America. How dare you? As penance, Clint Eastwood should be forced to direct "Jungle Fever 2: Oreo Double Stuff", and Spike Lee should be forced to direct a movie version of "Arrested Development". And Carl Weathers does NOT get a cameo.

[BayAreaResident]

Mixing a comedy with sacrificing your life in the time of war is a shameful Deceitful practice. Remember, objectivity bears no color, and if you are in the business of making a documentary about a very important historical period, i think you better do it right, but i guess that wasn't what was precisely on CE's mind. Still a good movie though.

[bugsbonzai]

You don't know what you're talking about. I'm not equating comedy performance with war; I'm comparing movies to movies. PERIOD. Don't conflate the issue. Eastwood didn't make documentaries. They were fictionalized accounts of historical events.

My point still stands. Eastwood has no responsibility to appease Spike Lee's subjective needs in his movies than Spike Lee has a responsibility to do the same for Eastwood. I'm tired of political correctness being a one way street.

"Doing it right" is completely subjective as well. All Clint Eastwood can do is make a movie from his own perspective. That's all Spike Lee can do as well. I'd argue Eastwood succeeds at making universally acclaimed films a WHOLE lot more than Spike Lee, who hasn't had a hit in over a decade.

[Str8flush]

Spike what do expected - blacks are usually in sport movies, dancing movies our urban gangsta movies

[mattejob]

'Spike what do expected' - huh? Man, learn the language or stfu.

[ClydeSloppers]

If I could only have a penny for every race card that is gonna be played between now and November. And after that if Obama wins, I'd beat out Bill Gates and Warren Buffett as the richest man in the world.

[JohnPone]

what?

[BayAreaResident]

Pondering to the white fears of the black planet, I've heard it is quite popular these days.

[chamberslee]

Racists make me.... To talk about facts is using a race card? So blacks should STFU because whites don't want to hear it? More white supremacy BS.

[PlanetKansas]

I agree that blacks are under represented in American cinema, and most of the roles are cliche rehashes of Eddie Murphy-type brothers and Shaft stereotypes.

Before anyone cries discrimination, note that indians, asians have even fewer roles. Many more complain there are few choice roles for actresses, and even worse for those over 40. For Eastwood to make a film from the point of view of the Japanese defenders of Iwo Jima was both radical and visionary.

Hollywood is about money and entertainment, not equality, parity and fairness. We see small attempts in the small films, but the typical formula is:

one white guy + hot young chic + black side-kick vs Nazi bad guy (white, never indian, black or asian, but a hot young chic can substitute).

[chamberslee]

Genuine and factual....thanks.

[newworldman777]

Hollywood has always been about the money. Producers were willing to discredit and degrade entire races of people in order to line their own pockets with money. For the first fifty years of movie-making, black actors almost always had to take subservient roles, playing such enviable roles as blithering fools, servants, slaves or jungle savages. During this same era of the "golden age of Hollywood," Native American actors played murdering animalistic savages who deserved to be subdued and incarcerated in reservations (whenever they couldn't find enough Italian actors to complete a tribal scene, that is). Why, the very nerve of those Indian savages, daring to defend their homes, their families, and their ways of life against the invasion of European American naked aggressors who were hell-bent upon killing them and their families to take their land. Of course, the Asian actors were hired to play the laundry worker, the opium den denizen, or the railroad worker. Really honorable roles, indeed. All of these races are battling to this day to overcome the stereotypes that Hollywood propagated during those shameful decades, and those movie producers (we know who they are) should have been absolutely ashamed of themselves.