I’m sure everyone knows about the Spike Lee and Clint Eastwood “drama” that made its rounds on the net over the weekend. Keep reading to get the latest..
It all started in Cannes this year, in which Spike Lee (who directed classics such as Do the Right Thing and Malcolm X) was promoting the forthcoming WWII movie Miracle at St. Anna, concerning four African-American soldiers trapped behind enemy lines in Italy. On the subject, Lee criticized Eastwood’s two war film Letters from Iwo Jima, and Flags of Our Fathers, for not representing any of the African-American soldiers who fought in the battle of Iwo Jima.
“There were many African-Americans who survived that war and who were upset at Clint…. That was his version: the negro soldier did not exist. I have a different version.
“It’s not like [Eastwood] could say he didn’t know. It was a conscious decision not to have any black people.”
Eastwood responded in an interview with UK newspaper The Guardian. Eastwood said that Flags of Our Fathers was about the men who raised the flag for that iconic picture and that:
”[the African-American contingent] didn’t do that. If I go ahead and put an African-American actor in there, people’d go, ‘This guy’s lost his mind.’ I mean, it’s not accurate.”
Eastwood’s last words on the subject were:
“A guy like him should shut his face”.
Lee promptly responded to ABC News:
First of all, the man is not my father and we’re not on a plantation. The thing about it though, I didn’t personally attack him. And a comment like ‘a guy like that should shut his face’ – come on Clint, come on. He sounds like an angry, old man right there. It’s just that there’s not one black in either film. And because I know my history, that’s why I made that observation.
Lee denied that he suggested that the true story of Flags of our Fathers should be rewritten to feature an African-American character, and
“It’s just that there’s not one black in either film. And because I know my history, that’s why I made that observation.”
Both men have movies coming out soon; Clint Eastwood is working on “The Human Factor” a film about Nelson Mandela and Lee has WWII movie Miracle at St. Anna.
Spike is just trying to get publicity for his movie. NEXT!
I applaud Spike Lee for speaking up and demanding that the voices and experiences of African American soldiers be represented on film. It puzzles me that we are good enough to die for this country, but not good enough to be honored in pictures. Bring on the movie Spike!! I will be the first in line!!
Pingback: Nah Right » Blog Archive » Video: Three 21 Films PSA - Not Just Hip Hop