Spike vs. Clint

Ok, Let’s see how long it takes before HRC supporters make a Spike Lee/Clint Eastwood article all about them.
READY! SET! GO!

Spike has no point.
Spike just wants attention. So up comes the race card.
Enough said.

Lee is simply wrong. If he’d actually watched Flags of Our fathers he’d know that Eastwood shows black soldiers listening to a speech on board one of the ships sailing to Iwo Jima early in the movie. That Lee can then charge Eastwood with ignoring them completely in the movie is disgraceful. Spike Lee is simply wrong here – plainly, factually, demonstrably, wrong. And if anyone from the ABC newsroom is reading this here’s a suggestion; get ahold of that clip from Flags with the black marines, invite Lee into the studio, confront him with his accusations about Eastwood, play the clip for him, & then see what he has to say. That sight of Lee tring to bluster his way out should make for an interesting spectacle.

Spike Lee sounds arrogant like Barack Obama. On the other hand Clint Eastwood sounds about as feisty as George Bush.

Go ahead, make Clint’s day. Go Clint! Go CLint! Lee just wants to revise history as Obama does all the time (with the Selma march, with his ‘great uncle’, etc.). Same style too, go on the attack and then makes himself the victim. Give me a break!

Spike has no point in this instance because Spike is wrong about blacks being relevant to the fundamental plot of these particular movies. And as one person points out, blacks were in fact shown in the first movie. I can’t help but wonder if Spike didn’t have a similar complaint about “Band of Brothers.” It sounds like the reality that there were no black soldiers in the 82nd Airborne jumping into Normandy on D-Day, and the reality that there were not any blacks in Captain Winters’ company or battalion, would not prevent Spike from making a baseless petty complaint about that mini-series also. When Band came out I was still in the Navy, and a black friend of mine who was also in the Navy would not watch the mini-series because there were no blacks in it. Like it was captain Winters’ fault that the Army was segregated and there were no blacks in his unit?

Spike has no point in this instance because Spike is wrong about blacks being relevant to the fundamental plot of these particular movies. And as one person points out, blacks were in fact shown in the first movie. I can’t help but wonder if Spike didn’t have a similar complaint about “Band of Brothers.” It sounds like the reality that there were no black soldiers in the 82nd Airborne jumping into Normandy on D-Day, and the reality that there were not any blacks in Captain Winters’ company or battalion, would not prevent Spike from making a baseless petty complaint about that mini-series also. When Band came out I was still in the Navy, and a black friend of mine who was also in the Navy would not watch the mini-series because there were no blacks in it. Like it was captain Winters’ fault that the Army was segregated and there were no blacks in his unit?

Jake Tapper…I think we once were both progressive so I say what I say in that spirit.
Dude, you are dead wrong. DEAD WRONG.
Spike Lee has made it his business to criticize the institutional impact of Hollywood choosing to portray one type of AA. He criticized Quentin Tarentino for using n word over 40 times in just one movie.
He went after Hollywood AND opened the door for Black film makers in the 1980s. There haven’t been this many AA film makers since Blaxploitation flicks. He went after rappers and others for their demeaning images also.
He is an equal opportunity offender PERIOD.
As far as bringing up Do the Right Thing…well it is catchy but is it meaningful.
Clinton Eastwood might be telling it like it is SO EVERYONE CHEERS DIRTY HARRY, but when you throw around “you people” generally we know exactly what you mean. Eastwood is better than that and he should watch his language.

Idiots are idiots, no matter what color. And Spike Lee is once again confirming his status as Top Idiot. What, exactly, is gained by fabricating racial wrongs where there are none? OH! That’s right! It gets his name in the media! Clint put it perfectly – Spike should shut his face and quit embarrassing himself.

What Spike Lee should do is take Clint Eastwood’s advice and S H U T H I S
F A C E ! ! !
Clint Eastwood has more talent in his pinky fingernail than Spike Lee has in his whole body.
So, Mr Lee, put away your deck of race-cards and take Mr Eastwood’s advice.
It appears that Mr Lee either doesn’t know his history or is blinded by his self-indulgance. Every photo I’ve ever seen of the flag being raised on Iwo-Jima had NO black soldiers among the four.
So, swallow your professional jealousy, Mr Lee, and shut your face.
You’re a shining example of the folks that are systematically trying to distort the American image.

yup, this is the way we’re all headed…more racially divisive than the past 30 years or so.

wow… the fact that so many people are bringing obama into this discussion makes me sad. are we really that stuck on race? is obama the race lightning rod now? race is an issue because we keep insisting on making it an issue. leave it be, and lets love and respect one another.
having said that, spike lee should shut the hell up.

If anyone should be complaining about their lack of representation in any movie about World War II it would be the Hispanics.
In my home state, there were an extraordinary amount of Hispanics who proudly served in all branches of the U.S. Military during World War II, a large percentage of whom participated in and survived the Bataan Death March.
There was finally a movie made a few years back regarding the Navajo Code Talkers and their important role during WWII. I just wish one of these directors would consider making a movie regarding the patriotic Hispanics who have fought and gave their lives for this country voluntarily and uncomplainingly.

You know, as a black man, I want to say that in my opinion, Spike Lee’s films have been about 50/50. Half of them good, half of them bad, With “Malcolm X” being his best directorial outing.
Having said that, Spike Lee’s attitude and the attitude of people like him disgusts me. When i see a movie, I am not concerned with the color of the actors in those films. I am concerned with whether or not the actor fit the part and if it works with the film.
Spike needs to take his divisive, hate mongering, media attention addicted, ass out of the public lime light. He gives blacks a bad name that are trying to get past the racial divisions he seems to keep throwing in people’s face. That “plantation” reference was not necessary.

Hannah,
The race relations in this country are very complex. It has gotten to the point where it takes on many forms and levels. There are people who hate blacks simply because thats what they were taught to do. There are some who hate blacks because of some personal trauma imposed upon them by someone of color. There are some who are not racist but project their personal stereotypes on race unto an entire race, I think that most of us are guilty of this at some level.
But, it bothers me when idiots like Spike Lee, who has even criticized Will Smith, opens their mouth about race that makes us look bad. I say “us” because I am black. Many of us do not share his views. And for him to try to smear Eastwood is just unimaginable.

hi everyone, i wonder where did my last post go….it wasn’t derrogatory, racist, none of that…i just wanted to hear everone’s opnion of spike lee and his shows, and believe me, i have seen some, and they make me crack up…LOL…..so please give some input…this is a freee country..

Spike Lee is just trying to stir something up to get some publicity for his movie, which will probably compare unfavourably with Eastwood’s, so he’s also setting up the old ‘critics say his film is better than mine because I is black’ defence.
But what is really wrong about this is that he is effectively calling Clint a racist, and that is just unacceptable. Clint knows exactly what Lee’s game is, and has only responded because he is deeply offended by the insinuation.
From a purely artisitc point of view there is no reason why Clint should put a black face in these 2 films. The only reason Clint would have had to put a couple of black faces here and there, would have been to keep guys like Lee happy. And if he had, Lee would probably still have criticized him for not giving them enough of a role in the story.
One would have hoped that Lee could have taken a look at the whole of Eastwood’s body of work, and made the obvious observation, that Clint is not a racist, and that his way of showing respect for black veterans would be to make a film about them, and not sully their memory with tokenism to appease the politically obsessed.
What this really comes down to is that there are guys like Clint who just want to tell stories, in the same way that Bob Dylan just wanted to sing songs, sometimes these stories/songs have a political significance, but what interests guys like Clint and Bob is the power of the story, the drama of the travails and triumphs of the human spirit, and for them it stops there. For guys like Lee, everything is about politics, and they bring politics into everything.
It is essentially a question of artistic freedom. Lee is effectively saying that there is no neutral territory, and that everything, even art, has to be judged from a moral and political point of view. I disagree. As Oscar Wild put: “The moral life of man forms part of the subject-matter of the artist, but the morality of art consists in the perfect use of an imperfect medium.”

Writing this is not license
As Oscar Wild put: “The moral life of man forms part of the subject-matter of the artist, but the morality of art consists in the perfect use of an imperfect medium.”
And it certainly dose not absolve the writer, dreamer, movie maker of critique and critique from moral, ethical, historical points of view, you can produce anything you like, that’s your right, but once produced and set before the public for consumption, I have the right answer your offering always the way to silence and out right criticisms.

You know America is headed in the wrong direction when a 78y/old man gets hit by a car in Hartford,CT and no one goes to comfort him.
He is laying in the street-people walk away and drive around him for minutes!
This helps explain why no one cares that a presidential candidate sat in a racist, anti-American church for 20 years.
Many Americans don’t care about character, values, and judgement. It’s all about “what’s best for me and to hell with everyone else”.
McCain08 Hillary2012

Eastwood is right; I’m glad he stood his ground.

Spike is talented and a savvy businessman. He sued Viacom for a gazillion dollars for naming a channel “Spike” and he understands the current way to get racial and money attention is to call up years of mistreatment.
One just has to see who is considered to represent those who share Mr. Lee’s skin color. To a man, they are on a hair trigger to yell (literally) about every perceived slight and label it race. While those really in political power, understand that they represent the whole population.
Frankly, I think Spike is better than that and his work appeals to a cross section of gender, race, age, et. But who can blame him for going with what is currently financially winning and scream race.
Clint is Clint and has earned every accolade for his work in his field, although his stint as mayor of Carmel was pure comedy.

Just remember The Tuskegee Airmen-Fightng 99 TH. 332 Squadron.
Watch the film. THEY WERE “REQUESTED”
US ARMY NURSE CORPS RESERVE-RETIRED.

OMG! A white political reporter from the largely white male-run MSM dismisses claims of this country’s institutionalized race bias by comparing Spike Lee to Buggin’ Out! What a surprise. It’s a comfort to know that the guy reporting on the presidential race is also keeping us updated on Britney Spears. Tapper, go watch “When the Levees Broke” and then get me updated on Hannah Montana.

This is about spike and his agenda not Obama not all black mericans.
If you want to attack Obama do it w/ legitimate political discourse and not the words of Spike and not your lies and innuendo.
United Church of Christ is a predominantly white organization, it is not anti-white.
Obama has more intelligence in his big toe than “RL” and “cindy” have in their entire lying bodies.

Although I appreciate Spike Lee’s enthusiasm for patrolling racism in the media, his accusations of Eastwood have little to no basis in historical fact. Since he claims he is a “man of history”, I am going to claim I am a “woman of history” as a graduate student in Literature and History. Factually speaking, the US enrolled 1 million black soldiers, but most of the men engaged in non-combat positions, such as cooking and cleaning. If WWII was depicted in a movie, the “real-life” depiction of African-American soldiers would be showing the men doing remedial labor. Unfortunately, racism was still a very prominent part of our ideology and culture in the 1940s.