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Spike Lee & Clint Eastwood In War Of Roads Over Race In America

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Clint Eastwood and Spike lee

Clint Eastwood (l) Spike Lee (r)/Source: UK Telegraph

Thanks to BU family member for alerting us to the war of words currently taking place between two famous American film directors, Spike Lee and Clint Eastwood. At the centre of the dispute is the accusation by Spike Lee that Clint Eastwood has not portrayed the role Blacks played in two of his movies which tell the story of the Battle of Iwo Jima. The Battle of Iwo Jima was a famous battle between the Americans and the Japanese for possession of the island of Iwo Jima somewhere in the Pacific during World War II.

Here is what Spike Lee had to say about the effort by Clint Eastwood to depict the roles of Black soldiers in the battle of Iwo Jima in his latest movie Flags of Our Fathers:

“We’re not on a Plantation, Clint.” Spike Lee hits back in war of words over black Soldiers.Clint Eastwwod made two films about Iwo Jima that ran for more than four hours total, and there was not one Negro actor on the screen. If you reporters had any balls you’d ask him why. There’s no way I know why he did that…But I know it was pointed out to him and that he could have changed it. It’s not like he didn’t know. He did two films about Iwo Jima back to back and there was not one black soldier in both those films. 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.”

Clint Eastwood was quick to retort:

“Has he ever studied the history? They [African-American soldiers] didn’t raise the flag. The story is Flags of Our Fathers, the famous flag-raising picture, and they didn’t do that. If I go ahead and put an African-American in there, people’d go, “This guy’s lost his mind. I mean, it’s not accurate. A guy like him should shut his face.”

Spike wasn’t done!

“First of all, the man is not my father and we’re not on a plantation either. He’s a great director. He makes his films, and I make my films…A comment like”A guy like that should shut his face”-come on Clint, come on. If he wishes, I could assemble African-American men who fought at Iwo Jima and I’d like him to tell these guys that what they did was insignificant and they did not exist. I’m not making this up. I know history. I’m a student of history. And I know the history of Hollywood and its omission of the 1 million African-American men and women who contributed to World War 2. Not everything was John Wayne, baby. Even though he’s trying to have a Dirty Harry flashback, I’m going to take the Obama high road and end it right here. Peace and love”

Source: The Guardian

The verbal exchange between Spike Lee and Clint Eastwood continues to highlight the racial divide in America. This is the racial landscape which Democratic presumptive nominee for President Barack Obama must confront if he is to make it all the way to the ‘Oval Office’. Will the overpowering rhetoric of Barack Obama which combines the oratory skills of Martin Luther King and charismatic qualities of J.F Kennedy be enough to leap the racial chasm in America?

To borrow the movie title made famous by Clint Eastwood, Obama’s journey to the White House is sure to bring out the Good, the Bad and the Ugly come November 2008.

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31 responses to “Spike Lee & Clint Eastwood In War Of Roads Over Race In America”

  1. mixed Avatar
    mixed

    Really sad that in 2008 with a blackman running for president that w have to hear of this nonsense.

  2. Avatar
    Anonymous

    If they were no black soldiers involed in that particular unit that Eastwood was focusing on, they should not be in the movie. Spike Lee just needs to shut up and stop whining. Ist unjustifiale NONSENSE why does race hae to be an issue at all time with Spike Lee?

  3. David Avatar
    David

    Here are some reviews 1 and 2 which provides some non-Spike Lee initiatives:

    Maybe this should not be about Black or White even though it is. It is more about how people from different positions are prone to interpret history. To Spike Lee’s credit he has been consistent in how he have tried to uplift the Black brand in Hollywood. Not too long ago Blacks were just seen in token or domestic roles.

  4. Inkwell Avatar
    Inkwell

    Anonymous, the point Lee is making is that there WERE black soldiers at Iwo Jima, but that Eastwood has chosen not to represent that fact in what was supposed to be a historically correct movie.

    Eastwood’s assertion that none were present at the actual flag raising,while accurate, does not address the criticism.

    It does appear that the sting of the implied accusation of racism has elicited an ad hominem response from Eastwood.

  5. John Avatar
    John

    In the second World War there was the 442’nd regiment made up of Japanese American volunteers who fought in Europe.

    Their leaders were in the main, whte.

    When they returned home from serving their country, they were met with “No Japs wanted” and other demeaning comments.

    They are a part of history.

    Google 442’nd.

    I haven’t watched the Clint Eastwoods films but if they do not portray history then they are historically inaccurate and were made to present only a part of the contest on Iwo Jima.

    I would not read anything into the motives of the makers but I would recognise when I do get to see the films that they are historically inaccurate.

    Many of the films made in the past and to be made in the future are and will be historically inaccurate.

    When a storyteller tells a story, there are pieces left out.

    All we need to do is to recognise this.

    Spike Lee’s position allows me to know that there is more to the story and if I want, to dig and to fill in some of the pieces.

    What should exist is an easy way to find the pieces and Spike Lee and others have it in their power to provide those ways.

  6. me Avatar
    me

    in an ideal world race would not be an issueand Clint could make all the all-white movies he wnated. But unfortunately the world is not ideal and it can be unfair. Blacks and other minorities have historically been hard done by not only by Hollywood.

    I think Clint should not claim that the movie is historically accurate ( even if only white men raised the flag there were black people and other minorities prsent at IWO Jima ) but just his selective vision.

    I think Spike is right however I am not sure if the issue was addressed appropriately by him.

  7. Adrian Hinds Avatar
    Adrian Hinds

    This is why i refuse to take history lessons from film. The medium simply cannot tell an accurate story. Mix that with revisionist, and social constructionist of all stripes an colours this is what you get.

  8. Hopi Avatar
    Hopi

    Haven’t seen the movie and don’t intend to either. However, Blacks have always been part of America’s wars and usually in very dangerous and supporting roles. Yet, I am still baffled and bewildered that today black people are in Iraq and Afghanistan killing and torturing their cousins. When they return home they are left to live on the streets with little or no medical attention. Since when did any fake,phony, profiteering war benefit black people. Who gives a rat’s ass about black people if they don’t step up to the plate ? War is a racket. Who profitted from this film?

  9. JC Avatar
    JC

    We need to read more. All of the time the book is ALWAYS better than the film.

    And yes the whole world still thinks that black people should be seen and not heard.

    I am not watching the film!

    Call me a racist I dont care.
    Clint Eastwood proves that I should be!

  10. Real Ting Avatar
    Real Ting

    spike is right though. i watched the film and now that he’s mentioned it i cant remember a black face. not a cook, not a deck hand nothing like that. Now that is historically inaccurate. there is no need to include a black face in the flag raising ceremony BUT if you are going to stick to historical accuracy then you MUST represent the range of persons involved in the WWII.

  11. propaganda press Avatar
    propaganda press

    hollywood is an arm of the empire. there’s no accident here. it’s the continued white washing of his.story
    christ, colombus, custer, clint, clinton…what’s new?

  12. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    Quote from “Black Voices”
    http://www.blackvoices.com/newsarticle/_a/clint-eastwood-spike-lee/20080606131409990001
    Eastwood’s next project, meanwhile, is about Nelson Mandela and his fight to heal the wounds of apartheid in South Africa. Eastwood said he’ll stay true the story when it’s time to cast that film, titled “The Human Factor.”

  13. The scout Avatar
    The scout

    The Obama rise, has brought to the fore the race issue again. That’s why I fear for his life. The Clints and Clintons are all racist just protraying other images. It is when they have to stand up and be counted that they show their real colours. I WILL NEVER WATCH ANOTHER CLINT EASTWOOD FILM.
    He used to be my hero; not any more. That’s my right

  14. David Avatar
    David

    Hollywood has always been a friend of Washington. It is a pity that many people including Barbadians watch the Hollywood productions and interpret as gospel.

  15. Sheshemini Avatar
    Sheshemini

    Such irony that Clint Eastwood would behave in such fashion when he is married to woman who is African American, Japanese and European American. I believe what Spike is saying, for Hollywood is about fiction, not facts. Look at the moive Cleopatra, did Cleopatra look like Elizabeth Taylor? I beg to differ.

  16. John Avatar
    John

    The defeat of Japan was secondary to that of Germany as far as America was concerned.

    But war in both the European and Pacific theatres pale to insignificance with the war that was waged on the Eastern Front between Russia and Germany.

    There are 20 million Russian War dead to attest to that.

    Yet, until I started to read about the war on the eastern front, I always thought that the Allied effort in Europe and the Pacific were the main events.

    Russia contributed the most to the defeat of the Germans and yet it is unlikely to find many movies made about that Front.

    It is mostly found portrayed in documentaries where it is important to be more historically accurate than a movie.

    The World at War is worth watching if an appreciation of the scale of the contest is desired.

    A movie is for entertainment.

  17. Hopi Avatar
    Hopi

    John, what does your peice have to do with Blacks at Iwo Jima?

  18. Sargeant Avatar
    Sargeant

    John

    “The defeat of Japan was secondary to that of Germany as far as America was concerned”

    Not so fast, after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, they became public enemy No.1 to the Americans. They interned US citizens of Japanese descent and used the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

  19. John Avatar
    John

    To Americans, Japan became public enemy no. 1. I agree with that totally. American citizens saw Japan as Public enemy no.1.

    …. but that is not the basis on which America fought the war.

    An advisor to President Roosevelt in a documentary I watched clearly stated that Germany was recognised as the major threat by the White House and it was agreed that the European theatre would have first call on resources.

    The US actually did not have to declare war on Germany, it was Japan who attacked it, not Germany.

    Hitler decided to declare war on the US. He did not have to.

    Many people do not realise this.

    Churchill came to the US to address Congress days after Pearl Harbour no doubt to make sure Europe was adopted as the no.1 priority.

    America fought Japan literally with one hand tied behind its back, its major effort was in Europe.

    I’ll go and dig out the documentary and find the names of the high ups in Washington and the military who made the remarks to which I refer if you insist, but the major American resources were directed against defeating Hitler.

    Once Germany was defeated, the troops were brought back for the invasion of Japan but the atom bomb finished it.

    One of the arguments for the use of the atom bomb was to avoid the high casualties the allies would suffer when invading mainland Japan and facing fanatical resistance.

  20. John Avatar
    John

    Hopi

    I was trying to show that it wasn’t Americans, or British or Canadians, or Indians or Russians or Nepalese or Barbadians or whites or blacks or browns who won the second world war.

    It was a combined effort with the Russians bearing the brunt of the sacrifice.

    To be historically accurate just to portray the role that blacks played in one operation out of many operations the US conducted in what was a theatre of war which was small compared with the overall war does no justice to the history of the second world war.

    It just seems to me that there is so much more to the second world war than blacks, or whites or whatever country of origin or race fought in it.

    For one brief moment in time the world combined to defeat a real threat.

    Clint Eastwood’s effort is just a movie for entertainment, go see it or don’t go see it.

    Don’t expect a history lesson.

  21. David Avatar
    David

    John while you are correct that many nationalities were involved in the battle and that Hollywood and Eastmond would have concentrated on entertainment value, the groups left out have a right to be slighted. Massaging history and blatantly changing it will always be of concern in the melting pot country of America in 2008.

  22. Sargeant Avatar
    Sargeant

    The Americans were officially neutral but secretly assisting Great Britain until the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. The Japanese attacked without declaring war and the Americans never forgave them for what they saw as treachery. The Americans then declared war on Japan and a few days later Germany and Italy declared war on the US. The declaration of war on the US by Germany forced the Americans’ hand and they in turn declared war on Germany.

    My point is not to engage in a history debate but to challenge the accuracy of the statement that the defeat of Japan was secondary to that of Germany for the Americans.

    IMHO, the defeat of both Japan and Germany were equally important to the Americans.

  23. John Avatar
    John

    Sargeant

    You are right, the defeat of Germany and Japan were equally important to Americans.

    I am just saying that the resources of the country America were directed mainly at Germany as the first priority.

    I agree the US was helping Britain from even before Pearl Harbour because Hitler’s Germany was seen as the biggest menace of the three axis powers.

    Even Russia benefitted from US resources before the US was at war because Britain allied itself with Russia and provided whatever it could by convoy to Russia.

    Russia was invaded 6 months before Pearl Harbour was bombed and it was invaded with no declaration of war by Germany and with the existence of a specific non-agression pact between Germany and itself.

    … and yes, the Americans never forgave Japan for the day of infamy.

    My first choice of words “The defeat of Japan was secondary to that of Germany as far as America was concerned” is perhaps too extreme, but I meant to convey the idea that the major US effort was directed at Germany, not Japan.

    Guess we are talking about two entities, Americans as people and America as a country.

  24. John Avatar
    John

    David

    I am trying to say that IWO Jima was one small but important part of the second world war.

    For one brief moment in time the world united to fight a threat it perceived to be facing it, facism.

    Communists and capitalists alike all espoused one goal.

    The movie is directed it would appear at one market segment.

    I agree that race is a touchy issue and it is natural to feel slighted and I agree with the complaint of Spike Lee although I haven’t seen the film(s).

    But I’m just making the point that a ninety minute movie could never represent history.

    It is however important to recognise the massage of history that took place and to raise a voice.

    … but don’t go to a movie expecting an accurate history lesson.

  25. Hopi Avatar
    Hopi

    John, how can you negate the role that Blacks played in the battle at Iwo Jima and then jump into WWII making the comparison that the role of blacks in the former was small. And by the way the only winners in all wars are the criminal bankers who ALWAYS fund both sides. In the future when you watch a documentary examine who is funding the documentary and then you’ll see the real intent of the documentary which is usually to disinform. I’ll guarantee you that when today’s wars become history they’ll be painted with the same bloody, deceitful brush that left us littered with nothing lies.

  26. John Avatar
    John

    Hopi

    I am saying that a movie is made for entertainment and targets particular market segments.

    I am not trying to negate or in any way diminish the role that blacks played in any theatre of the second world war whether it be in the Pacific or Europe.

    I am pointing out that the second world war was much bigger than any specific operation and that many peoples played a role in it.

    I would really like to see an attempt by an American film maker to take on one of the battles on the Eastern Front. The Battle of Kursk in July of 1943 probably decided the outcome of the war.

    I understand Russian archives have in the past been “closed” to prying eyes, but this is changing and I am seeing more books become available on the Eastern Front.

    “Enemy at the Gates” a story about one small aspect of Battle of Stalingrad was the first film I know of but there are probably others.

    Most people have heard of Stalingrad but have never heard of Kursk.

    It took me ages to appreciate the role of Russia in the conflict because I was brought up on war movies which only told the story through western eyes.

    I enjoyed them but much in them is fiction.

    I fully understand and appreciate the complaint of Spike Lee. It is a valid one.

    I am saying there is alot more than Iwo Jima and I am not saying it to in any way detract from the sacrifice of the US marines and other members of the armed forces who served and died there.

    I have watched both Russian and Western documentaries and you are right, there is also an aspect of disinformation present in both.

    I would still lean more to believing what the Russian documentary said about Stalingrad than what the movie, “Enemy at the Gates” tried to portray.

    As I really want to know what went on, I went and found books to read on the subject and am trying to balance what I read with what I know.

    Even so, I will still not know a tenth of what went on.

  27. Pat Avatar
    Pat

    John, you are so right. It irks me no end, when I hear Amaericans on Tv, in the papers, even in conversation telling all and sundry that America won the War. You would think that they were the only ones who fought. Even at that, they entered the war in the late stages.

  28. John Avatar
    John

    Pat

    You convenienrtly forget the support the US gave Britain through lendlease and convoy support when it was not officially at war and at a time when Russian resources were going to Germany under the Non Aggression pact before Hitler invaded it.

    On balance, the US and Russia provided the lion’s share of manpower and resources that won the war in Europe.

    They became the superpowers after the war.

    What say you on China in the Pacific theatre?

  29. Ms.Ting Boy Avatar
    Ms.Ting Boy

    If Spike Lee needs to see Black people represented at Iwo Jima, he has the means and clout to make his own movie on the subject. What’s stopping him??

  30. xxPeter Avatar
    xxPeter

    Well, I did not go to Nam for reasons I need not remind folks. Blacks should let whites fight thier own wars for white supremacy and Manesfest Destiny. Directors like Spike should hook up with Ashra Kwesi and and do a for real movie and remember not to place any whites in a role that they had NOTHING to do with.

  31. xxPeter Avatar
    xxPeter

    Another thing. Clint Eastwood face looks like a Mummy. Maybe he should do a Boris Karloff flick.

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