Spike Lee went after Clint Eastwood this past week for not having any black people in his two movies about Iwo Jima. Of course, the first film was about the 6 soldiers who raised the flag (none of whom were black) and the 2nd movie was about Japanese soldiers who fought at Iwo Jima (Spike might be surprised to discover that very few Japanese soldiers were black). Is Spike also upset at Steven Spielberg for not using enough black actors in Schindler’s List? While the lack of roles for black actors is troubling, it is kind of moronic of Lee to go after the guy who directed Bird, about Charlie Parker, and who is currently doing a movie about Nelson Mandela (as Eastwood himself said, “I’m not going to make Nelson Mandela a white guy”).
After Eastwood answered back to Lee’s salvos, and told Lee to shut his face, Lee said, “First of all, the man’s not my father and we’re not on a plantation either.” Needle scratches record. To go with Godwin’s Law, there should be a Spike Lee law, that every argument with Spike Lee will come to a screeching halt when Lee accuses his opponent of being a modern day slaveholder. And just to show what a classy guy he is, Spike ended his tirade with:“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.” Wow, comparing him to a modern day slaveholder and then ending the argument on his terms. What a creep.