Spike Lee Won't See 'Django Unchained,' Says "American Slavery Was Not A Sergio Leone Spaghetti Western"
To say that Quentin Tarantino's "Django Unchained" will be divisive is perhaps an understatement. At The Playlist, we ran three reviews to highlight the varying opinions our staff had on the film, and with the movie hitting theaters this week that chatter is only going to increase. But getting the ball rolling on what is surely to be some lively debate in many quarters is Spike Lee, who has declared he will be not be seeing the movie at all.
Catching up with Vibe (via Shadow & Act), the director stated quite clearly why he felt he coulnd't watch the movie. "I can't speak on it 'cause I'm not gonna see it. I'm not seeing it. All I'm going to say is that it's disrespectful to my ancestors, to see that film. That's the only thing I'm gonna say," he explained. "I can't disrespect my ancestors. I can't do it. Now, that's me, I'm not speaking on behalf of anybody but myself."
Of course, the comments attracted immediate attention, and Lee hit Twitter as well saying: "American Slavery Was Not A Sergio Leone Spaghetti Western. It Was A Holocaust. My Ancestors Are Slaves. Stolen From Africa. I Will Honor Them." And of course, this prompted further debate and Lee stayed online for a while last night to read and respond to comments (it's worth a browse).
And while we'll let this conversation play out in the comments, particularly as people see the movie in the coming days and weeks, it should be noted that this isn't the first time Tarantino has been the target of Lee's criticisms. Circa "Jackie Brown," Lee took issue with the amount of n-words peppered throughout the movie, telling Variety at the time: "I'm not against the word. And some people speak that way. But Quentin is infatuated with that word. What does he want to be made--an honorary black man?...I want Quentin to know that all African Americans do not think that word is trendy or slick."
And one might surmise that Lee feels Tarantino is again playing a bit fast and loose with African-American history and culture, which may be why he's not going to bother sitting down to watch "Django Unchained." And while we're all for criticism, we'd urge Lee to least see the movie before speaking out against it. Just like the current "Zero Dark Thirty"-endorses-torture spin that's flying around the interwebs, a lot of it is coming from people who haven't bothered to see the movie yet. Discourse is great, but let's at least make sure we're seeing the works first, before acting like experts about it.
Watch Lee's comments shared with Vibe below, and as always, we want to know what you think.
Source
OT: I just wanted to say that I renamed my account because it was too easy to know who I was in real life (I had, previously, my real name as username.)
To say that Quentin Tarantino's "Django Unchained" will be divisive is perhaps an understatement. At The Playlist, we ran three reviews to highlight the varying opinions our staff had on the film, and with the movie hitting theaters this week that chatter is only going to increase. But getting the ball rolling on what is surely to be some lively debate in many quarters is Spike Lee, who has declared he will be not be seeing the movie at all.
Catching up with Vibe (via Shadow & Act), the director stated quite clearly why he felt he coulnd't watch the movie. "I can't speak on it 'cause I'm not gonna see it. I'm not seeing it. All I'm going to say is that it's disrespectful to my ancestors, to see that film. That's the only thing I'm gonna say," he explained. "I can't disrespect my ancestors. I can't do it. Now, that's me, I'm not speaking on behalf of anybody but myself."
Of course, the comments attracted immediate attention, and Lee hit Twitter as well saying: "American Slavery Was Not A Sergio Leone Spaghetti Western. It Was A Holocaust. My Ancestors Are Slaves. Stolen From Africa. I Will Honor Them." And of course, this prompted further debate and Lee stayed online for a while last night to read and respond to comments (it's worth a browse).
And while we'll let this conversation play out in the comments, particularly as people see the movie in the coming days and weeks, it should be noted that this isn't the first time Tarantino has been the target of Lee's criticisms. Circa "Jackie Brown," Lee took issue with the amount of n-words peppered throughout the movie, telling Variety at the time: "I'm not against the word. And some people speak that way. But Quentin is infatuated with that word. What does he want to be made--an honorary black man?...I want Quentin to know that all African Americans do not think that word is trendy or slick."
And one might surmise that Lee feels Tarantino is again playing a bit fast and loose with African-American history and culture, which may be why he's not going to bother sitting down to watch "Django Unchained." And while we're all for criticism, we'd urge Lee to least see the movie before speaking out against it. Just like the current "Zero Dark Thirty"-endorses-torture spin that's flying around the interwebs, a lot of it is coming from people who haven't bothered to see the movie yet. Discourse is great, but let's at least make sure we're seeing the works first, before acting like experts about it.
Watch Lee's comments shared with Vibe below, and as always, we want to know what you think.
Source
OT: I just wanted to say that I renamed my account because it was too easy to know who I was in real life (I had, previously, my real name as username.)
ETA: I can't fix it :'( ... I'll keep trying, though.
Edited at 2012-12-24 03:53 am (UTC)
How disingenuous. He's not critiquing plot points here. Why should he see it when the very idea of it bothers him? If he thinks that the film advertised trivializes or disrespects his heritage, why should he have to see it to say so? We all have our filters and our reasons; there's plenty out there than any of us chooses not to subject ourselves to because it doesn't appeal to us or bothers us in some way.
Do not pass go; do not collect 200 dollars; go directly to fuck yourself.
he can go get hit by a bus.
Edited at 2012-12-24 03:45 am (UTC)
first off, lee has seen other tarantino flicks before and he's seen the way tarantino has implemented the use of the n-word in dialogue before, and he's not okay with it. combined with that fact that lee's relationship and experience with the n-word is very different from tarantino's (since QT is, you know, very much white), he has every right to call out tarantino's use of that word in his dialogue and avoid seeing a movie because of that + his concerns regarding the way a white director and writer is going to portray slavery and slaves. so let's stop being dismissive about legitimate concerns that will most likely prove to be legitimate criticisms from people who will see it.
second off, lee even covers his ass for those types of silly criticisms by saying he can't speak for anyone but himself. rest assured, blog writer at indiewire, there will be other black people who will see the movie and will offer their feelings, opinions, and perspectives that are based in what they watched. and i'm sure you'll still have dismissive things to say, but maybe next time you'll keep a fucking lid on it. :)
I've never seen a QT flick, and now I'm reeeeally glad I haven't. I had no idea that this guy had such a love affair with the n-word, and I hate it when white authors/film makers have their characters say the n-word or any other slur just so they can say, "Hey now, I didn't say that! The character did! I'm not racist, the character is!"
except it's not your fucking place to tell that kind of story, Quentin Crackerass Tarantino.
Edited at 2012-12-24 04:19 am (UTC)
I ran into Spike Lee at the BET Awards. You know Spike, he'll let you have it whether it's good, bad or ugly. And he said, ‘I'm not going to say anything bad about this film. It looks like y'all are getting it.'
http://ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com/73
can people not change their minds
Edited at 2012-12-24 05:21 am (UTC)
keep staring at this and im not quite sure how to take this. for one, i wonder if theres ever been an official count of how many slaves died. because while whites didnt want 'their property' damaged, there are still some who died from diseases white people brought with them, cramp conditions in ships, infections from where they worked, experimentions, etc...
two, theres the holocaust of the american indians that hitler in turn used as inspiration...
so theres this odd feeling i have about this comparison.
Thanks for sharing this, OP. The trailer felt wrong, like it was taking horrific acts and making them into an action movie with a cartoon villain.
In short because I don't want to type too much... to me Tarentino comes across like some post-apartheid, white South-African "activist". A self-hating white guy who thinks the best way to make up for his race's past atrocities is to highlight white crimes in his own way at the top of his voice... instead of helping those affected and still living with the consequences have their voices heard instead.
And it sounds like he made the comments about not seeing it in response to being asked about it... it isn't as if he's spontaneously putting out press releases "Spike Lee Isn't Seeing This Movie... now read his review of not seeing this movie!" which would be kind of silly. I mean, if he wanted to actively speak out about it without having been asked, then I'd sort of expect him to make the effort to deal with watching it first. As it is he's just telling us how he feels about what he knows of someone else's movie. He's not obliged to have the sort of opinion that comes from watching it.
i haven't seen this movie yet, so i can't speak directly to it, but i imagine that the storyline of jamie foxx's character being freed from slavery and then tracking down his wife and taking revenge on the slaveowner who abuses her will have the same problems. it's entirely appropriate for spike lee to feel this way.
Edited at 2012-12-24 03:13 pm (UTC)
He actually really liked it, which surprised me and made me wonder if the trailer was just cut to look a certain way. I still won't be seeing it, though.
It's really problematic when there is objectionable content. Why is the onus on Spike Lee, or any other disenfranchised people to "educate" themselves about the content that the privileged put out? Why are they obligated to see or read the entire damn thing in order to justify thier objections?
hell, with one google search, I found the entire damned script for this movie.
Shock tactics are business-as-usual for Tarantino, but that frankly sounds like something more awful than I'd want to see, either.
And the response from the source, that Lee should "see the movie first"? Hey, I already knew based on the subject matter alone that I never wanted to see "Boxing Helena." Should all feminists (heck, humanists) have seen that movie so that their complaints would then have more backing?
Sometimes the idea of a bad thing is clear enough that you shouldn't have to subject yourself to it to criticize it. :(