Spike Lee says Clint Eastwood ignored blacks

There hasn't been much of anything in the way of controversy in Cannes this year, so Spike Lee decided to take the opportunity to lambast Clint Eastwood for pretending there were no black soldiers in World War II.

Lee -- shilling for his upcoming Miracle at St. Anna, about the Buffalo Soldiers division in Tuscany -- said Eastwood's 2006 movies Flags of Our Fathers and Letters From Iwo Jima where bad because they only featured white soldiers.

"He did two films about Iwo Jima back to back and there was not one black soldier in both of those films," Lee said. "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."

Eastwood didn't answer questions about the comment at a panel for his flick Changeling (starring Angelina Jolie), but we have to point out it did feature a Native American soldier, played by Adam Beach, and a whole lot of Japanese.

[Photo: Getty Images]

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Comments

LEE=JACKASS

[confederate]

If Spike Lee is so concerned about facts, why does"nt he criticize the Iwo Jima Memorial? We all know that no blacks were there to raise the flag. But that would not be polically correct now would it?

[kelli]

Spike Lee is racist and does nothing but promote a racist agenda. If he were white people would be calling for his head.

[Anonymous]

There were about 900 black soldiers at the Battle of Iwo Jima, but they were in auxiliary and support roles, not fighting the actual battle. There contribution was necessary and much appreciated, but it shouldn't be a surprise that they weren't focused on in Eastwood's films. Also, it is my understanding that blacks aren't entirely absent from his movie, but just seen in passing. I think Spike's criticism has more to do with publicizing his new World War II movie than any real racism. In any case, Spike really needs to buff up on his history because blacks didn't fight the Battle of Iwo Jima. Rather than blame the exclusion of blacks from such movies on racism, we need look no further than our history books to find the reason. Unfortunately, in the current times we live, it is not only fashionable to spew such divisive garbage, it is also fashionable to blindly believe it.