I like Spike. I like his personality, and I count Do The Right Thing as one of my top 100 favorite movies. But he just looks bad here. If a civilian wants to boycott a movie without even seeing it, that's expected. But I expect more from an artist in the same field.
Tarantino in that interview 'looked' worse. Using the N-Bomb to excess is just plain arrogant coming from him. Lee made "4 Little Girls", so Lee isn't out of context criticizing Tarantino. Tarantino trivialized the N-Bomb to comic effect. Using that word to excess combined with the blood spaghetti slopfest is no comment on that period of time. It's Tarantino flipping the bird at convention for sure, but it's for his own purposes, not for the sake of art. Tarantino knows how much his scripts get quoted too, so that's more calculated than his half ### defense of using that word.
If I posted that word over 100 times here, I would get banned for life. You'll tell me this isn't an R-Rated movie. Which somehow qualifies that word. Micheal Richards pretty much ended his career shouting that word at a heckler, while Richard Pryor used it in a title of one of his recordings and in his routines. Yet Pryor later regretted using that word, and stopped using it, and I'm sure Richards regrets it.
I'm just not gonna accept it as art when I feel Tarantino uses that word for commerce. He could had used it 90 less times and still got his point across, but that word flows out of him like water. If you accept that, fine. He wasn't making an accurate period film anyway, so I guess it's all entertainment to you.
Well said. Now that this discussion has transcended any minor personal beef you and I had, we can get down to some really fascinating discussions on this subject. Where to begin? Is Tarantino a great social critic in the realm of men like Mark Twain or Aldus Huxley? No. I know that Tarantino is very proud of his work, and I am certain he believes he is very intelligent. However, I also think that Tarantino would freely admit that he makes entertaining movies that often simply intersect with powerful cultural and historical topics. So even though I liked Django, I would agree with some critics that the movie simultaneously opens up some very painful wounds while offering no answers in lieu of grisly action and jokes.
But let's be honest: is it every filmmaker's duty to present simple truths in a somber, stoic manner? I think not. Take the KKK scene: someone else mentioned that it's almost ripped right out of Blazing Saddles, and that's an apt comparison. To take that further, the KKK scene reminded me of Dave Chappell's sketch about the white Klansman. There are some things in life - like slavery and racism - that are almost too much to bear. They are so horrific and awful, I have a hard time coping with them on any level. So to laugh at this stuff is cathartic to a degree.
Did you read up on that ESPN commentator who said that Robert Griffen III isn't a real black man? I haven't read your opinion on that matter. But personally, I think that's a mean, awful thing to say about a man. Does the race of the man make those comments worse or less bad? I don't know. Would it be ok if a black director used the N word 100 times in his movie? Even for laughs?
Words are very painful. That old saying that sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me? I hate that cliche. Words are the most hurtful thing in the world. You can easily recover from a broken bone. Words can sting for a lifetime. So I am acutely aware that the N word is a malicious, terrible word. So is Tarantino. I think that Spike Lee is angry at Tarantino because he believes that Django Unchained is turning a horrific mass murder into mere entertainment. What about Schindler's List? Yes, Spielberg's masterpiece is a serious, dark portrait of a terrible tragedy. That movie made a lot of money, and it gave millions of viewers a chance to feel a shred of goodness about something where there is no reason to feel good.