Yesterday, I took time out to see ‘Lincoln’ and ‘Django Unchained’, back to back. Yes, in that order. I needed to get a glimpse of what slavery was like in the imagination of white men.

As a black filmmaker, I find that I wrestle with thoughts of ‘responsibility’; ‘who will see it’, ‘what impact will it have on the discourse in America’, ‘what images will I be projecting to our youth/to the world’. I’ve often noted, even in film school, white filmmakers don’t have that burden. They were free to write, to be, to create without thinking about this stuff. I’m certain they thought about other things but, the burden of race was not in their baggage. There is such a thing as privileged Art, privileged filmmaking. We see it in the current slate of insipid films coming out of Hollywood. Films that are not responsible or accountable to anyone or anything.

There is so much response to ‘Django’ that I needed to see it. Spike Lee’s words were instructive. I respect Spike. He paid his dues. He is someone who pays attention to representation. Having had him as a Professor, I know that he is someone who gives an ear and a hand to black filmmakers, actors, even people behind the camera. Spike does not need to justify his commitment to black america AT ALL. So, I was disturbed by the awful things said about Spike. For many blacks in and out of the business, Spike Lee champions us, he is a hero. But, hey, we don’t really worship our heroes while they are alive. I saw this quote on Facebook, it was posted by someone that I, usually, find interesting. After he saw ‘Django’, he wrote, “Spike lost.” I will return to this later. Continue reading →