It should come as no surprise that when it comes to the subject of slavery, Spike Lee and Quentin Tarantino, it’s like someone showing up at a gas station with a flame thrower. Drama is going to ensue. That’s guaranteed.
Well then it should come as no surprise that when Professor Michael Eric Dyson, who was subbing for Ed Schultz on MSNBC this past Thursday, basically disagreed with Spike Lee as far as “Django Unchained” is concerned, that there would be an outcry from those who are down with Spike’s point of view.
One such person is filmmaker Glenn R. Towery. He’s written a scathing open letter letting the world know of his disgust with Dyson. Read it in its entirety below. But first, if you missed it, here is Dyson’s review that was also delivered with Dr. James Peterson of Lehigh University.
*(Thursday night) I witnessed a man with a PH.D. make one of the most asinine statements you may ever hear from the lips of a well educated man.
This is a man whom I have respected in the past and to whom a position of leadership has been ascribed because of the nature of his position in the African American community.
The man, Michael Eric Dyson, decided to take on the question of whether or not Quentin Tarantino’s new film, “DJANGO UNCHAINED” was in fact an embarrassing waste of film and an affront to the African American people it purports to uplift. I could not believe my ears nor eyes as Michael Eric Dyson and his sidekick Dr. James Peterson lambasted Spike Lee for calling Quentin Tarantino’s film exactly what it is, a film not worth seeing. They did this without even having Spike on the show to defend his statement. Then after they extolled the virtues of this racist celluloid attack on African American people they aired a recorded rant from “Quentin Tarantino” himself who personally continued to attack director Spike Lee’s statement with Quentin’s profound outrage. I kept thinking now what does Quentin Tarantino have to be so angry about? No one has called him out of his name repeatedly in a movie. After all, he is able to raise millions of dollars to do any type of film that he so desires whenever he wants to do a movie. He is the industries best violence boy. The so-called king of shock and because of that he feels that he has the right to do what ever he wants in his films and that he has no reason to be sensitive to cultures such as the African American culture whenever he does it. After all he is after shock!
Well Quentin, you don’t really have a dog in this fight, you are not Black, and because of that you have absolutely no right to be outraged like you were on The Ed Show last night. You used the “N” word in your film 110 times Quentin. Yet you have not the faintest idea that you should offer an apology. You have no idea Quentin because you have no sensitivity and little caring, understanding and or respect for African American’s and their experience in America. Spike says that it is disrespectful to our ancestors, in my opinion he is right.
Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, how can you call a fiction film “a fascinating study” of a peoples history. This film, in fact is based on nothing but the fictionalized telling of a made up tale from the mind of a director or writer whom themselves may very well be racists.
Michael Eric Dyson and James Peterson went on to demean Spike Lee because, in his own words he refused to even go and see the movie. Lost on either of the two men is the fact that if you go to see this bullshit film, you have, by that very action, supported the movie. They seemed to get of on calling each other doctor. Remember guys, pride comes before the fall.
I applaud Spike Lee’s decision not to support this film in anyway. My wife and I made the very same decision shortly after it came out and we got some news from the reviews. I applaud Spike Lee for “Respecting the Sacrifices of our Ancestors”. Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, Frederick Douglas, Marcus Garvey, James Meredith, Rosa Parks, Sojourner Truth, Dorothy Height and many others who have given the ultimate sacrifice did not stand up to seemingly impossible odds to go to a theater in 2012 and pay for a ticket to see a movie that would call them the “N” word from the screen 110 times.
Quentin should apologize for what he has done and never do it again. However, he is so arrogant and connected and supported by Hollywood as well as affluent African Americans who have lost their way from the tribe. Quentin Tarantino is at best, a bully. He has been picking on my culture for a long time and getting away with it. Until a champion arrives, he will continue to bully us whenever and however he wants. As far as his talent is concerned I suspect that if you take away the unsavory language and violence that he uses as a constant tool in every film he does you will discover that he actually has very little talent as a filmmaker, he is paper dragon, there is no there, there. His type of filmmaking, in many ways, represents everything that is wrong with Hollywood.
Dr. Michael Eric Dyson and Dr. James Peterson I suggest that you both get a mental checkup, perhaps a cultural pride transplant. Its an easy operation you just have to “Respect the Sacrifices of Your Ancestors”. Revisit African American history. Maybe go see Steven Speilberg’s “Lincoln.” Whatever you do remember that when you are in the seat that you are in, you have a responsibility to all Americans to tell the truth and make others better because of it.
Glenn R. Towery
Glenn R. Towery is CEO of FAIRY GOD BROTHER PRODUCTIONS & FILM COMPANY, LLC. Post Office Box 32647 Los Angeles, CA 90032 (A CALIFORNIA CORPORATION) He can be reached via: millions13@gmail.com
This is the dumbest thing I’ve ever read. It’s a movie about slavery!!! Use of the N-word to refer to Black slaves at this time was the norm. How do you do a movie about slavery and not use it? I watched reruns of Alex Haley’s Roots, Roots Next Generation and Queen on BET on Christmas Day which, guess what, used the same language through out almost every scene. Let’s find something real to be outraged about Mr. Towery, this really isn’t it.
You go to the movies for entertainment….you turn on PBS and such for historical accuracy.
Get over it…it is a freaking movie……have mercy…!
I saw the movie it was entertaining. This movie isn’t going to change history or even make folks in Washington deal with the Financial Cliff. Folks need to stop make chewed up grass [bull s--t] a main course. If you don’t want to see Django, keep your money in your pocket. None of the actors, directors or producers will even know your name as they head to bank.
What the hell is this guy talking about? They lambasted Spike Lee? When? All they said in oder to critisize it Spike should probably see it. Glenn Towery just wants some attention. What a foolish so-called open letter. Oh and will folks stop with this open letter crap, who started this nonsense?
I saw the movie and I enjoyed it as I would any other movie. I also just watched the first season of the TV show “The Wire”. This TV show threw the N-word around quite a bit and I don’t think I heard any feedback on that.
People need to get over this nonsense with Spike Lee. Spike Lee’s opinion is only that – his opinion and nothing more. Who made him the voice of the Black people? If Spike didn’t make a movie that stars Black people, then he usually doesn’t like it. Who cares? Spike didn’t even see the movie.
This is so petty.
I will not support this film.
I am a bit curious as to how many of you would support this film if made by an African-American film maker.
Tarantino writes / directs / gets funding for a spagetti western that he wrote that included slavery. Because of the period… the “N” word is used all up and through the film… and “this is defended by a great deal of African-Americans!”
I will just have to agree to disagree with you supporters! This just does not sit right with me!
BTW… I don’t use the “N” word or condone the use of the “N” word. I was taught that this may have been the last word heard by some of my ancestors before they were lynched.
So all of the characters from spike’s past movies would have made his ancestors proud? Spike has never used the n word in any of his movies? I saw Dyson on msnbc and this Towery guy is making a stink over nothing. He hasnt seen the film.
This is a lost cause. There are people who will always take issue with any use of the N word, no matter what the context. They don’t really have an argument. It’s just there gut reaction.
Take this letter. Neither the writer nor Spike will make the argument of whether or not the word was used as frequent in those days. So as Tarantino says, it’s a matter of “watering” down the movie.
But what exactly is the deal here? Is it also a matter of who uses the word? Alex Haley and even Spike used it in film work too.
I saw the movie and it’s not all that, wondering where the hype is coming from? I give it 2 1/2 stars. If you haven’t seen it your not missing much. I must say, slavery does equal the “n” word there is no if’s ands or buts. Just wait until you encounter a policeman on his terms and you happen to be a Black man in america.
I don’t intend on seeing this movie because I find Tarintino (sp?) annoying, talentless and his desperation to be, in, norman mailer’s words, ‘the white negro’. I have not read all of Spike’s comments and I bet, his criticism of this movie is not only because of the ‘n’ word. I’ll have to look online for his comments in its entirety.
This movie is probably a hodgepodge of blaxploitation movies like ‘mandingo’, ‘the legend of ‘n’ charley’, ‘drum’ and some westerns thrown in. What I find funny is that when John Singleton came out with ‘Rosewood’ and Oprah, with ‘Beloved’, black people refused to see both of them. Both movies were excellent but black people didn’t find the subject matter of both movies ‘entertaining enough’. So what makes this fictional movie about slavery ‘entertaining’? I don’t get it
You probably don;t and won’t get it beause you wont see it. Sooooo I don’t even get you comments.You are sort of saying that you don’t care and then your comments say you do. Kind of Like Spike Lee commening on something he won’t see.
@NYCsoul: I agree with your comments.
I cannot believe the uproar! We have dumb people using the “N” daily in songs and conversing with one another. When this man produces a movie that shows (accurately) how horrible this word was used back then – then you have fools like Spike Lee wanting to attack! I am African American and I saw this film. This film did not denounce me as a black man nor did I felt it degraded us a a race of people. Racism is something that was prevalent in the past and still prevalent today! And if anyone saw this film – the actors and actresses all spoke well with the exception of Samuel L. Jackson! If all of these so-called film critics would have taken the time to see this film maybe they wouldn’t offer such a dim-witted response. How in the world can you comment on something if you haven’t viewed or experience it? Spending all this time attacking Quentin Tarantino will not SOLVE the problem with black on black crime – disrespecting one another – debasing/degrading our woman and showing the negative connotations the “N” word entails! I am a proud 120% black man – but I will not be joining this bandwagon! The next time you hear a brother rapping and debasing us using the “N”word or calling our women hoes and sluts – please come to this forum and other and opinion!!! I think the latter out weights Taratino’s movie: Django! Nuff said!!!!
Sorry for the typos/grammatical mistakes – brother was heated in the moment
Haven’t seen the movie (will wait for dvd as i do with all his movies) but i think SL has issues cause he is not as compelling a story teller as QT. I see all of SL movies in the theatre when i can and the last one i saw was the one about AA soilders in WW II. Not a great flick and didn’t appreciate nor understand the focus on the pursuit of the Italian woman by one of the main characters. QT Inglorious Basterds was very entertaining and had great story telling and direction.
QT is not Ken Burns so I’m not looking for a history lesson from him.Perhaps thats the real problem. Our educational system does such a poor job of teaching Americans about their history in an accurate manner that when we go to the movies we don’t know the difference between fact &fiction and worse yet, often have no idea of what the film is depicting. Speilbergs film about Lincoln is a case in point. Have not seen it but again if you don’ t know any history you could come away from the flick with the impression that slavery & more importantly its economics was NOT the major reason for the Civil war. Or the hugh role that African Americans played in securing their own freedom.
Page, you should wait for the DVD. The movie sucked big time and the slavery scenes were not as gory as everyone made out to be and we hear the word nigga just as much, if not more in rap music. What pissed everybody off was it was white boys saying it over and over…the movie was dumb, kind of comedic. Jamie Foxx as a freed slave gun slinger? That’s like Denzel playing a cross dresser. Pulease…everyone said Leonardo made the movie…NOT AT ALL. The bounty hunter dude did but he got smoked towards the end so then they bring in Samuel to play Stephen and that shit was funny…Samuel played the role but he got smoked too..the movie is not to be taken seriously!!!
wow these darkies on this post that support this crap are truly sad not only did he write ni%%a 150 times which you have no problems with and you slam spike cuz he didnt wanna see it, he aint gotta spend his money on this crap and i wish i had kept mind he had one section that mite be correct when he gave that speech bout the nG##a brain from some of these post he was rite there is no other race that would tolerate this bs and for those that say it s only a movie than you try and do it like did on any race isacc washington got slammed cuz he said FAg##T you didnt say what s all the fuss bout dont pea in my face and tell me it s raining if you aint insulted by this film than nothing will the jango theme park clever twits
?? Try writing your post again–in complete sentences. What you wrote doesn’t make sense.
Please don’t encourage him. Thanks
Are you even speaking English?
I personally loved the movie. It had me laughing, crying and on the edge of my seat, from the beginning to the end. That is what I paid for and what I got! If I wanted a history lesson, I’d have watched a documentary. It didn’t bother me that a white man wrote & directed it either. I have a strong feeling that the writer being white is the root of this controversy for black ppl. PS. Prof. Dyson rocks! and who the really gives a crap about what Glenn Towery thinks? lol
Cry me a river. It’s a period piece. Nobody was saying, “Pick cotton African Americans” or “African Americans for sale.” I wish people would take this kind of outrage out on rappers, comedians and anybody else who uses the n-word like it’s “the.” I did go see “Django” and despised the movie because of all of the goofy jokes (KKK) and rewritten history that made not a bit of sense. The movie was also long. But I’m just not in this group who is mad about the n-word being used because FOR ONCE it’s used when it really WAS historically used.