Reuters
NEW YORK 鈥� Spike Lee blasted Quentin Tarantino鈥檚 Django Unchained for being 鈥渄isrespectful鈥� to his ancestors, telling Vibe that he would not see or speak about the movie for that reason.
鈥淚 can鈥檛 speak on it 鈥檆ause I鈥檓 not going to see it,鈥� Lee said. 鈥淎ll I鈥檓 going to say is that it鈥檚 disrespectful to my ancestors. That鈥檚 just me 鈥� I鈥檓 not speaking on behalf of anybody else.鈥�
He followed up his statement on Twitter, posting: 鈥淎merican Slavery Was Not A Sergio Leone Spaghetti Western. It Was A Holocaust. My Ancestors Are Slaves. Stolen From Africa. I Will Honor Them.鈥�
Django is a Western mixed with the story of a slave鈥檚 revenge, a revisionist tale of history much like Inglourious Basterds was for the Second World War and the Holocaust.
Like most of Tarantino鈥檚 work, it blends extreme violence with humour and serious filmmaking with a sense of flair.
Tarantino has not responded to Lee鈥檚 comment, but he has answered questions about Django and race in the past, specifically his use of a certain racial epithet.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 kind of ridiculous,鈥� he told MTV News. 鈥淣o one can actually say with a straight face that we use the word more than it was used in 1858 in Mississippi. So since they can鈥檛 say that, what they鈥檙e basically saying is I should lie. I should pretty it up. I should lie, and I don鈥檛 lie when it comes to my characters and the stories I tell.鈥�
This is not the first time Lee has criticized Tarantino, rebuking the director鈥檚 extensive use of the same epithet in the film Jackie Brown.
