I will try to keep my comment fairly brief.. I saw Django a couple days ago. I've also read many of your postings/comments. Interesting feelings and thoughts expressed. I would like to say, Spike Lee has every right to make a comment about this movie. I would assume he saw the movie himself, in order to make a rant about his disapproval of it. Spike Lee is a Black Man, first of all. And also in the film industry..and has been for many years. He's qualified, seasoned, and have covered race related themes in his films over the years. I will admit, I don't always agree with Spike Lee's personal style...by some of the comments I've heard him reveal..in the past... I would go as far as to say, I'm not extremely fond of all his work. However, I must pay attention to his comments on such a film and theme. Simply put, it doesn't matter if any of us liked his past work or think he's just being an asshole about this movie... Spike Lee is an educated Black man who has spent years in the film industry, creating movies, watching hollywoods attitudes...interests and in the world at large. Spike Lee is a very alert and conscious man who pays close attention to whats going on in the world and the world of film. So when the likes of a Spike Lee, says he thought the movie was disrespectful, it catches my attention. Not that Lee is the judge and jury for "race" related films....but he is Black and extremely present in the film industry.
To many of you who might possibly be looking at the movie, crossing the t's and dotting the eye of what consitutes a great film, when it comes to a sensitive issue like this, there's more to it than just that. Let me briefly explain.

When some Black people watch this movie, as other similiarly themed movies, it's more than about just making a well dotted film only.

As Blacks in America, some of us take Hollywood films like this a bit personal. Why?
Because, alot of Blacks, including myself feel our ancestors have been cruely wronged by this American County, feel free to start back to slavery days.... I haven't watched Roots, I haven't seen Lincoln yet, but the other movies that I did see, I'm always watching to see how it makes me feel afterwards....did they use sensitivity and a great thought to deliver the portrayal?? And stuff like that.

You see, not only have our Ancestors been "raped", by damn near every sense of the word, we have also been destroyed and continue to live and be overtly and even directly affected by the horrible devastation, mind fucking, brain washing, division, and outright anilation of a people.. Some commenter referred to it as a Holacost....Well that is what slavery was like.

Our people have suffered tremendous loss, stagnation, limited resouces, black balling, second citizen treatment, lack of quality education, government attacks and experimentations, segregation, civil rights violations, limited health care, job opportunities, and countless other victimizations by this great country called America.

Today, the remnates of slavery, how a large portion of traditional Whites feel and treat Blacks today is the very stinch that slithered through all the years of slavery.

The Black sterio types still are very prevelent to this very day. Blacks are still affected and effected from the brutal days of slavery. I know, I know...many of you are already trying to pick my comments apart with a clever rebutal question or statement. But I challenge you to take of your war helmet off and just listen, listen and try to understand what it really feels like to be Black "today".

Thank God we don't live in the wicked days of slavery. But racism, stimming from what Whites identified Blacks to be, back then, still travels into 2013. While change has come, and today is a world better than back then, Blacks still suffer with every area of life than there White equals. Poor education, low income housing, early mortality rate, high blood pressure, stress, criminal abuse and unfair treatment to blacks, racial profiling, Bank Home loans, Black male employment, Black on Black Crime, Illegal lifestyles, racist Commericals, unporportionate negative images of Blacks in the media.... etc.

Black are not born with a "wild" animalistic behavior apart from other races. Blacks do not lack the ability to achieve in school, college and in the work place as do other ethnicities. Blacks are not wired diffent from any other human being on the face of the earth.

It's the lack of fair and equal opportunities, health care, support, and time to become a strengthened people, is what will balance our people back to a restored place in this society... It's not impossible, but America has to be pro and con.

With that being said, even the movie "Red Tails" was being fought nail and tooth because of the all Black cast. Nobody in Hollywood wanted to loan the famous producer, whose name fails me right now...sorry!!! But he couldn't get the film financed by anybody in Hollywood. Red Tails came out, what...a couple years ago...maybe..and Hollywood would not finance the project.. Finally the Film maker had to finance the entire budget out of his own pocket... That alone serves as a plain and clear reminder of how Hollywood feels about supporting Blacks...

So if the opportunites aren't opened up more, to a balanced and even level, how can Black ever get to there rightful place in America? Or will we ever?

There is still much fear of Blacks, inspite of Spike Lee, Oprah, Michael Jordan, Michael Jackson...and the other typical accomplished celebs most White people know and like. The fear and traditional racial feelings of too many Whites that run this country..."the good ole boys"...has kept limitations and support or lack of support of Blacks in this country. And I understand many of you reading this might feel like I'm being a bit extreme.. Obama as President has done little for the average Black man and family in America... I don't blame him for any of it, because it's obvious, political leaders and political respresentation has fought him (verbally and critically) violent during his entire first term. They challenged him about every single thing he tried to do. This might have easily been passed off as "people are tired and ready for improvement for the country" if you will...but I know alot of his extra attacks had to do with giving this Black President hell...and they did. And by the way, I have never in my life seen a standing president be so rudely insulted, attacked, and challenged in all my life. Bush fucked the country up, and he was allowed to toss the ball over to an egar Obama...while Bush ran off and took on Million Dollar speaking engagements and sat rather quiet as Obama took all the blunt and blame for everything that was going wrong... Obama has been criticizied and verbally attacked until I'm suprised somebody has outright called him a Nigga to his face.

It's not slavery, but in 2012-2013, is more subdued. It's open and closed, being extremely racist is wrong among a large portion of whites.. But it's about, not making sure Black get ahead, making sure Black men stay in jail and have a criminal record, and be subjected to low income housing, poor education where they can stay desperate, low self esteem, hungry for an opportunity, last to be picked, living stressful lives, dying early, eating unhealthy, not being able to proudly provide for their families, living negative lifestyles and feeling so stepped on and passed up until they resort to illegal avenues as a source to achieve a part of the American Dream or the thought of it...

Whether you all realize it or not, there is a systematic game being played on common Black America, post slavery.. Yes we have rights, still, the opportunities are constantly being minimized, picked, selected and orchastrated by higher powers.....I know I just went a bit deep, but somebody who reads this knows exactly what I'm saying....

Back to my original point! I know yall probably thought I loss track...but I didn't. I said all of that to say this, when Films are created with such heavy themed slavery protrayals, it catches our attention, we want to know our people were served right by the film maker. It's more personal to us. Our lives or should I say our heritage has been destroyed over these issues, our people stripped to nothing...and many of us feel, even today feel America doesn't support or recognize us, unless we are the few, hand picked token Blacks that you all know. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for the few images of positive Black reflections we do have in the media, thank God for them. But as a whole we are still ambushed by America, even today. So a movie that wakes up such a devastation in our history to present, it should be done with sensitivity, heart, reality, and more than anything...A PURPOSE!!

I saw good things in this movie, I really did. I never seen some of the depictions of the roll, Samuel Jackson beautifully played. I never seen a few of the brutal realities dramatized that this movie sheded what I will say, new light on...

Overall, I thought the movie minimized the touch of slavery and somewhat downplayed it, as brutal as this movie was. I feel like no Black Cowboys ever remotely came close to being able to lawfully kill Whites and track them down...for me it was a bit fantasy....and fictional, fictional and fictional on that part. But I appreciate his effort, theme and direction of the movie. I can tell he meant well by this art of work. And I'm not mad a Q for this movie..I just think it lacked a strong enough purpose for visiting such a harsh time for Blacks in America.