What? I thought Spike was complaining about the lack of Black presence in the Eastwood flick.

Ummm… what exactly was inaccurate in Angie's father beating her ass for dating a "nigger"? Let's not forget that Sal wanted to date that sista who patroned his store and he caught a beatdown for it.

Would Dal Cerro be complaining if Italians were (mis)represented as lovers of Black people?

Spike Lee is a racist fool. He hates white people because his father left his mother for a white woman and Lee's never, ever recovered from it. He's lookiing for media attention because since the 90's his career has been in can. What's he done for black people except portray them as ignorant and shiftless

Always so bitter Mr Coffee?

Spike does portray italian americans in a negative/stereotypical light, so they have a point. Women and gays also suffer his bullshit.

It's not the same thing. What he's accusing Spike of is far worse than what Spike accused Clint of. Would you rather have blacks absent in a film or have them portrayed negatively? I'll go for the former.

Haven't watched enough of Spike's movies to comment on whether Italians are portrayed negatively and I really don't remember much of the two that I have watched. I'll leave the people who've watched his movies to sort that one out.

I wonder if this group is critical of shows like the Sopranos. They certainly portray Italians in a negative light.

They have complained about the Sopranos and even protested when they were going to be part of the Colombus parade.

@Jackson: well then. As long as they're being consistent, more power to them.

Italiens are not the only ethnic group from which white Americans come from. So the question is why are they often feautred in Spike's films? There are a number of white ethnic enclaves in NYC.

Maybe it is something personal with Spike.

No one should tell Spike how to make his movies, but Spike shouldn't tell others like Tarantino, Eastwood how to make their movies either. He just comes off as someone thats jealous of other people. Let the market decide what they want to pay for and unfortunatly no one has wanted to see a Spike Lee movie in years.

So now the Italians have something to say about this? Italians aren't even a race. Could they at least give an example, cuz I don't even remember any significant Italian characters in Spike's movies.

I didn't even see "Do the Right Thing", and I know that Italians were prominently featured in it. Same with "Son of Sam".

The WF in "Jungle Fever" was Italian-American… there does seem to be a theme. I just thought it was because SL does a lot of movies about NY, though.

How could anyone watch Spike Lee films and not remember any significant italian characters is just beyond me. I think even Stevie Wonder could pick up on the theme.

Oh good grief. It makes my ears bleed when other Italians talk about how they've been "discriminated" against. Please.

And the relationship between certain lower-class Italians and black people has never been a good one. There is a particular subset that is incredibly racist. This stems partially from the fact that Southern Italians weren't considered truly "white" in Europe for centuries. That's why one of the derogatory terms for Italians is "guinea". However, Italians have never suffered institutionalized racism on any significant scale in the US, at least not any more than any other immigrant community, and probably a lot less than most. Quit whining, goombas. It is most unflattering.

RhymesWithSilver-

Thank You. I grew up in the Bronx. Lets just say that I have had mostly negative experiences with Italian Americans.