I've long been a fan of Spike Lee movies. Now, in that time, I've seen some of Spike's movies that are great (Malcolm X and Do The Right Thing) and some ones that, to me, were not so good (Red Hook Summer). I've also watched some underrated films, by Spike (Get on the Bus and School Daze).
That all being said, I look forward to seeing the movie Chiraq. Obviously, the title is provocative. But, I look forward to absorbing the actual messages within the film that many of Spike's movies feature.
As I was taking advantage of my Amazon Prime account, the movie popped up as a pay film. Apparently, I will be able to watch it as part of my subscription next month. I am willing to wait a month, but I look forward to seeing it.
Movies with this level of controversy make me even more interested -- especially when it comes to Spike Lee movies. A lightning rod for controversy throughout his career, Spike knows how to generate some hype -- intentionally or unintentionally -- for his projects.
Normally, I do not waste a lot of time on this blog discussing much of anything that comes out of Fox News far-right commentator Glenn Beck's toilet of a mouth.
Fox News doesn't miss many opportunities to race bait (easy to do when you have as your stars the likes of Beck, Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity).
First and foremost, I do not consider Beck to be anymore than any entertainer (I don't find him the least bit entertaining, but I understand that some people do) who is given a platform on a "news" channel. To me, Glenn Beck is no different than WWE ... there are elements of realism, but his goal is only to entertain a particular audience by stirring them up into a frenzy. Largely for that reason, I tend to avoid pointing out the offensive things that come out of his disgusting mouth. A secondary reason I avoid trying to document all his offenses against journalism, human decency and humankind is because ... I simply don't have the time to document all of his ignorant wickedness (I leave it to the experts at Media Matters for America).
Recently, however, Beck said something that crossed a line (he is an expert at crossing racial lines) even by his deplorable standards. "It's like the damn Planet of the Apes," he said. It was no accident he made that comment. The same moron who once insanely insisted that President Obama was a racist, once again used race to attack, but this time in a subtle (some might argue not so subtle) fashion.
Either Glenn Beck is the biggest idiot on television (entirely possible) or this was another attempt to use race to take a shot at people of color. Now, I suppose, the answer could be just a little bit of both. Perhaps Beck is a complete tool (as friends I know might say). But, I see little reason to doubt that he relishes opportunities to take jabs at black people. No matter how many fake-ass black men and women he brings on his show to make him look less racist or racially insensitive (depending on how you view), his true colors show through.
In this case, he used a comment that is just as likely to be uttered on the Stormfront Web site or at a Klan rally to attack black people.
It reminded me of a powerful scene from the film in the outstanding 1989 Spike Lee film Do The Right Thing.
The character Pino had a lot of hate built up inside of him. In this scene, somewhat relaxed in the beginning, his hatred comes through.
Glenn Beck and Pino, it seems, have plenty in common. Sadly, Pino is a fictional character in a movie. Beck is a Fox News character, but is far too real for many of us.
