Un texte à lire sur la controverse Spike Lee/Norman Jewison.
Extrait:
"In 1994, Malcolm X was released to much critical acclaim. It was in vying to be the director of Malcolm X that Spike's racism shone brightly. Lee successfully beat out white director Norman Jewison for the project, arguing that only a black man could do the life of Malcolm X justice despite the fact that Jewison was a veteran, Oscar winning director who had directed films as diverse as The Thomas Crown Affair, Fiddler on the Roof, Jesus Christ Superstar, In the Heat of the Night, Agnes of God, Moonstruck and A Soldiers Story. The focus of Jewison's films is often the struggle of the individual against organized authority. Seems like a good fit for Malcolm X, but Spike didn't agree. Not because Jewison isn't a good director, but because he is white.
So Lee got the job and soon every black kid in America, and a bunch of white ones, were wearing Malcolm X hats. But by the end of the film, viewers knew little of the real Malcolm X . Don't take my word for it, take the word of Bell Hicks, noted African-American writer who wrote of Malcolm X, "To appeal to a crossover audience, Spike Lee had to create a fictive Malcolm that white folks as well as conservative black and other non-white viewers would want to see. His Malcolm X has more in common with Steven Spielberg's representation of Mister in the film version of The Color Purple than with real-life portraits of Malcolm X."