Italy.........You could be Speaking...."German"

It is not often.....

we dabble in international politics.......but this is one we had to get involved with.

Spike Lee , the Black-American film maker, has caused a storm of controversy among Italians with his upcoming movie, "Miracle at St. Anna".

From Yahoo.com:

Film director Spike Lee has set off a storm in Italy with a movie about black American soldiers fighting alongside Italian partisans in World War Two.

Surviving members of the resistance to the Nazi occupation of Italy have taken issue with "Miracle at St. Anna" ahead of the film's Italian release on Friday, distributing protest flyers and accusing Lee of distorting history.

Lee has said he wanted to set the record straight about the role played by black U.S. soldiers in the war. The film is based on a novel by James McBride and focuses on the all-black 92nd Buffalo Division which helped liberate Italy in 1944-45.

Seems like a good idea to me. In most WWII movies..........us blacks were nonexistent. It was as if no black man even fought in the war. Hollywood has always presented blond haired, blue eyed Caucasians as the saviors of the free world. Thousands of Black men fought and paid the ultimate price (their lives) for this country.

Read on.....

At the heart of the dispute is the film's depiction of an infamous 1944 massacre in the Tuscan town of Sant'Anna di Stazzema, where Nazi troops rounded up and killed 560 civilians.

In the film, the massacre is portrayed as a response to the actions of resistance fighters, with one of them betraying the town and colluding with the Nazis -- a version of events that has angered surviving partisans.

Okay........that is so Italian.......The truth hurts......Here's more.....

Lee, who is in Italy promoting the film, has responded to the criticism in his characteristically feisty manner.

"I would not allow anybody to tell me how to make a film, be it a partisan or the president of the United States," Lee told a news conference in Florence on Wednesday after a preview screening, according to Italian media.

"This simply shows that in Italy the wound is still open. ... It is up to Italians to come to grips with their past, not up to me or James McBride or the film," he said.

Spike.......you tell 'em ........Note to Italy: "If not for the courage and fight of the 92nd Buffalo Division, "German" would be your national language."

Another key here..........This is just a movie, a film........It is not an official documentary....never claimed to be one. This is Spike Lee. He makes movies...... His movies often provoke a lot of thoughts. That's Spike Lee.

And shame on you ....Italy.....if you can't get past........your past.

Don't just believe me..........Find out more about the "92nd" from these links:

92nd Infantry Division (United States) - Wikipedia, the free ...

The 92nd 'Buffalo' Division

African American 92nd Infantry Division Fought in Italy During ...