Spike Lee Blames NRA, Video Games and John Wayne for Violence in America

Spike Lee says America is addicted to violence, and he knows who to blame for it.

The firebrand director, promoting his new Kickstarter.com-funded film Da Sweet Blood of Jesus, told TheWrap.com this week that a combination of factors influenced the current state of the nation.

This country was founded on violence,” Lee told TheWrap. “Africans were brought here, to this land, and then the genocide of Native Americans, that’s the foundation upon which this country was built. It’s simple, not taught in schools. We’re taught some other stuff, and particularly, how we’re taught is through the media. And as African Americans, we were taught how barbaric Africa was, with the Tarzan movies and whatnot, and the savages of the Native Americans in the many, many John Ford, John Wayne films.”

Lee also thinks it’s only getting worse.

“And the NRA is responsible for it,” he said. “These video games are not helping either.

Lee’s most celebrated film, the 1989 drama Do the Right Thing, ended in an orgy of violence following a racially charged confrontation. His last film, the 2013 remake of the cult hit Oldboy, relied on a steady stream of violence to propel the narrative.