'Da 5 Bloods': African-Americans share photos of family in armed forces in celebration of Spike Lee’s film
Spike Lee’s Vietnam War-based film on Netflix, ‘Da 5 Bloods’ has received critical acclaim for its story, its message, and the acting. Starring Delroy Lindo as Paul, Clarke Peters as Otis, Isiah Whitlock Jr. as Melvin, and Norm Lewis as Eddie, and Jonathan Majors as David, Paul’s son, the story revolves around four African-American Vietnam War veterans' return to the country, more than 40 years after the war is over.
They return with two objectives. One, finding the body of their old platoon leader, Stormin’ Norman (Chadwick Boseman), who was killed in action during the war. And two, finding the gold they had hidden in the jungles. The film makes some much-needed racial commentary on the Vietnam War which coincided with the civil rights movement in the U.S., and focuses, among other things, on the effects of war.
On Tuesday, June 16, the official Twitter account of Netflix tweeted, “Inspired by ‘Da 5 Bloods’, let's take a moment to honor Black veterans,” asking users to share a photo of “the Black veteran in your life and tell us what they mean to you”.
The tweet received a lot of responses, as African-Americans tweeted photos of their relatives in the army, navy, and air force, and spoke about them.
A Twitter user responded to this with photos of their grandfather, saying, “My grandfather was a Marine and served in Vietnam. Sadly, he was not able to live his full life due to developing complications from agent orange in his 70s. I miss you, old man. I’m still holding it down for you!”
Another tweeted, “This is my dad. He was in the Marine Corps in the 80s. He lived at Camp Lejune and turns out the camp had cancer-causing tainted water. The government was fully aware and did nothing. In 2013, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. This is how America treats our troops.”
Another shared photos and wrote, “I come from a long line of military veterans. Here is my grandpa who passed the day after Kobe this year. He left Belize and joined the military in the early 70s to gain American citizenship for my mom and grandma.”
The user shared more: "Then my mom joined straight out of high school in the 80s. She deployed to Bosnia, South Korea, and Kuwait and Afghanistan before she retired in 2008. My brother followed in their footsteps and joined the Army Reserves after graduating college in 2012.”
Another user shared, “My brother Jamie. Served from 1989-1995. During the Gulf War. I was scared watching the news back then, thinking they’d send him into war. He was Steven Seagal in 'Under Siege' to me. My Dad served in the Army from 69-74. I miss them both. My heroes.”
And while most were sharing photos of their family members in uniform, there were also those who were still critical of this. A Twitter user noted, “It's still Imperialism. The USA should get the f*** out of all the countries you have currently invaded with bases.”
Another added, “Black men and women fighting for a country that segregated them when they came home, flooded their neighborhoods with drugs, incarcerated them, raped them, and abandoned them, so America could take revenge on Pearl Harbor, lose in Vietnam, and imperialize the middle east.”
‘Da 5 Bloods’ is available for viewing on Netflix.