Spielberg talks about hate
Days before Spielberg’s 72nd birthday, wearing a suede jacket and 1860s-style boots from his 2012 opus, “Lincoln,” the director munched a granola bar at the foundation’s headquarters. The color of his beard is now saltier, he has a few more inches around the middle, but his gray-green eyes still shine boyishly when he’s discussing his foundation and his seminal film. These are edited excerpts from that conversation.
Q: Why expand the mission of the Shoah Foundation?
A: I think there’s a measurable uptick in anti-Semitism, and certainly an uptick in xenophobia. The racial divide is bigger than I would ever imagine it could be in this modern era. People are voicing hate more now because there’s so many more outlets that give voice to reasonable and unreasonable opinions and demands. People in the highest places are allowing others who would never express their hatred to publicly express it. And that’s been a big change. There’s all kinds of efforts to take the truth and subvert it to twisted ideology. We saw it happen in Europe first, in France, then Poland again — I never thought it would come back home to us like it has existed over the last two years.
Q: Many groups are clamoring that they have it harder than others — how do we overcome that?
A: We can commiserate with each other about suffering and pain, but we should never compete that way. Being marginalized, being discriminated against, having racist and anti-Semitic slurs hurled is something that unites (all people). Everything against black society is also against the Jewish community. Everything against the gay and lesbian, LGBTQ, community is against black and Jewish communities. Hate is hate and the spillover makes us all responsible for watching each other’s back and standing up for each other. None of us could ever be bystanders again.
Q: You are re-releasing “Schindler’s List” after 25 years. Do you believe it can still make an impact?
A: At the Tribeca Film Festival, I experienced my first audience in 25 years watching “Schindler’s List.” It was a full house, and the reaction — I turned to Kate (Capshaw, his wife) and said “Oh my God, they’re still listening.” With this renewed cycle of hate, and initiatives at the Shoah Foundation, I thought it could open up a conversation that genocide can happen anywhere when an ordinary society goes wrong. Charlottesville and the aftermath made a huge impact on wanting to reissue the film.
Q: If you made the film today, what are the things you would have changed?
A: No. There’s nothing I would have changed, absolutely nothing. I stand by the film as it has stood its own test of time.
Q: What more can we do? What do you plan to do?
A: Teachers and parents who need to take responsibility for the acceptance of hatred in the fabric of society. I’m working with the Discovery Channel and the Academy Award-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney on a six-hour study called “Why We Hate.” I’m not planning any more dramatization on the Holocaust itself. I’m putting all my attention on the documentary format.