The man gives good black filmmakers like Spike Lee a bad name.
Well, only if you think that's their one distinguishing feature. I don't put them into the same category just 'cos they're black, just like Todd Haynes and Gregg Araki aren't really comparable just 'cos they're both gay.
The difference here is Todd Haynes and Spike Lee are brilliant. John Singleton is not. I don't know about Gregg Araki. And it's interesting that Haynes is gay. I didn't know that until you said it, but I've noticed that the way he treats women in his films is always more noteworthy than most other directors, just like Altman and Anderson. There are a lot of complaints about misogyny in films, but these three will never be guilty of it.
The problem I have with Singleton is he makes "black films." Films that try to make you feel sorry for black people, because of how the white man has oppressed him; films with unrealistic characters who act in unrealistic ways. And any film that fades in to a Stop sign after reeling off statistics on violence you know is going to be a horrible, pretentious one.
Lee makes "people films;" films that everyone can relate to. He has one blemish I can find on his record: the horrible, racist
Malcom X, glorifying one of the most racist men in history. I often shudder to think what would happen if Farrakhan gets gunned down. We'd be subjected to
Malcolm X II or something. Other than that, he has a great track record.
The distinguishing features of Lee and Singleton, besides race, are the films they make and the quality thereof. Lee makes brilliant films. Singleton does not.