ChrisDickson
Django Unchained: A step back? Or a step forward?
Writing, whether it is poetry, literature, or for film, stirs up emotions in the audience. In recent years one film that has caused a lot of audience emotion is Quentin Tarantino’s 2012 film Django: Unchained. Quentin Tarantino's style of writing and directing is very unique and the film in discussion has to do with sensitive topics such as racism and slavery, because of these topics, there are graphic scenes and discriminatory language used throughout the film. Some attempt to argue that the discriminatory language used in the film and the amount of violence is racially insensitive and problematic due to his style of writing which is less serious and more for fun amusement. However, it is a writer's responsibility to respect the victims of slavery by telling their story as accurately as possible so the audience is able to understand the tragedy they endorsed. Though both sides of this issue have very different viewpoints, commonalities can be found such as sharing the common goal of getting better representation and equality of black people in the film industry.
The film scholar Andrew Harrington argues that the language in the film, as well as the writing as a whole, is problematic. Harrington’s argument is that Quentin Tarantino’s writing for the film Django Unchained, is derogatory by making the claim that Tarantino is similar to a slave owning character in his film by the way he is exploiting African American Culture. Harrinton attempts to prove this by examining the dialogue used in certain scenes. For example, Harrington uses a violent scene in the film where two slaves fight each other as an example of Tarantino's exploitation. Harrington claims that Tarantino using violence as a way of manipulating the audience is exploiting African American history for his own use. Tarantino’s style of writing is often very violent and he stated before that he finds violence fun to watch. Because of this, there is an argument to be had that Tarantino’s style of writing does not belong when dealing with issues such as slavery. Though Harrington argues that the film is problematic to society, scholar Lindsey Clouse argues that the film is progressive and a step in the right direction for American films. Clouse argues that because of Tarantino's powerful language, the film strikes emotions and that the film, being one of the first mainstream films in Hollywood, having a black hero is something to be inspired by. Though the language is tough to hear, the feeling of sympathy the audience gains while watching is what Clouse focuses on, rather than just the words themselves. As stated previously, Tarantino's style of writing is very violent, however this has made his films extremely popular. Due to this, Tarantino making one of the first mainstream films with a black hero is a step in the right direction to giving people of color better representation in the film industry.
Johannes Fehrle, a professor of critical race theory, argues that Tarantino’s style of writing was not appropriate for a film that has to do with slavery and that it made the film less serious. The film has many scenes which are comical or have stylish action sequences which can take away from the seriousness of the film for audience members. When writing a film about a serious subject matter such as slavery, it is important to be professional and Fehrle argues that Tarantino was not by having too much of his trademark style in the film which takes away from the serious subject matter of the film and takes away from the topic of race politics. Melba Boyd, an American Author, however, would disagree however by stating that the violence in the film actually adds to the powerful message of the film. Boyd points out that the gruesome deaths that Tarantino writes have a clear purpose and are important to the film. The deaths of the white slave owners are extremely unique and bloody; however the audience feels satisfaction in a way when seeing it unfold due to seeing the slave owners previously being racist and aggressive. One of the most critiqued scenes in the film is a graphic scene where two slaves are forced to fight each other and though the scene is hard to watch, Boyd writes how the violence shows the exploitation of African American bodies. The violence in the film has been heavily criticized, however the deeper meaning of it all has a very progressive message.
George Thomas, a professor of film, is more neutral on this argument, claiming that the language and graphic scenes in the film serve a powerful purpose, while at the same time are problematic. Thomas uses a scene from the film where a female slave is being whipped for dropping eggs as an example for his argument. He argues that the scene is wildly inappropriate due to the film being humorous at times. However, he also states that the whipping scene is powerful due to a mirror in the scene having a blurry reflection showing Django who eventually saves the girl, which represents that in reality nobody could have saved her because this is just a film. This may have not been Tarantino's intent with the scene, however it leads to great discussion. George Thomas’ views, though neutral, are not exactly a compromise for the two sides of the argument.
Due to the fact that the film has been out for many years now and cannot be changed, they will have to agree to disagree on the writing style Tarantino used for telling a story about slavery. However, though the sides disagree on the violence and language used in the film, the sides can agree that having a mainstream award winning film discuss race politics is a great start to having a better representation of African American culture in American films.