Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained (a Spaghetti Western) scheduled for release Christmas 2012

[superblytrife]

Son, you didn't even read what I wrote and then replied.  How can I not call that trolling?  

My stance on the whole historically accurate thing is this:  who cares?  Whites called black slaves (and later blacks in general) n******.  That is FACT.  And a fact based in history.  Whether or not they used that word once every 5 minutes or 10 times every 2 minutes, I don't know.  Neither do you.  And again I ask, if you do know, prove it.  And no, referencing movies (which are entertainment) doesn't qualify as "historical".  All I know is that in the time in which Django is based, there were slaves who were called n******.  And I tend to believe it was more often than not.  There's a reason that word became "famous", as opposed to porch monkey, boy, j****boo, and all the other slurs used to address/describe blacks.        

Whether Tarantino used it once or 1000 times in his movie doesn't matter to me, as I said before.  The usage doesn't take away from the atrocities of slavery, IMO.  In fact, I tend to think it does the opposite to those already uncomfortable with the word....especially given the context of the movie--slavery in the 1800's.  It wasn't like the use of the word in Django was in a funny, mocking manner when coming from the mouthes of whites in the movie.  Often it was in a hateful manner, which coincided with the obvious brutal portrayal of the treatment of blacks. 

 

[powerballin]

Son, you didn't even read what I wrote and then replied.  How can I not call that trolling?  

My stance on the whole historically accurate thing is this:  who cares?  Whites called black slaves (and later blacks in general) n******.  That is FACT.  And a fact based in history.  Whether or not they used that word once every 5 minutes or 10 times every 2 minutes, I don't know.  Neither do you.  And again I ask, if you do know, prove it.  And no, referencing movies (which are entertainment) doesn't qualify as "historical".  All I know is that in the time in which Django is based, there were slaves who were called n******.  And I tend to believe it was more often than not.  There's a reason that word became "famous", as opposed to porch monkey, boy, j****boo, and all the other slurs used to address/describe blacks.        

Whether Tarantino used it once or 1000 times in his movie doesn't matter to me, as I said before.  The usage doesn't take away from the atrocities of slavery, IMO.  In fact, I tend to think it does the opposite to those already uncomfortable with the word....especially given the context of the movie--slavery in the 1800's.  It wasn't like the use of the word in Django was in a funny, mocking manner when coming from the mouthes of whites in the movie.  Often it was in a hateful manner, which coincided with the obvious brutal portrayal of the treatment of blacks. 

If thats your stance more power to you.  I just don't see why you think everybody should share your lack of concern for whats fed to the masses and where it comes from. 

 

[antonlavey]

I think this dude assumes the slave masters were having civil "conversations" as he put it with slaves. How ridiculous would that sound?


Slave master: Good sir, time for your punishment?
Slave: Ok master, do you want me in a certain position?
Slave master: That's very thoughtful of you, the standard arms in the air bareback will do. How's the old lady?
Slave: She good, she good, she good.
Slave master: Ok, let's get on with it.

 

[lyonbc1]

If the word was used so sparingly in those times, why does it appear so frequently in the literature from that era?

Never said it was used sparingly tho.  I said it wasn't used every other word like in the film.


The n-word was used and so were a list of other slurs I could list but I'd get banned  


Imagine a conversations where the word is used in almost every sentence.  Come on fam.  People don't talk like that no matter what the word is.  Its not natural

It wasn't used every other word though that's an exaggeration Like I said before tho, Huck Finn written in 1885 from the perspective of a little kid had the n-word 220+ times, that piece was written not too far from the time of the Civil War so the way it was used in Django was likely more accurate to the period. Unless you think Twain was using it for pure shock value as well, because he actually lived through a large portion of the slavery era. The point, I think, is to make you uncomfortable with hearing it, and seeing the vitriol and hatred along with the abuse and dehumanizing aspects on screen...you shouldn't watch a slavery movie and be entirely comfortable through it. I'd be more upset if he didn't use that type of language and tried to sugar coat what happened and make it feel more cozy, and pleasing to our ears, we're supposed to hate DiCaprio's character and Sam's as well to an extent.

When did I say the use of the word made me uncomfortable?  When did I say that?  I said I dont agree with the speech and amount of times it was used because I don't believe people talk like that.  Do you understand that or do you want to make up things?  I've seen other movies from this era and NONE sound like this.  It has nothing to do with me being sensitive or whatever you are trying to imply.

I never once said YOU personally I meant it in the general sense of all viewers of this movie, my bad for not clarifying that.
Now to the much bigger problem with your argument on this and why I don't understand how you can say "I don't believe people talk like that"

You said you've seen films from this era....really? What films have you seen that were written and originated in the late 1800s about the trials of slavery? None. What you've seen is directors in the 70s, 80s, 90s, 00s making movies with THEIR own adaptation and guess what..like all of us, NONE of them were around during slavery times. But I can point you to novels from that time where the word is used often in dialogue...

I just cited an acclaimed novel about a runaway slave and a young boy written by a man who grew up in the south DURING the slavery years and lived through the civil war and in said novel the n-word is used over 220 times. Now are you going to claim that Mark Twain knows less about how often the word was used during the time period that he lived in than you "believe" is correct? Your logic is comparing Django to other movies that came out 100s of years after the time period, written by directors who had ZERO personal experience with the era and havent lived through it. I gave you an author who lived during the time who used the word much more often than QT did, so unless you're going to claim you (someone who was not around during the time) know more about how people talked back in the south in the 1800s and slavery than people who actually lived in the south during the 1800s then I am failing to see your point.

 

[mronegative]

He won. Thread's his now.

 

[powerballin]

I think this dude assumes the slave masters were having civil "conversations" as he put it with slaves. How ridiculous would that sound?

Slave master: Good sir, time for your punishment?
Slave: Ok master, do you want me in a certain position?
Slave master: That's very thoughtful of you, the standard arms in the air bareback will do. How's the old lady?
Slave: She good, she good, she good.
Slave master: Ok, let's get on with it.

when did I say that?  You might really be a troll homie.  Sometimes you pick and choose when to use your "intellect".  I said they don't talk like this "Negro get over here negro and go get that cotton with your negro fingers all day ok Negro and later you might be allowed to drink from the negro drinking well.  Ok negro".  Thats how Django sounds man. 

Keep reaching for "lulz" tho.  You are better than that homie.  Trying to have a decent discussion

 

[lyonbc1]

He won. Thread's his now.

true, here's a long interview with Tarantino on Howard Stern...dunno if its been posted earlier in here

 

[powerballin]

While you guys defend ya man QT this is what he thinks....

 

[100proof]

I think this dude assumes the slave masters were having civil "conversations" as he put it with slaves. How ridiculous would that sound?


Slave master: Good sir, time for your punishment?
Slave: Ok master, do you want me in a certain position?
Slave master: That's very thoughtful of you, the standard arms in the air bareback will do. How's the old lady?
Slave: She good, she good, she good.
Slave master: Ok, let's get on with it.

Yo...

 

[mronegative]

Slave: She good, she good, she good.

 

[big j 33]

If your back and forths with PowerBallin aren't going anywhere, stop participating. 

It has nothing to do with us not being adults and being unable to have a proper debate, but a disconnect between arguments (or lack of arguments) and what others are talking about.

There's PLENTY to talk about with this movie, if you don't want to waste time arguing over this, there's plenty to discuss.

 

[mronegative]

You might really be a troll homie.  Sometimes you pick and choose when to use your "intellect".

Hol a minute.
Back it up, back it up, back it up.

YOU said that to someone?

 

[RustyShackleford]

I think this dude assumes the slave masters were having civil "conversations" as he put it with slaves. How ridiculous would that sound?


Slave master: Good sir, time for your punishment?
Slave: Ok master, do you want me in a certain position?
Slave master: That's very thoughtful of you, the standard arms in the air bareback will do. How's the old lady?
Slave: She good, she good, she good.
Slave master: Ok, let's get on with it.

This **** got me weak

 

[quik1987]

Can we stop talking about the controversy and politics of the movie and talk more about the the cinematics, acting, character development, plot and so forth?

 

[blakep267]

tariq's take. Maybe already posted, idk

I dont even agree with him most of the time, but he dropped knowledge

 

[Deleted member 37467]

Yall still letting him troll you?
He doesn't have a point.
He only reads maybe a sentence out of every paragraph you type.
He's just ignoring any of the details of what you're saying, because he doesn't understand, doesn't care or just wants to keep arguing.

Bingo.

 

[quik1987]

I wonder how many y'all would be saying this is a classic if it was directed by Spike Lee......

 

[powerballin]

I wonder how many y'all would be saying this is a classic if it was directed by Spike Lee......

I'll play since I'm in the minority that doesn't think this was amazing. Spike wouldnt make a movie like this. I honestly went into this movie hype and excepting to see greatness. But it just was soulless and ive never watched a spike movie and felt like that. Django had funny moments, it had action, but it was just ehhhhh in alot of spots especially jamies role. A movie with this subject matter needs a soul. I don't feel like the serious reality of slavery was treated with the care needed. Leo was great and so was Waltz but django never dominated the screen until the end.

 

[deleted]

I wonder how many y'all would be saying this is a classic if it was directed by Spike Lee......

Do you mean if he made an identical film with his name attached as director?

Or do you mean his own adaptation of the screenplay?

 

[jhawk826]

Can we stop talking about the controversy and politics of the movie and talk more about the the cinematics, acting, character development, plot and so forth?

Why not? Its polarizing enough to get the press to talk about it. Maybe this was his intent. When's the last time slavery has been talked about by the mass media like this? Even the idea of removing it from textbooks has been discussed as much as Django. As long as its healthy, I see no problem.

And to answer your question, no because Spike wouldn't have done a movie in this style had he got the funding from a studio for a film on slavery. It may be universally praised but it is not for everyone. Hopefully this is used in higher academia one day.

 

[the coolness]

interesting read:

http://cityarts.info/2012/12/28/still-not-a-brother/

In Django Unchained Jackson is to Tarantino what Stepin Fetchit was to John Ford–the actor who personifies his director’s sense of the Other. This is not an alter-ego thing; it transfers detachment into “sympathy.” Roles like Jules in Pulp Fiction, Ordell in Jackie Brown and now Stephen the ultimate Uncle Tom display Jackson’s patented shamelessness–his "N word" Jim flair. Jackson reverses the anger that 70s black militants felt toward the Uncle Tom figure into an actorly endorsement. He embodies the dangerous Negro stereotypes harbored by Tarantino and every Huck Finn wannabe.

That, essentially, is the transgression on view in Django Unchained. This pseudo (not neo-) Blaxploitation film about a freed slave (Jamie Foxx) who goes on a killing spree with a psychopathic bounty hunter (Christoph Waltz) two years before the Civil War (rendering that conflict unnecessary) offers a pointless jamboree of disparate sentimental, anachronistic and absurd elements; it seems aimless until Jackson’s Uncle Tom eventually shows up and galvanizes all Q.T.‘s hostile silliness.....

There’s no mistaking the division of labor or social/racial hierarchies preserved in Jackson-Tarantino’s spectacle: Tarantino uses a gray-haired, wily Jackson with a deceptive limp and mean scowl to fulfill his white hipster’s fanciful reinterpretation of social history. Through Jackson, QT gets to remake the cultural world he didn’t grow up in (complete with incongruous pop songs) and enjoy how its dangers and excesses effect a subordinate. Brazenly inauthentic, Django Unchained is unmistakably QT’s vision–trivializing slavery’s true deep treachery–and it’s an impersonal, privileged vision.

Read this and didn't understand what the **** I was reading. Then I see that it was written by Armond White







Oh.

 

[thunderchunk69]

7/10

Enjoyable but the ending was very lazy. 
And to anyone arguing against the use of the n-word in this movie needs not to be so sensitive.  

SAME, don't know why people are calling this "the best movie of the year", QT films have been over the top as of late, this was no different.
cool film, will like to see it again, lost A LOT of interest during the big shootout scene, never regained it.

 

[quik1987]

I wonder how many y'all would be saying this is a classic if it was directed by Spike Lee......

Do you mean if he made an identical film with his name attached as director?

Or do you mean his own adaptation of the screenplay?

exact same movie

"a spike lee joint"



I came out this movie more satisfied than I did with Looper, TDKR, and The Hobbit

 

[deleted]

My opinion wouldn't change at all.

 

[powerballin]

Tarantino was on Sways radio show and used the word and looked comfortable.....

Tariq was spittin tho like normal.  Funny everybody is against me and for this movie.  Its just a new era where people don't care, don't understand, or don't want to be critical of controversial figures.  I'm not cut from the cloth of "its just a movie"