Topic > Django Unchained: Racism as a Cancer of Modern Society

Quentin Tarantino is well known for his sadistic violence, as well as juxtaposed humor and tension. Django Unchained goes beyond this expected emphasis: we the audience are led to believe that the film centers on the brutal actions taken towards the slaves and Django's story during the time of the slaves; however, as the film progresses, we are drawn into the trap of another Tarantino film. His films appear as brutal but entertaining action films, but when we delve into the thoughts behind the film, we realize that the meaning is deeper and requires attention to racial segregation. Tarantino's postmodern and controversial film highlights the racism and institutionalized hatred towards slaves of the time through the excessive arrogance and pride of Django and Stephen, combined with postmodernism and racism. Although the film is set during the forced labor period of 1858, postmodernism is a constant factor behind Django Unchained. The way Tarantino takes a different approach to develop the themes of racism and arrogance using comedy and sadistic violence shows a very postmodern way of dealing with the reluctance to address these very real problems that have and continue to pierce our society . Tarantino often creates very postmodern films that cover important issues with a superficial layer of comedy, violence, and action, making the film more entertaining for the audience and less of a wake-up call to humanity. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay From the beginning of the film, Django becomes a free slave who works as a bounty hunter alongside Dr. Schultz, a German dentist. During the "100 Black Coffins" scene Django and Dr. Schultz accompany Monsieur Candie on the journey to Candie Land, Dr. Schultz tells Django that in order to fit in he must act as if he were a black slave. During the journey to Candie Land, Django puts into practice what Schultz said and acts as if he is superior to the other black slaves and is depicted as believing himself to be equal or superior to some white men in the party. This is mostly shown with a low angle shot looking at Django, sometimes even from Monsieur Candie's perspective which portrays the manipulative power Django has over him. As Django continues to play this compelling role, we, the audience, wonder whether his arrogance stems from Schultz's order or subsequent to his freedom. Is this Django's chance to give back to the white men what they did to him? His actions ultimately lead us to question whether his freedom should be celebrated or condemned. While the group is traveling, Django receives disgusted looks from the other slaves, predominantly Rodney. They see him playing the *role of a . . . black slaver* and they don't want a black man turned white telling them what to do. Django, with his newly acquired power, speaks to Rodney asking if he has "eyeball problems" "do you want to put the heel on it?", the black men, now addressing him as "no sir", clearly show disapproval in being betrayed by a man of their same nature, thus leading Django to clarify that “niggers will figure something out about me! I'm worse than all these white men here! Get the molasses off your ass and keep your damn eyes off me!" As the parade progresses, Django keeps his emotions in order, but this doesn't come with difficulty. After a while, we are shown how much fun Django is perhaps having with his character and we start to believe that he is not acting at all and is enjoying the power so much,which actually turned white inside. This is incredibly important to the purpose of Tarantino's film because it shows the pervasive theme of institutionalization centered on one point of racial issues. The fact that Django finds it easy to take on the attitude of a white man makes the audience realize the power that forcing someone's trust can have on a person and how easy it is for former slaves to look down on other slaves. When you are surrounded by lies and acts of arrogance your entire life, you begin to follow them, and when you have the chance, you begin to transform into the person who gave them. The relationship between Django and Monsieur Candie makes us question how different their natures are. During a crosscut to the trip to Candie Land, the group visits a cabin occupied by white mountain men with dogs, who surround a slave, D'Artagnan, who is in a tree. When the party stops and Monsieur Candie talks to the slave about how he wasted $500 on a man who only gave three fights, Monsieur Candie orders “Mr. Stonesipher, let Marsha and her whores send D'Artagnan to nigger heaven.” As D'Artagnan is torn to pieces by the dogs, Monsieur Candie approaches Django on his horse, while a low-angle shot from Monsieur Candie's perspective shows the dominance Django has over Monsieur Candie the way Django is a boogeyman free and is to trade with white men. This creates tremendous tension and racial shift in the controversial film as they "never seen a nigga like you in his life." As D'Artagnan is inhumanely torn apart by dogs, aspects of postmodernism appear as Tarantino covers up the blood with shots of Monsieur Candie and Django discussing the slave. As they converse, Monsieur Candie notes that Django's "head looks a little green around the gills for such a blood sport as nigger fighting" while Django shown in a mid-close-up view of his face doesn't look disgusted at all rather sits down simply with a very solemn expression on his face without ever leaving Monsieur Candie's gaze. Dr. Schultz is "not used to seeing a man being mauled by dogs, that's all," while Django is "just a little more used to Americans than he is." These words prove that Tarantino is not at all shy about telling the true brutality of slavery through Django's eyes. It shows how others in the world are not familiar with the actual acts of slavery that took place and did not feel it was right to do so towards people of another race. This violent and gruesome scene shows how Tarantino's film highlights racism and institutionalized hatred by emphasizing the arrogance and violent nature of slave masters, to create a film that reminds us of our history and how we don't bat an eye when we see it sadistically on screen. Tarantino's strong passion towards the negativity of slavery and racism is shown very clearly in every moment of Django Unchained. The film as a whole brings out the worst of slavery and leaves us wondering how and why it is part of our history. Likewise, the way Django behaves towards slaves and towards white men, showing an overcoming of his racist and hateful past as a slave, is very similar to the way Stephen, Django's "favorite slave" Candie Land, comes close to slavery and racism. Stephen takes pride in being the favorite slave, always managing to be associated with white men, and considers himself Monsieur Candie's greatest friend. When Django, Monsieur Candie and his group arrive in Candie Land, we are introduced to the character of Stephen for the first time. After seeing Django come through the gates on horseback, he doesn't noticealmost to greet Monsieur Candie as he is determined to know "who's nigger on that nag?". As Monsieur Candie tries to explain to Stephen that "Django is a free man here" and is their guest, he is mortified and thinks it is very unwelcome that Django "is staying in the big house". The disgust Stephen feels towards Django, shown through confused and angry facial expressions in a close-up of his face, is just another example of how much Stephen has taken the role of the white man to heart. Stephen has been dealing with white people his entire life, and after having the opportunity to be Monsieur Candie's closest slave, he completely lost sight of that. He showed the power of his institutionalization by taking responsibility for to insult and to elevate himself higher than all other black men. Stephen's actions show a contrast in Django's morality and attitude, while also showing a change in outlook on institutionalized racism and slavery. Stephen's acceptance and embrace of something as terrible as slavery shows how Tarantino's film is trying to help the audience move away from racial segregation by showing the effects this habitual belief has caused. Helping to highlight how we were used to hating and disrespecting someone of color and forced to see it as normal and acceptable. Tarantino highlights institutionalized racism and hatred towards slaves and how we have been trained to believe that others are superior to us for a fictitious reason. Stephen's actions of contempt and superiority towards Django show the hatred that not only many white people can feel towards slaves, but also brainwashed black men. The hatred Stephen has for Django almost comes from jealousy because Django has been freed and can walk with white men while, in the end, Stephen is still a slave and all he knows about his life is to serve black Monsieur Candie.'100 coffins,” the “Mandingo dog scene,” and the actions of Stephen, Monsieur Candie, and Django all show how Tarantino's film highlights institutionalized racism and hatred toward slaves through Stephan's mutual pride and excessive arrogance , Django and Monsieur Candie and how they all describe contrasting but similar passions towards the treatments of slaves at the time Monsieur Candie's actions towards slaves are not acceptable, quite understandable, however, Stephen and Django's actions towards. people with such a past are questionable and selfish. Their racism and arrogance are so institutionalized that Django has no problem showing his disgust for slaves even if he himself was one. This idea is vital to the film and Tarantino's ideas because it is one of the most important meanings behind the film. This meaning is a constant factor in Django Unchained and seeks to inform us of how easy it is to give in to someone's beliefs and actions even when they have caused you harm in the past. If Django were a lovable, kind-hearted man like Dr. Schultz, he would take freedom as a gift, set out to find his wife, free her, then run away and live the rest of his life as he should, but he doesn't. . When Django is first freed, he immediately drops the blanket and puts on the dead white man's coat. Unable to hide the scars of his past that will stay with him forever, Django can try to forget his past and continue as he has been. around other men but his past will never abandon him. Despite what he may think and how few people will accept him, he will always be a former slave and will always be seen as challenging..