To say that the trailer for Django Unchained starts off boldly is an understatement. It begins with a procession of African slaves
being led through the desert in chains. After
nightfall, their armed captor leads them through the woods by gaslight. They happen upon the seemingly harmless Dr.
King Schultz (Christophe Waltz). Just
after Django (Jamie Foxx) himself is introduced as one of the slaves, Dr. King Schultz is
revealed to be his liberator. As James
Brown’s “The Big Payback” kicks in on the soundtrack, a newly unshackled Django
throws off his shroud as though he were the Godfather of soul himself. Thus begins the world’s first real look at Django Unchained.
Right from the very beginning, Tarantino loudly announces his
presence. He also makes it clear that he
plans to pull no punches this time out, either in terms of style or substance. Those who were expecting anything else were
indeed fooling themselves. As a
filmmaker, he’s never practiced subtlety or anonymity. What sounds like a newly mixed version of “The
Big Payback” continues to play throughout.
Traditional western style iconography is juxtaposed with vintage 70’s
style filmmaking excess. Django’s wife Broomhilda
(Kerry Washington) is shown being dragged away and whipped by her captors. Django himself is shown to be slick and inventive,
sporting a hidden gun up his sleeve à la Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver. He also utters a racially charged line that
should probably be the tagline for the poster:
“Kill white folks and they pay you for it? What’s not to like.” Alas, even Tarantino knows where to draw the
line.
Something tells me I should be highly offended by the idea
of using slavery as fodder for a supercool revenge flick, especially when it’s
coming from the self-appointed ambassador of grindhouse nostalgia. Add to that the idea of the only Black female
character being used as both the pawn of the male characters and the villain’s
sexual plaything. I am conscious of all
the above, and yet I’m still unabashedly giddy about what I’ve seen. Try though I might, I’m having a hard time
overriding my fanboy impulses on this one.
I like the idea, the look, and the attitude. Please, QT, don’t make me out to be a fool
for giving you the benefit of the doubt.
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