Django Unchained - holy fuck this film is black power defined

[Phoenix Dark]

I continue to believe Idris Elba would have been a better casting for Django than Foxx. Not saying Foxx was bad, but he just had so little screen presence to me for most of the film. To be fair, Tarantino didn't give him much material to work with either. Early in the film there's a scene where Hilda (another rather forgettable performance from Kerry Washington) is being whipped as Django begs for her to be spared. Watching it you don't get the impression DJango has any viseral reaction to his wife being whipped, he's kind of just calmly begging for her to be spared. Why not have a closeup shot of him wincing at every whip lash as he begs? Give your protagonist something to do, jeez

[Positive Touch]

yeah that pissed me off so much in the film. every other character in a qt movie cant shut the fuck up, then here comes what could potentially be on of the most interesting characters hes done yet all django can say is "WHATS THAT WORD MEAN PLEASE EXPLAIN." i dunno if tarantino made this intentional or not but it totally felt like django never showed his full personality til his partner got killed.

[Great Rumbler]

yeah that pissed me off so much in the film. every other character in a qt movie cant shut the fuck up, then here comes what could potentially be on of the most interesting characters hes done yet all django can say is "WHATS THAT WORD MEAN PLEASE EXPLAIN." i dunno if tarantino made this intentional or not but it totally felt like django never showed his full personality til his partner got killed.

I'm pretty sure it was intentional, since that's a pretty basic setup for the genre [and many others]. Basically, the same thing happened in Star Wars with Luke and Obi-wan.

[Beezy]

I continue to believe Idris Elba would have been a better casting for Django than Foxx.

His height/size would make things awkward. He looks like a mandingo fighter.

[Phoenix Dark]

I continue to believe Idris Elba would have been a better casting for Django than Foxx.

His height/size would make things awkward. He looks like a mandingo fighter.

Foxx looked pretty big shirtless too. Elba isn't as big as those fighters

[Beezy]

Googled his height. He's 6'3". Foxx is 5'10". Huge difference.

[Phoenix Dark]

meh too generic, after Django imo. No need for more enslaved people

I'd rather see badass gays during the 70s.

[Shaka Khan]

I'd rather see badass gays during the 70s.

Ah yes, the Tom of Finland era.

[MyNameIsMethodis]

You'll notice theres a strong German link so far, so if anything has to do with early America it would deal with the Hessians who were the german mercenaries who came over for the British.

But wouldn't Kill Bill be the first of the opressed trilogy?

[Joe Molotov]

So after reading Tarantino's interview on the root, I've been thinking a lot about his "trilogy about the oppressed taking down the oppressors" and I think that the next logical step is Native Americans.

It goes further back, like how Inglourious Basterds is Jews during WW2 times which led into Django Unchained with Blacks during Slavery times. It's probably an even touchier subject than either, also there's a lot more misinformation about that than slavery even. Badass Jews in Germany during WW2 times to Badass Black Dude in the South during Slavery times to Badass Native American(s?) in America during the Revolution? Makes sense to me.

With QT's love of genre movies, I think it would make more sense to tackle a Roman empire sword and sandal movie. Caligula 2: Electric Dickaloo.

[Great Rumbler]

QT doing a scifi movie might well be the best thing ever.

[Steve Contra]

I'd rather see badass gays during the 70s.

Ah yes, the Tom of Finland era.

Please make this movie.

[Verdigris Murder]

ending was great; what i had a problem with is that 80% of the movie beforehand was german dude leading around django, coming up with all the plans, explaining words to django over and over ( ). jamie foxx barely had any lines for most of the movie, and christopher waltz was  positioned as the central character in most of the scenes. django's character arc was way too muted too. he'd talk back and insult the white people, but we never got to hear him rebut all their bullshit, never even got to hear him detail his thoughts or tell a story or SOMETHING while he was with waltz or his wife or someone. we got to see multiple sides of a lot of characters, but django just felt like a cardboard cutout when he shoulda been a lot more.

basically i was hoping for something like kill bill's bride's asskicking mixed with some righteous anger and what i got was a typical hero story against a backdrop of white slaveowners.

also kerry washington's role was so wasted :'(

In the films foetal stage it was called 'Angry in a woodpile''.

[Phoenix Dark]

Kerry Washington sucks and doesn't date black men

[Positive Touch]

yeah well shes still got a pretty face

[Verdigris Murder]

Odd film.

[HyperZoneWasAwesome]

I continue to believe Idris Elba would have been a better casting for Django than Foxx.

to be fair, Idris Elba would be better at most roles then most other actors, including Superman, Willie Loman, Ghenghis Khan, and Captain Kirk.

Just saw it tonight, and I really dug it.  Foxx was a bit of a weak link though.  I guess QT had to compromise on getting the lead he wanted for all the other very uncompromising content of the film.  And I'll be danged if this wasn't the funniest film I saw in a theater in many a day.

[Verdigris Murder]

I loved Don Jonsons snowy white whiskers in contrast to his luxuriant and obviously dyed hair.

[Olivia Wilde Homo]

I would do very inappropriate things to Kerry Washington.

[Stoney Mason]

Went and saw it this afternoon. Was better than I expected. Was a bit more cartoony than I expected also which turned out to be a positive.   The obvious comparison is Inglourious Basterds but I liked it a lot more than that movie.

[Madrun Badrun]

Tarantino movies are way too fucking long.  just got to the big shoot out and stopped.  seems like it should have ended here.

[Himu]

I’ve seen ‘Django Unchained’ 12 times. Never in the history of Hollywood, have they ever made anything that freed the inside of me. The inside of me. I’m 80-years-old, I saw cowboy movies, wasn’t no Black folks in cowboy movies. I’m looking at a Western, plus a love story. To those of you all that see it, you’ll never see a love story about a Black man and a Black woman where it wasn’t some foul sex and foul language, huh. And Spike Lee can’t appreciate that. The little thug ain’t even seen the movie; he’s acting like he White.
So it must be something personal. And all them Black entertainers that know Spike Lee, how you gone attack this man and don’t be attacking them … and then say everyone’s a fool but me. [Talking about] ‘it offended my ancestors,’ but when you did ‘She’s Got To Have It’ and some of those other thug movies you did…you took Malcolm X and put a Zoot suit on him…did that offend your ancestors, punk?
It’s a game, man. So whatever he’s mad about is something that happened way, way long ago. Thank God it didn’t work [to stop the movie from being successful].

[Himu]

I went with a white friend, and afterwards we talked about the film and I kind of got an impression why some white (and black, to be fair) people were offended by the film: it seems like a shit ton of people are not aware of the house slave and field slave dynamic, and seemed to think this was some wacky offensive Tarantino creation. I looked back at some friend comments on Facebook and found similar befuddlement, and even some anger. At one point Django says a black slaver is lower than a head house negro, and that lays the groundwork for his disdain for Stephen; I took that as a logical view that a field slave would have at the time, whereas some of my black friends were like "Django hates black people, just so film goers can say he's no different than the slave owners herp derp."

And then on the flip side when Shultz ponders whether Broomhilda is inside or outside the house, Django seems offended by the assertion and basically says "she's pretty, of course she'll be in the house." I found that to be an interesting undercurrent to the film, one that is both historical and honest. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that many white people aren't familiar with the concept considering how absent slavery is in most public school history curriculum, and those that are familiar seem to only recognize it on partisan political grounds that serve their agenda (for instance, the idea that black republicans=Uncle Toms; or that black democrats=content slaves).

The BEST part of Stephen's character is that he is not your stereotypical house negro archetype character.

QT bringing it

[Positive Touch]

  i take back my criticism

spoiler (click to show/hide)

but seriously old dude:

[close]

[Himu]

i take back my criticism

spoiler (click to show/hide)

but seriously old dude:

[close]

Like I said before. You have a idyllic, almost mythical idea of what black power even is. 

Django is a man who talks to white people in a time when it was the norm in America for blacks to not do that. Django reads, thought by all purposes, he shouldn't. Django has a wife, which again, by that time periods estimation he shouldn't. Django talks crap to white people like any other person and is not scared to do so. Django rides a horse, which to many, he shouldn't be allowed to do. Django rises above slavery and becomes a man, despite his blackness, doing great things and becoming a truly great person.

The most refreshing black film since Hotel Rwanda - that embodies everything about black power/black pride...

and you mention a fucking Black Panther rolling in his grave.

Never talk about race relations ever again, for my sake.

[Phoenix Dark]

Hotel Rwanda was refreshing? Too ripe for me

[Himu]

00's was fucking dry. I could have said the Great Debaters, but I don't think it's that refreshing. I was thinking of saying City of God, but I forgot what year it came out. I should emphasize on good. The top black films of the 00's are what, Love and Basketball, Antwone Fisher, Precious, Baby Boy, Brown Sugar, City of God, Drumline (). It wasn't as varied as the 90's, that's for sure.

When did Undercover Brother come out? I miss black comedy films that aren't Tyler fucking Perry.

[Himu]

Goddamn looking at that list it's good to have a black movie where it's funny as hell. These other movies are too damn serious. Drumline

[brawndolicious]

Fucking Drumline? I don't know if that's sarcasm.

I was like 13 when Undercover Brother came out so I guess early 2000's. It's near the end of the decade but there was also Black Dynamite.

[Himu]

You hating on Drumline? You probably don't "get it" because you weren't a band kid.

I forgot about Black Dynamite. Goddamn.

[brawndolicious]

I was in band! Not Jazz band, I wasn't good enough. But I was still in band.

And I was a drummer!

I have a really serious question though: Can only black people have black power? I'm Iranian so that makes me ethnically Aryan and obviously I can't say that I have Aryan power. I want to get some of that black power.

[Himu]

BAND BUDDIES

[Eric P]

drumline is a legit very good film

[Vertigo]

Finally get to see this tomorrow as it's out in the UK.

[MyNameIsMethodis]

Himuro black people had wifes back then. They weren't legally realized though and (like in this film) once the slaves were traded away it was broken.

[Phoenix Dark]

I'm starting to doubt Himu's understanding of black power

[Himu]

Is it because of Drumline?

[Madrun Badrun]

[Himu]

PHOENIX DARK

[Mupepe]

I hated drumline.  But I haven't seen it in ages.  I remember hating it though. 

[Great Rumbler]

I don't know anything about Drumline, but Black Dynamite and Undercover Brother are SO AWESOME.

[Positive Touch]

real talk on a scale of 1-10, if malcom x were alive today how disappointed do you think he would be while reading through himus posting history

[MyNameIsMethodis]

could malcolm x even read 

[Phoenix Dark]

 

[Verdigris Murder]

I loved the bit when he was allowed to choose his own clothes, and also the way that guy from Mortal Kombat and The Warriors was given two roles, the Dukes of Hazard guy, and Goggins saying distinguished black fellow and duhjango.

There were also bits that were utterly suffused with gayness.

[Robo]

Has anyone ever been more appropriately typecast as a racist hick than Walton Goggins?

[drew]

Django became who he is because a white man free'd him and had to coddle him through the transition, every time they free'd slaves they had to be told that they were free and what to do before they even thought about taking any action on their own behalf.  I can definitely see where all the hoopla comes from.  anyways great movie, the violence was hilarious and the guy who played the German stole the show.

[Cerveza mas fina]

When I saw this in the theater, there was an audible gasp from the audience every time anyone said the N-word.  Really, every single time, right up to the very end.  I wonder if the trailers painted this out to be a different sort of film for those who aren't familiar with Tarantino.  What furthers my suspicion is that someone brought their 7-year-old (and then stayed through the entire showing) . . .

Who the fuck would bring a 7 year old to a Tarantino movie.

This is nothing to do with trailers but with people being stupid as fuck.

[Robo]

When I saw this in the theater, there was an audible gasp from the audience every time anyone said the N-word.  Really, every single time, right up to the very end.  I wonder if the trailers painted this out to be a different sort of film for those who aren't familiar with Tarantino.  What furthers my suspicion is that someone brought their 7-year-old (and then stayed through the entire showing) . . .

Who the fuck would bring a 7 year old to a Tarantino movie.

This is nothing to do with trailers but with people being stupid as fuck.

It's like bringing your 13 year old daughter to a Polanski.

[Lan]

I have made a promise to myself recently to never give money to any movie in theaters where the main plot revolves around a black character who is a slave, thug, ghetto, gangster, rapper, criminal, prostitute, crackhead, extremely overweight, has a speech impediment, mentally slow, or uneducated.

So I cant go see this movie.

[Madrun Badrun]

Ya I don't like to support black actors either.

[Madrun Badrun]

What?  I just feel like I shouldn't support bad acting.  That's all.  No racism. 

[Lan]

Ya I don't like to support black actors either.

Cause they can only play demeaning shit to pass as believable? Well i know you weren't saying that.

[Diunx]

I have made a promise to myself recently to never give money to any movie in theaters where the main plot revolves around a black character who is a slave, thug, ghetto, gangster, rapper, criminal, prostitute, crackhead, extremely overweight, has a speech impediment, mentally slow, or uneducated.

So I cant go see this movie.

lol

[Yeti]

I have made a promise to myself recently to never give money to any movie in theaters where the main plot revolves around a black character who is a slave, thug, ghetto, gangster, rapper, criminal, prostitute, crackhead, extremely overweight, has a speech impediment, mentally slow, or uneducated.

So I cant go see this movie.

What if it's just the B Story that deals with that and not the main plot?

[Positive Touch]

its always the side plot

[Lan]

If its a minor character that is a negative a stereotype, I miiiiiiight watch it on netflicks.

I forgot to add the mammy/black nurse maid, shuck and jive, baby mama, baby daddy, pimping aint easy attitude, gangs, strong black female/angry black woman, black man complaining about black women, and drug dealers.

Sure that might sound unreasonable, but until there are more movies with blacks in positive roles I plan to forgo watching movies with these stereotypes.

I dont have any problem with others enjoying these movies, more power to you!

[Great Rumbler]

But...Django has a black main character in a positive role...

[Lan]

But...Django has a black main character in a positive role...

I dont believe his role was as positive as it seems. From the reviews i have read, He acts like a child after being freed, and only starts to kill after asking if he can by his sidekick who is really his puppetmaster. He only does this killing to get his wife back. Not to get revenge because he was enslaved or that his people as a whole was enslaved.

He is a ex-slave with no education who relies on a white man to mold/teach him but he doesnt use his new found knowledge to make life better for ones still in slavery, he just wants to save his wife...

It would be a revenge film if after he saved his wife he fought to end slavery by meeting up with Abraham Lincon or start a task force to end slavery.

Sorry if I might be wrong, but I'm going by the reviews I have read.

[Madrun Badrun]

But...Django has a black main character in a positive role...

He never really felt like the main character until the white dude died. Then they have to spend another 30 mins building him up as the real main character.