Setting the Tone of 1858

“They ain't never seen no nigga on no horse before.” That line perfectly sets the tone for the historical setting—pre-Civil War America—of Quentin Tarantino's 2012 film, Django Unchained. While the film does not contain any historical figures, it does an excellent job of portraying the time period. For example, throughout the film whites—with the exception Christoph Waltz's bounty hunter character—look down on Django because he is black. Though this does change somewhat when Django assumes the black slaver character, it is still subtly there. During the films time period a majority of whites in the south would have looked at blacks the same way, just as the previous generations had. The film does not touch on racism being taught; it might have felt out of place considering the plot.

One controversy the film has gathered is the repeated use of the word nigger. Film director Spike Lee is one of this aspects biggest critics, even though he admitted to not personally seeing the film. His criticism seems to come down to the fact that Tarantino is white; sadly, I feel that if Tarantino were black, Mr Lee would not have this problem. Personally, I feel the repeated use of the word fits the context of the period. Though I am sure not all of them used it, I find it hard to believe that plantation owners who figured themselves superior to their black slaves would not address them with the word nigger. To not even use the word once would be an insult to history.

I was surprised to see the study of Phrenology make in appearance in the film. Like the language, I felt it fit the context of not only the period, but of the character who brought it up. Calvin Candy is the archetypical southern plantation owner without being too stereotypical—partially due to Leonardo Dicaprio's outstanding performance. Calvin's monologue about Phrenology shows not only how twisted his mind is, but how far slave owners would go to justify their system. It is one thing to think hate, but it goes to another level when you try to justify it with biological science. I feel pity for the people who believed in Phrenology, and even more for those who still do.

Another controversy surrounds Samuel L Jackson's character, Stephen. In the context of the film he is the head house slave. Acting wise, the character comes off like the old happy slave, Uncle Toms Cabin stereotype. On the outside this might be offense, but after watching the film twice I noticed something about the character: the Uncle Tom routine is a facade. Twice during the film Stephen drops the act: once when he's talking to Calvin Candy in private, and once during the climax when only Django and himself are left in the house. From this, my interpretation is that Stephen is the evilest character in the film. He acts all joyous and over-the-top in front of the other slaves and plantation workers, but behind closed doors the real Stephen—one molded by his position and the slave system—emerges. Racism is bad, but self racism can be just as bad.