Escape to the Movies: Django Unchained

[Nieroshai]

I only read the first and last pages, but I'm saying this because I haven't seen it come up.

I have no personal problem with the theme of the movie itself, and enjoyed the movie as a whole. Jamie Foxx, however, made the movie painful and nauseating. If he was just racist, I could ignore his views and enjoy the film. That being said, Foxx himself stated that his favorite part of being in the film was that he got to shoot white folks. That's right, the best part of playing Django was that he could live a personal fantasy where he single-handedly punishes White America for deeds centuries past.

Tarantino is usually brilliant with casting, and Foxx did do well, but this kind of vendetta should've disqualified him and led casting to someone else. I don't want to go to a movie knowing the lead actor hates my kind with a passion, and Tarantino was the only reason I overcame it.


Incidentally, since it has come up before, I'm from a Scandinavian family that hadn't even crossed the pond yet by this time. My ancestors neither owned slaves nor had an opinion of America's practice of it. I mention this because "White American" doesn't apply to me if "slave blood" still gets to apply to African Americans. We just weren't here. And we were shoved into mines once we were.

 

[Muggizz]

Spoiler

There are some things I still don't understand about Django Unchained. First why Candie so desperately wanted Dr Schutz to shake his hand. And what the Dr's motives were that Bob was talking about. Please someone explain!

On a side note, fantastic movie!

 

[Tormuse]

Spoiler

There are some things I still don't understand about Django Unchained. First why Candie so desperately wanted Dr Schutz to shake his hand. And what the Dr's motives were that Bob was talking about. Please someone explain!

On a side note, fantastic movie!

Spoiler

As to your first question, I'd say that Candie is a very proud man who wants to hold himself as being superior to everyone else and the fact that Schultz and Django fooled him makes him really angry and want to get the better of them. Getting the deal he wanted wasn't good enough for him; he wanted to humiliate Schultz and Django further, especially since he perceived that they really had no respect for him. When Schultz said he hopes he never sees Candie again, Candie felt insulted and insisted on the handshake to remind Schultz that he's "superior" and always gets his way. The handshake is sort of a symbolic way for him to say, "I'm the best. You'd better accept it."

As for Dr. Schultz's motives, I'm not sure. I suppose that since he's the only German around makes him feel really isolated and helping Django find his Broomhilda like in the German legend gives him some kind of catharsis or something. I'm not sure if that's what Bob meant, but that's what I got from it.

 

[Galletea]

Regardless of how much I agree with Bob this time, he still manages to piss me off. Comparing Bane to Loki. As far as I'm concerned, Bane is better simply because Christopher Nolan moved away from super camp comic book villains. And Avengers pisses me off just thinking about it and its cheap ass thrills and crappy one liners. I'm not after a discussion, just needed to vent.

And relax...

Anyways, everyone is great in this movie except for Sam Jackson, who after a few minutes as a convincing old 'house-******' soon reverts back to just playing Sam Jackson. Which isn't something to be commended. I wish he'd pack that nonsense in and try to act for more than five minutes next time.

 

[xdiesp]

Someone mentioned that in Europe, slavery had been abolished by "decades". Heh. It was christians who abolished it almost 2 millennia before, and what replaced it was servanthood, of the plebes against the aristocracy. But as soon as colonialist powers emerged, from Venice to Spain, taking war hostages and turning them into slaves got fashionable again: since the target was also moor or black, however, racism fused with such abject practice.

 

[GrimHeaper]

Did no one compare this to that one Boondocks episode?
It reminded me of it a lot going by the review.

 

[Muggizz]

Spoiler

There are some things I still don't understand about Django Unchained. First why Candie so desperately wanted Dr Schutz to shake his hand. And what the Dr's motives were that Bob was talking about. Please someone explain!

On a side note, fantastic movie!

Spoiler

As to your first question, I'd say that Candie is a very proud man who wants to hold himself as being superior to everyone else and the fact that Schultz and Django fooled him makes him really angry and want to get the better of them. Getting the deal he wanted wasn't good enough for him; he wanted to humiliate Schultz and Django further, especially since he perceived that they really had no respect for him. When Schultz said he hopes he never sees Candie again, Candie felt insulted and insisted on the handshake to remind Schultz that he's "superior" and always gets his way. The handshake is sort of a symbolic way for him to say, "I'm the best. You'd better accept it."

As for Dr. Schultz's motives, I'm not sure. I suppose that since he's the only German around makes him feel really isolated and helping Django find his Broomhilda like in the German legend gives him some kind of catharsis or something. I'm not sure if that's what Bob meant, but that's what I got from it.

Spoiler

Yeah, watching it again, that really makes sense. Great response, thanks!