Why We Love Django

Comedian and activist, in an interview said, “Every second you miss Django you are doing a disservice to your DNA.” As an observational metaphysician, someone who observes our culture through the lenses of philosophy, spirituality, science, signs, and symbols, I had a feeling Quintin Tarantino’s Django Unchained would be something special months before its Christmas Day theatrical release. Thing is – I didn’t have a clear picture of the magnitude with which this film would have an impact on moviegoers everywhere. People are raving that this is Quintin Tarantiono’s best work and one of their favorite films of all time. Hey! Dick Gregory said he saw the movie nine times.

Well, I only saw it once. Still, just one week after its release, according to RottenTomatoes.com, 89% of critics and 94% of its audience proclaim they enjoyed this film. Considering that Django Unchained is a spaghetti western (most people don’t even know what that is) with a run-time that approaches three hours, to see the audience erupt in applause after the closing scene nearly brought me to tears. As an artists and a creative person myself, I found the audience’s reaction profoundly inspiring. Every artist is trying to convey a message. It is each artist’s hope that the audience gets what is being conveyed. And, in the case of Django, the audience ‘got it.’ What is remarkable is that some of what was to be ‘had’ in seeing the film unfolded in the days following viewing it. It is not a film one forgets five-minutes after leaving the theater. On the contrary, it has excited dialogue among moviegoers, who are also mounting a strong case that folks should at-least see the movie before levying any critique of the film. I would suspect that most resonated with the movie’s message – that ‘love conquers all, even slavery.’ Some might view that theme as a bit naïve given the historic context, but when coupled with the theme of redemption it worked well in Django Unchained.

For African-American moviegoers, there is the obvious. In the 100-year history of Hollywood films, there exist very few mainstream films that depict the black guy getting the girl or even having a girl at-all. In fact, the black man is often the first to be sacrificed, as someone who is too inept, unsophisticated, and unintelligent to survive the first act. Imagine having to stomach hundreds of films where the only man who looks anything like you is seen as nothing more than fodder for the graveyard. For African-American filmgoers, Django Unchained was in stark contrast to the status quo. For once, almost every white person in the film was evil and a black hero survived the unspeakable and inescapable horrors heaped upon black innocents.

One of only a few other American films to gain mainstream popularity in addressing the atrocities suffered by blacks in America at the hands of slavers was Alex Hailey’s Roots. So, what Django Unchained did for a people whose story has remained for the most part untold is provide a measure of justification for a collective position and disposition held by so many for so long. Django Unchained can be viewed as an answer to questions like – “Why are you all so angry?” and “Why don’t you just get over it?”

The psychological, sociological, and spiritual damage caused by slavery cannot easily be expressed in words. Generation after generation, many have tried. This film approaches a depiction of what it must have been like. So, contrary to Spike Lee’s opinion, I think the ancestors would approve of this depiction. It’s almost like they are screaming out from the grave. “I was that woman! I was thrown in a hole like that.” Or, “I was that man. I walked hundreds of miles with no shoes on my feet.” Or, “I was torn apart by dogs. The petition for my life and my humanity went unheard.” Or, “There was a guy who sold me out like that on Massa’s plantation. He sold everyone out.”

Quintin Tarantino should not be viewed as some great white savior, but as a writer and director who managed to strike a chord with his audience. Some will certainly question his motives, but I much more prefer to focus on what he did than to speculate on why he did it. And, while Django Unchained will likely not be final or most enduring message about slavery and the sojourn of blacks in America, I don’t see Django as distracting from that discussion. Quintin Tarantino’s got people talking. That’s a good thing. And, that’s why we love Django. Something pinned-up in the collective consciousness of blacks in America was unchained with the release of this film.

Copyright. James Power. 2013