Saturday, December 29, 2012

JoJo Unchained

I still don't understand why we expect movies that take on historical subjects to be historically accurate or that the film makers have some responsibility to the groups represented. Film is art. Art is subjective, which is why it's so powerful and so necessary.

Here's why I saw "Django," Quentin Tarantino's new film about a slave hero:

1. I love Tarantino's cartoony bombast and high moralizing that usually results in some highly satisfying revenge fantasy in most of his films.

2. Despite the protests of Spike Lee and others, I believe that, even in this way, we need to communicate that slavery was an abomination that still has us in it's thrall--witness the last election and all the racial and sexist hatred swirling around this country. 'Who was that n_____?", a line from the film, is probably something some people are still saying about our President. In this film, we see an unvarnished and brutal depiction of that recent part of our history that some would have us forget.

3.  "Django" boasts a African-American male as a hero, one who fights to get his wife back. Love it. Because we haven't dealt with this part of our history and because some people are sliding back into a racially divisive mindset, we all need to see Black male heros and sheros.

Now. I was a little hesitant when I heard that the plot involves a white man, played by the amazing Christoph Waltz, enabling Django to freely begin his quest to find his wife. Once again, a white dude is the answer to a Black dude's problem.  But what I found is that Django, played with restrained fury and cool by Jaime Foxx, ennobles Waltz's character and involves him fully in assisting him to right an injustice that involves him only as a human being and not as a vengeful slave. He becomes invested in Django's quest through Django's determination and his admiration of a man who's survived all attempts to snuff him out.

Of course there is a big fantasy element here as Tarantino pays homage to the spaghetti westerns of Sergio Leone adding a little sip of the Blaxplotation movies of the '70's. And Kerry Washington only gets to react to being terrorized and used, her great brown eyes sometimes her only avenue of expression--but I'd also call her more than a plot device as I never questioned Django's devotion to her.

Samuel L. Jackson plays a character that I'm sure it was a little difficult to take on but I won't spoil it for you in case you want to see it. Suffice it to say that he's his usual spot on self.

It is hard on us as human beings to witness brutality, fictional and real. We've grown away from the savagery of the jungle, the horror of the Holocaust, the psychopathic notion that one race of people was put here on earth to serve another based on a bit of melanin. But we should never try to forget these atrocities but must bear witness to them and and make sure that our progeny learns the complete history of how this country came to be what it is.  Only then can we revel in the triumph of love and spirit we've created and only then will we be able to nurture it and enable all peoples of all colors to flourish.