In our modern day society, we as humans have become more
consciously aware of social issues. There is a much greater emphasis placed on
equality, or a contribution to reaching equality across all races, genders,
cultures, abilities, or preferences. Media plays a quintessential role in the
mentality of our society, and thus the ability to change that mentality. Cinema
is a common avenue for introducing social arguments. As Giannetti explains in Understanding Movies, “Virtually every movie presents us with role
models, ideal ways of behaving, negative traits, and an implied morality based
on the filmmakers sense of right and wrong”(Giannetti 403). One way to test a
films contribution to change is with “The Representation Test”. This is a media
literacy tool used to create awareness and encourage overall diversity in
cinema. I have chosen to analyze Django
Unchained, and its contribution to social change based off of the
Representation Test.
Django Unchained is
a comedy western film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino in 2012. The
film follows a freed slave in his quest to find and free his wife. Based off of
The Representation Test, Django received
a grade of 2 or a “D”. The two areas
where the film received points were “Does the film avoid perpetuating an
extreme and unhealthy body ideal for men?” and “Does the film include one or
more men of color, in speaking roles, who are NOT reduced to racial
stereotypes?” Throughout the film, there is not a heavy emphasis placed on
ideal physique of men. Although there are many fit individuals in the film, it
is not a central focus. There are also several key characters with normal body
types. Generally, most of the lead male roles are clothed for the movie, apart
from Jamie Foxx. Even still, his body is not extreme or unhealthy. In this
aspect, the film is successful in creating equality amongst physical
differences in men.
One of the central points of Django, and a point it earned on the Representation Test was
including a man of color in a speaking role who is not reduced to a stereotype.
Django is this character, granted he began as a stereotype. Django begins the
film as a slave with minimal say in what he is able to do. He is fearful of the
white man, and does not want to overstep his bounds. He has deep, gruesome laceration
scars on his back. He is portrayed as timid and helpless. This appeal to pathos
helps to connect the viewer with Django, and enhance the argument. As Giannetti
says, “Emotionally vulnerable characters appeal to our protective instincts”
(Giannetti 406). The viewer will further side with equality in an attempt to be
the protector of Django. Upon being freed, he is very fearful of his actions. Once
he is freed, Django slowly begins to develop into a complex, non-stereotypical
figure. He builds the confidence to say such things as “Kill white people and
get paid for it? What’s not to like” and “the D is silent, Hillbilly.” These
examples show the evolution of Django, and his comfort in speaking toward the
white people. Django evolves into the protagonist of the film, and eventually
kills a multitude of white people in order to save his wife. Although the
violence does create some negative connotation toward Django, he does break
social barriers through these actions. There are few films that have had a man
of color in the dominant position over the white man. From this perspective,
Django has posed an argument for social change, yet it still received a “D”.
I was very surprised by the results of the Representation
Test. Upon watching Django, I believe it does argue significantly for a
cultural and social issue. Django, a black protagonist, escapes slavery and
becomes a complex, independent hero in essence. He also is portrayed as
intellectually superior to his white counterparts. This defies many past social
norms and insinuates a change in ideology amongst viewers. It is a strong
implied thesis in the movie, and cannot go unnoticed, even thought the movie is
a comedy.
The Representation Test is not a fair scoring system. The
reason for this is that many films focus on a central issue, rather than a
combination of many issues. Focusing on one issue creates a much stronger
argument than focusing on many. For example, Django focuses on slavery, and the true complexity and capabilities
of Django. This is the central idea and enables the audience to focus
specifically on this idea. Had there also been a complex gay character, a
complex handicapped character, and a complex female character, Django would
have lost his importance in making an argument.
Another potential flaw in the Representation Test is the
intentional creation of a stereotype. For example, in the film, the slaves are
intended to be stereotypical slaves and the white slave-owners are intended to
be stereotypical slave-owners. This conformity to stereotype plays a role in
the success of the argument. If Django had the same personality as a slave as
when he was a freed man, the audience would not connect the idea of slaveries
danger to the human emotions. The stereotype allows for Django to make a statement about social change. If the slave-owners
were portrayed as kind females with complex ideas, the film would have lost the
legitimacy of its argument. There are times when stereotypes are necessary.
Django does successfully argue a social position to its
audience, despite the “D” grade it received from The Representation Test. The
Representation Test should be altered to account for a central theme as well as
intentional stereotypes. Overall, I would suggest Django has a movie everyone
should see. Even though it is a comedy, it does have historical and social
legitimacy, and it does advocate for a change in behavior.
No comments:
Post a Comment