Concerning Quentin Tarantino's Latest Controversy

Many of you may be aware of the recent controversy of Spike Lee's comments directed at Tarantino, saying that he would not go to see the movie because he believed that it would be disrespectful to his ancestors. Spike has frequently been critical of Tarantino's use of the "n word," and has spoken out against Tarantino's undertaking of projects that Spike finds disrespectful to African-Americans. Tarantino has responded strongly to the comments, firing back at Spike, calling him racist and escalating their feud. Recently, an African-American friend of mine on Facebook posted a bit about this, and I felt moved to write him a letter about my thoughts on the matter. I have included below an excerpt from my letter with some of my thoughts on the subject. Know that I mean no disrespect to anyone in the comments that I make, and if I offend you, I hope you understand that I do not mean to. Feel free to comment and discuss.

I have been following this very closely and reading a lot about what he is saying, critics are saying, Spike has been saying, and various articles online. I am sure we both know quite a bit about this history that Spike has with Tarantino, as well as Tarantino's history with Spike. They have had a long standing battle over Tarantino's use of racial slurs, and Django seems to be the ultimate culmination of such. My opinion has changed a couple of times about it, and I have thought a lot about it, and I have wanted to engage you about it because it really seems like it would be beneficial to discuss.

I went last night to see it for the second time, and I have come to a few conclusions. First, allow me to begin at my thoughts prior to the film ever existing as a project about Tarantino and his use of the "N" word. When it comes up in his other films, like Pulp Fiction for example, it seems to be overused and odd. As a person who is not black, I cannot even begin to understand the emotions that a person who is in regards to this. Especially the scene in Pulp Fiction (if you have seen it) with Tarantino himself and his use of it. If for comedic effect, while occasionally effective for certain audiences, it just seems unnecessary. Does he use it because he thinks it fits/is necessary, or is he trying to make a statement of some sort?

I had a conversation with an African American friend long ago about why members of the Black community use it, and the conclusion that I came to was that it is used as a way of depriving it of its meaning for empowering purposes. While it may vary, that seems to be the general idea to me. With that conclusion, I have come to the conclusion that Quentin Tarantino believes in using it probably for similar purposes, but it seems to sometimes have the opposite effect. While some may understand this, it seems misguided for him to try to do this, but I really believe that his intentions are honest.

Flash forward to the idea of the film being announced officially about a year and a half ago. When I heard, I thought "Well, he probably really wants to do this, but you have to know he is partially doing this to have free reign of using the 'n' word." I held that attitude until I saw the film, and still think that it may hold some merit. However, I thought after watching the film, and after some investigation, that there is a bit of honesty to his intentions that should NOT be ignored. 

I saw the film with certain expectations, and they were challenged a lot. I will not ruin it for you if you have not seen it, but I can say that it is hardly the racist film that it could be. I think you will be interested to know that Tarantino throws the "n" word in the film a lot, as is to be expected, but not distastefully as he may have done with Pulp Fiction. He, himself, does appear in the film, and the character he plays never says it. White characters say it, but only ones that are meant to be hated and thought of as racially prejudiced. The portrait that Tarantino paints in Django Unchained is a bleak one, but one that is only meant to demonstrate the brutality, unfairness, and disgust of what was American Slavery. This film is the most important one that he has made (and I believe that Pulp Fiction is one of the 100 greatest films ever made), and one that is different from what he has done in the past in a few ways. This film is all social statement, not one that I am saying he has the right to make, but one he is making nonetheless. I read one critic say that "this is not the only film ever made about American slavery, but it may be the closest to it." In the same regards that Schindler's List chronicles the epic suffering of the Jews in the Holocaust, Django Unchained chronicles some of the epic suffering of what Africans suffered during American slavery. The difference between the two is that Schindler's List was made by someone who "has a right to make it" and Django was not. Certainly, it has some motifs characteristic of Tarantino films, but he does something different here, I think. I have thought about it, and the really only good movie that is meant to chronicle the horrors of slavery is Roots, which has not aged as well as it could. I hope that we can discuss this, because I have really said a lot here, but if you only get one thing from this, I hope you get that I am not supporting Tarantino, I am merely questioning the animosity that he has received, and thinking that there may be more here.