Django Unchained is a film that was written and directed by Quentin Tarantino and released in 2012. It has been a part of conversations of controversy for how it portrays certain aspects of the time era that it is set in (late 1850’s/early 60’s). One of these controversies was of the portrayal of African Americans and slavery. While another prominent controversy pertained to historical inaccuracy.
The main controversy of the film is how frequently the “N-word” is used in the film. Some find the usage ‘inappropriate’, as they believe it is used far too much. Spike Lee is one of these people, noting that “it’s disrespectful to [his] ancestors”. On the other hand, there are others who defended that the usage of the word stays true to that time period’s norms when addressing slaves and African Americans. Jamie Foxx and Samuel L. Jackson were among those who held this point of view. Quentin Tarantino has come under fire before for his usage of the word in films prior to this, with a lot of flak coming from the fact that he’s a white director, so he can’t necessarily speak on “the black experience”.
Another area of controversy was a moving scene that involved a brutal fight, referred to as a ‘mandingo fight’. This fight involved two slaves fighting to the death. A historian, Edna Greene Medford, noted that there were never documented accounts of this actually happening, only rumors that these fights had actually occurred. Another historian had noted that fights like these wouldn’t be too far out of character for slave masters. While also noting that this would be unlikely, solely due to their personal finances. They wouldn’t bet against themselves (their money) by pitting their slaves against each other.
Despite all the controversy, there were still accepting outlooks on certain aspects of the film. The main aspect is the physical reality of the treatment/punishment of slaves within the film. Despite the brutal fight, there were other scenes of violence portrayed in the film that reflected what has been proven to have actually happened. These scenes of violence contained slaves being whipped, slaves being put into “hot boxes”, and dogs being released onto a slave as punishment for attempting to escape. These scenes are very emotional and moving, as well as unsettling. Especially because when these scenes occur, they are a reminder that these are events that have actually happened. They weigh in on the reality of how truly brutal slavery was.