Django Unchained - A Human Rights Film Review
Django Unchained is a 2012 Quentin Tarantino western film. It follows a freed slave named Django on his journey to save his wife Broomhilda von Shaft from Calvin Candie, a Mississippi plantation owner. He is accompanied by a German bounty hunter, Dr. King Schultz, who is also the man who freed him from slavery.
As it takes place in the Southern American racist times, there are many different examples of human rights violations throughout the film. Going in the order in which they appear, Article 4 is violated immediately, which states, "No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms." Django begins as a slave, held in slavery due solely to his skin colour. This corresponds with Article 1, "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood." Django, in being held a slave, is stripped of his dignity and his rights. He is forced to walk barefoot across long, harsh distances wearing nothing save for a cloth, with chains around his ankles which force him to shuffle. Only after he, and the other slaves, are freed by Dr. King Schultz does he gain back his dignity and rights. He then accompanies the ex-dentist in his bounty hunting work, and the two develop a close bond through their shared views on the unfairness of the society they live in. Article 5 is perhaps the most abused article in the film, as it states, "No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment." Django and Broomhilda, as shown through flashbacks, are branded for marrying. Broomhilda is then whipped on the back while Django is forced to watch, and they are separated; Django is sold to a slaver, Broomhilda to Calvin Candie. At 'Candie Land', as it is dubbed by its inhabitants, Broomhilda is locked in a box without access to basic necessities for a prolonged period of time in punishment for attempting to escape the place. When Django finally arrives and witnesses this, he becomes deeply angry. To Django's further disgust, Candie is associated with Mandingo fighting, where coloured males are pitted against each other and forced to fight brutally until one of them dies. This violates Article 3, which is, "Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person." If they fail to kill the other when given the chance, they are punished with their life. Candie sends a pack of vicious dogs one one such Mandingo fighter, who cracks under pressure and flees instead of killing his opponent, and this scene causes Schultz to become very deeply emotionally scarred. Overall, Article 2 is abused throughout the entire film, since it states that, "Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty." The main focus of the movie is the hard lives led by coloured people during that time period and their gruesome struggle for rights and for freedom.
These abuses have a strong impact on many different characters throughout the film. Django and Broomhilda are separated despite being husband and wife, and want nothing more than to be reunited with one another; however, the prospect is dismal for them. In reuniting, they lose Schultz as their true intentions are discovered by Candie (who thinks that the two men are truly interested in investing in Mandingo fighting as opposed to rescuing Broomhilda) in a gunfight which also kills Candie himself. Turned bitter by his companion's death, Django goes on a rampage (after escaping being tortured by Billy Crash, a fellow slaver of Candie's) and slaughters everyone in Candie Land, save for the maids. Although it ends happily with Django and Broomhilda reunited, free, and content, many lives are lost in the process. The society in the film puts emphasis on the supposed superiority of white people, and the imposed inferiority of coloured people.
As for the cinematography, Quentin Tarantino utilizes many different tactics to achieve catharsis in the audience. For one, he uses several reaction shots, where the camera zooms in on a particular character's face to show the emotion invoked in them by a stirring scene, such as the disturbed look on Schultz's face when he sees the Mandingo fighter being ripped to shreds by dogs, or the anger in Django's eyes and the tensing of his stance when he views his wife being taken out of the punishment box. As well, the music is deeply passionate, in that it often has themes of freedom in it, especially during flashbacks to Broomhilda. On the other hand, Tarantino utilizes dead silence during serious or frightening moments to further heighten the tension, such as the bone-chilling scene where Candie becomes angered when he learns of their plan to free Broomhilda. Tarantino is known for his blatant brutality in his films, and Django Unchained is no exception. He is unafraid to show the violent acts in their full nature without sugar coating, such as the Mandingo fighting, or the whippings. This drives further in the feelings of disturbance and sympathy by the audience as they are shocked into feeling.
In all, Django Unchained effectively depicts the cruelty of racism, all the while incorporating humour and good conversation (mainly between Django and Schultz) to lighten the tension, so that it is easier to watch than some movies about human rights abuse.
As it takes place in the Southern American racist times, there are many different examples of human rights violations throughout the film. Going in the order in which they appear, Article 4 is violated immediately, which states, "No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms." Django begins as a slave, held in slavery due solely to his skin colour. This corresponds with Article 1, "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood." Django, in being held a slave, is stripped of his dignity and his rights. He is forced to walk barefoot across long, harsh distances wearing nothing save for a cloth, with chains around his ankles which force him to shuffle. Only after he, and the other slaves, are freed by Dr. King Schultz does he gain back his dignity and rights. He then accompanies the ex-dentist in his bounty hunting work, and the two develop a close bond through their shared views on the unfairness of the society they live in. Article 5 is perhaps the most abused article in the film, as it states, "No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment." Django and Broomhilda, as shown through flashbacks, are branded for marrying. Broomhilda is then whipped on the back while Django is forced to watch, and they are separated; Django is sold to a slaver, Broomhilda to Calvin Candie. At 'Candie Land', as it is dubbed by its inhabitants, Broomhilda is locked in a box without access to basic necessities for a prolonged period of time in punishment for attempting to escape the place. When Django finally arrives and witnesses this, he becomes deeply angry. To Django's further disgust, Candie is associated with Mandingo fighting, where coloured males are pitted against each other and forced to fight brutally until one of them dies. This violates Article 3, which is, "Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person." If they fail to kill the other when given the chance, they are punished with their life. Candie sends a pack of vicious dogs one one such Mandingo fighter, who cracks under pressure and flees instead of killing his opponent, and this scene causes Schultz to become very deeply emotionally scarred. Overall, Article 2 is abused throughout the entire film, since it states that, "Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty." The main focus of the movie is the hard lives led by coloured people during that time period and their gruesome struggle for rights and for freedom.
These abuses have a strong impact on many different characters throughout the film. Django and Broomhilda are separated despite being husband and wife, and want nothing more than to be reunited with one another; however, the prospect is dismal for them. In reuniting, they lose Schultz as their true intentions are discovered by Candie (who thinks that the two men are truly interested in investing in Mandingo fighting as opposed to rescuing Broomhilda) in a gunfight which also kills Candie himself. Turned bitter by his companion's death, Django goes on a rampage (after escaping being tortured by Billy Crash, a fellow slaver of Candie's) and slaughters everyone in Candie Land, save for the maids. Although it ends happily with Django and Broomhilda reunited, free, and content, many lives are lost in the process. The society in the film puts emphasis on the supposed superiority of white people, and the imposed inferiority of coloured people.
As for the cinematography, Quentin Tarantino utilizes many different tactics to achieve catharsis in the audience. For one, he uses several reaction shots, where the camera zooms in on a particular character's face to show the emotion invoked in them by a stirring scene, such as the disturbed look on Schultz's face when he sees the Mandingo fighter being ripped to shreds by dogs, or the anger in Django's eyes and the tensing of his stance when he views his wife being taken out of the punishment box. As well, the music is deeply passionate, in that it often has themes of freedom in it, especially during flashbacks to Broomhilda. On the other hand, Tarantino utilizes dead silence during serious or frightening moments to further heighten the tension, such as the bone-chilling scene where Candie becomes angered when he learns of their plan to free Broomhilda. Tarantino is known for his blatant brutality in his films, and Django Unchained is no exception. He is unafraid to show the violent acts in their full nature without sugar coating, such as the Mandingo fighting, or the whippings. This drives further in the feelings of disturbance and sympathy by the audience as they are shocked into feeling.
In all, Django Unchained effectively depicts the cruelty of racism, all the while incorporating humour and good conversation (mainly between Django and Schultz) to lighten the tension, so that it is easier to watch than some movies about human rights abuse.