DiCaprio ignored it, stayed in character, and continued with the scene. Because he has so much control over the character (if you still have doubts over his amount of control, Schultz’s first name is KING) designated for the “hero” role and then steals it from him? And, this is exactly Tarantino’s aim. The German myth of Siegfried and Broomhilda provides an allegory for Django's rescue of his wife. So mental that while it looks that Tarantino actually believes This is what Schultz discovered by freeing Django. Pablo, yes, I couldn't agree more with your understanding of Tarantino's intention. Yes, these forms of entertainment are a far cry from watching black slaves kill each other for sport. We are different human beings.". You are right - I should have added this important point, so thanks for letting me elaborate here. Dreams have been described as dress rehearsals for real life, opportunities to gratify wishes, and a form of nocturnal therapy. In Django, King and Django carry on this tradition but with a twist. The D is silent.” There was a cosmic rightness with Franco Nero’s cameo appearance in Django Unchained. Before I get started, allow me to explain what the “hero’s journey” truly is. A key plot point of Quentin Tarantino’s western-blaxploitation-revenge movie is the supposed sport of Mandingo fighting, in which two (black) slaves fight in a bare-knuckle death match, for no reason other than the (white) slaveowners’ enjoyment. It’s true that you will do what you have to, which includes subscribing to social rules and laws, to satisfy some desires. Django initially argues against it, but Schultz comforts him and tells its okay because the man is a “bad guy.” At this point, you’re forced to wonder what kind of a man Schultz is. Inglorious Bastards is similar to Django Unchained in that both films re-imagine an era of historic tragedy. Django Unchained, a 2012 American revisionist Western film; Django, a 2017 French film; Music. Hello Pablo, thank you for responding so quickly. Calvin Candie for all intent and purposes is a gentleman. DiCaprio is easily becoming one of my favorite actors and with each of his films it becomes increasingly evident why directors from Eastwood to Spielberg to Scorsese want to cast him in everything. According to Freud, your innate desire is to reap the greatest pleasure from living, by gaining an upper hand on people and circumstance. Leonardo DiCaprio’s climax scene from Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained has become a subject for many hilarious memes. and can't tell the difference between the two. Murnau’s film Emerald of Death (1919) (Emerald of Death). One of the Wanted posters on the wall in the film is for Edwin Porter. But, I think by Taratino's ending, the connection between them stops here. Imagine, for example, you are hungry and want to eat. This meaning is a constant factor in Django Unchained and endeavours to inform us how easy it is to give into someone’s beliefs and actions even when it has caused harm to you in the past. She does so to feel good about herself because her real desire is to ignore rather than help needy people. Best to you. Pablo Gener. Schultz symbolically stands for us today looking upon slavers and their horrific behaviors from a position of emotional, social and political development. I think, his subconscious was already working it through, so that when the moment arose, he was poised for authentic action. For example, in Freud's theory of human motivation, Mother Teresa's desire to help needy and suffering people is more selfish than selfless. Pablo, what do you think? I don't think Schultz knew that he was going to shoot Candie until the moment that he did. And thank you for taking the time to comment. You will get a job and buy food, rather than steal it, to avoid punishment. All except one, that's right in the middle, that has little to non graphical on-screen blood-and-gore violence, and to me was the actual message-conveying part of the movie, the one the makers *wanted* everyone to watch, to have everybody in the cinema to just sit there and not miss a single second of it, because it was the most important part of the movie. It's a sort of "12 years a slave-my ass!" Django Unchained initially represents itself as the sole story of Django and his “unchaining,” or break from bondage. Django Unchained both entertains and emotionally unnerves you in a way that only a Quentin Tarantino film can achieve. You, my Argentinian friend are a natural psychologist. Tarantino gets us to consider the features of human beings that make them the most fit to survive. Don't believe me, go rematch it. He held together well during the Mandingo fights, but for some reason, it took this graphic notion to finally break him. I wish you would expand your article examining the schene where Shcultz dies right after he "couldn't resist" shooting down Candie. If everyone could feel deeply the plight of another person what a beautiful world this would be. Freud would have us think that even these loftier pursuits can be linked back to a selfish desire to feel good about yourself. Quentin Tarantino explodes (both figuratively and literally), ridiculous amounts of blood cover on screen, and Django becomes the hero he’s billed to be. Although shooting Candie seems like a villainous act (thanks to Stephen brutally crying over Candie), Schultz has firmly rooted himself in the hero role by choosing a “valid” and “just” reason to kill. This moment provides the only concrete bit of Schultz’s characterization for the first third of the film. My class meets this Friday night in Berkeley to have dinner together, watch Django, and discuss it. The name “Django” is a Romani name meaning “I awake.” django unchained meaning Django is the main protagonist of Django Unchained. Tarantino was so […] Django Unchained is a movie concerned with the violence done to black flesh. The film’s use of humor isn’t designed to cover the horrifying abuse of black slaves. Django Unchained, in addition being a Western revenge drama about a liberated slave's uprising against antebellum slaveowners, is also a retelling of the German myth of Siegfried and Broomhilda. I promise i have just scratched the surface and I encourage you to rewatch it and tell me what you think of this idea. When the slave is being torn apart by dogs, we see the first break in Schultz’s poker face. But, staying true to my psychoanalytic understanding of the film and its characters, Schultz killing Candie was symbolically killing a part of himself. Set in the Old West and Antebellum South, it is a highly-stylized, heavily-revisionist tribute to Spaghetti Westerns, in particular the 1966 Italian film Django by Sergio Corbucci, whose star Franco Nero has a cam… The Mercenary (1968) The bullet going through the flower corsage mimics a similar … You see, here is where the film’s dissonance begins. Freud continually added to and revised his understanding of human nature. Nonetheless, this fantasy, spaghetti-style western that some have called a “slave revenge fantasy” will have you pondering its odd uniting of serious social issues with the absurd, long after having seen it. Thank you so much for visiting me today. Yet, it feels tacked on. While Schultz arguably has the better character and story, the film isn’t billed as “Schultz Unchained.” Django’s story still needs to be told. Unchain definition, to free from or as if from chains; set free. Thank you for a wonderful conversation about this very important film. At first it’s confusing, until you realize Django is still involved. This is to let the viewer know that we’re not in Django’s story anymore, we’re in Schultz’s. But, I will let you decide what you think about this. “I’m Sorry, I Couldn’t Resist” “I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist” are the final words we hear Dr. King Schultz … Written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained is a film that provides valuable insight into slave hierarchies in the American South during the mid-nineteenth century. Django bounty hunts with Schultz for six months, in return for which Schultz will help Django to free his wife from slavery. I hadn't realized it before and I'm a huge Tarantino fan. I am a psychoanalytically oriented psychiatrist who thinks of Freud as a genius. The first act ends when Django kills the three brothers, and Schultz’s act begins when they first meet Candie. His emotional turmoil of facing Candie, facing his villain, forced Schultz to give up the villain persona and become the hero. and even says 'I couldn't resist'!-haha, that's genius"! "Freedom" Track Info. A scene where the actor has made a very sarcastic and funny expression, holding a glass of wine has been going viral on the internet. This mystery fuels the rest of the narrative. Warmly Deborah. If you have an ounce of moral, psychological, and spiritual awareness and sensitivity, you will leave the film “morally queasy,” like CNN blogger Gene Seymour did. Synopsis In 1858, Django (Jamie Foxx), a slave, is chained to a bunch of other slaves and being marched to his new owner's estate in Texas by the Speck brothers. I think you really know what you talk about and have felt "identified" with the things you say, like the conclusion I came to, when Shcultz "can't resist" killing Candie. Blowing up a plantation seems like … That is so true! Shooting Candie rather than shaking his hand was Schultz's first real passionate and instinctive response to Candie's horrific treatment of slaves and people in general. Also, the two films differ widely in tone. I'm really looking forward to your reply to these things I point out. And boy, this is a long one. Some of the remarks you make really strike a nerve. This is the aspect of social and moral development that shows that you have learned how to negotiate desire with norms. right? As far as being an insight into race--it's too easy to hate the plantation owner and forget about the racism today. But, you may tune in regularly to Monday night football or watch boxing matches. Deborah. Furthermore when Mr. Candie is explaining the submissiveness of slaves he explains how it is mind blowing that the slaves don't kill the captors, even when handed the opportunity on a silver platter. And, if you’d like to share it with others, please Tweet or Google+1 today’s article. Who is the main character? Schultz and Candie are men who like to think they have control of people and the situation. Also, the novelist-satirist-poet Ishmael Reed believes that Tarantino's latest film is an “insult to the spaghetti western genre." but then again, aside from the "social and political" analysis there's *your* article, about the psychological aspects of the screenplay and the story itself. Or, perhaps you watch Bravo's housewives who are known for their violent outbursts and brawls. A very interesting take on Tarantino, Anonymous. A hero’s journey centers on a chosen individual, conventionally average, who has to go through a set of trials and reach a point of transcendence (or evolution) because of struggle and the persistence to overcome that struggle. His story feels tacked on, and almost unnecessary because the viewer has yet to see a story that isn’t controlled by Schultz. And to do so, to catch our attentions and to get us to stick to our seats and really pay attention to what is going on, he added all the other popstickle-grade "violent-and-funny" cottillon artifacts he stuffed the screenplay with. He might also have noted the deep debt Slotkin pays to Cooper as the founder of the American Western and his use of race as a catalyst to understanding America. That moment in the movie was the most moving and profoundly touching one. He is so cerebral. It sounds like you have a deep appreciation of how race is inextricably bound to Americas culture and al though I hinted at this only, I agree wholeheartedly with your deep insights. He’s spent a good amount of time with this man he thought he knew. After Schultz dies, and his hero’s journey ends, the film continues for some reason. The revenge scenes are mild in comparison. He becomes “the fastest gun in the West” only after Schultz’s story ends, and Django is allowed to finish his. Get the help you need from a therapist near you–a FREE service from Psychology Today. Possibly. It’s all about Dr. King Schultz. You are the narrator of experience; you are able to rise above competitive expressions of human behavior, because you, rather than your impulses, can decide. Pablo, it's a pleasure hearing your thoughts and insights. His courtly demeanor, fine attire, are contrasted by his ugly insides (represented by the fine layer of filth on his teeth). Is there nothing more to us than a survival of the fittest mentality? Hello, I'm so pleased that what I said about Django Unchained altered your perspective on the movie. We get all caught up in the pretty visuals and the cleverness, we miss that the spirit is dry, it's human perspective less than full. Hope to see you here again Dr. Dan, Warmly Deborah. Django’s blue costume is based on the famous painting “The Blue Boy”. I very much appreciate your insights on this topic and would love to sit in on your class. But, unlike Inglorious Basterds, which softens racial subject matter by placing it in a World War II context, Django puts America's horrible past with slavery up front and center stage in the pre-Civil War West. You can argue that he didn’t present a threat until the dinner party where he places his hands on someone for the first time despite his heinous actions before that. (BTW, I just saw "Django Unchained" last night for the first time.). He discovered in himself desires that were greater than material reward. My hunch is that if he were alive today (I guess he'd be about 170 years old), he would agree with your critique. Django’s stories are more camp, resulting in lines like “I like the way you die boy,” the almost cartoonish violence (as seen in both of Django’s gunfights, even more so during the finale), and the fact that “Big Daddy” exists. :D I can't recall ever learning anything enlightening from them, and they do allow me to escape my artsy fartsy emo side. It's crafted somewhat in this same way. What? When Schultz betrays him, Candie is distraught. It's like Tarantino wanted to tell us the story of how bad slavery was on people and what damage it did to people's minds, and where it could lead us to (unbounded violence). The opening credits present a downtrodden slave marching forward along to someone else’s accord, yet the roaring, almost inciting music in the background argues that the hero “Django” is underneath that individual. 17. You don’t exactly know what he’s thinking, and in some ways, you can sympathize with the man. The compromise between the two is the best of what you can expect of life. 16. The name has become more familiar with the release of and acclaim for the Quentin Tarantino film Django Unchained . Now, I didn't mean to say, by my reply, that I love when people are killed. He gives you extremes in humor and violence---with little grey in between. This is what unchained Schultz from a survival of the fittest mentality and allowed him to start living by his deeper principles. If Django was an amiable and kind hearted man like Dr Schultz, he would take is freedom as a gift, set out to find his wife, free her, then run off and live the rest of his life how he should, but he does not. Couldn't it be? You are right - I do identify with what I see and say, as you do. You are right, this is what Schultz did at the moment. I think, at least hope, you are right that he would see his earliest understandings about competition in a larger context today. Thanks everyone, I really liked your blog. He’s the villain for shooting down a man who essentially did nothing, yet he’s the hero for striking down the film’s “villain.” But it all comes down to Schultz’s words, “I couldn’t help it.” And it’s important to understand what feelings compelled him, what caused that dramatic shift. This is exactly why I love Tarantino, because there's a whole lot of instinctive, emotional experience going on in his films. I appreciate your intellect and ability to feel and identify fully with experience. This graphic shift between types of violence gives us a glimpse into Schultz’s mysterious “persona.” Since he’s given us the idea behind personas, whose to say he hadn’t adopted one during the entirety of the film? The man who created the three stories in the first place. But, you must really like Tarantino--because on some level -- your emo understood! While she was guided by another, she ended up reaching a heightened point in her character (which was literally represented by her “lift” at the end of the film). I love what you say, "Cheering for the intentional death of a horrible person." He previously… The name has become more familiar with the release of and acclaim for the Quentin Tarantino film Django Unchained. He’s wide eyed (like when he takes than first sip of beer and listens to the story of Brumhilda), and takes on the persona of bounty hunter with childlike excitement and vigor (even donning the suit from “The Blue Boy”), therefore, it almost seems villainous how much power Schultz has over him. Or, perhaps, love and passion are the best expressions of human nature that help us to thrive (Django and Brunhilde)? He gives us characters who pursue their desires ruthlessly. "Django Unchained" is an ironic mix of humor and violence that steadies you between the horrific and the comical. Thank you for stimulating my thinking on the subject matter. See more. As a result I experience Tarantino as both brilliant and emotionally sterile and thus part of the problem rather than part of the solution. I mean, you have a broad audience that you know doesn't think too much about anything and just wants to be entertained. Existentialists call this bad faith. You need a device that would get their eyes really open, and have their ears properly ready, and then: "boom! Subscribe! Schultz needs Django’s passion and brawn, as much as Django needs Schultz’s intellect and wit, to meet their goals. The music in any Quentin Tarantino film is an adventure unto itself, a tradition that continues with “Django Unchained,” Tarantino’s movie opening on … But, until then, we have films like Django Unchained that challenge us to go deeper and to identify with the suffering of human beings. That’s right. Is it brawn as depicted in Mandingo fighting? As reiterated in a speech given by Malcolm X in 1963, the main differentiation between African slaves was often considered to be that of the ‘house Negro’ and the ‘field Negro’. According to this myth, as Schultz explains it to Django, the god Wotan places his daughter, the princess Broomhilda, on a mountaintop inside a ring of fire, where she is guarded by a dragon as a … Once again, these breaks in the story are caused by the contrasting tones of the film. The connection between race, the American Western, and a culture of paradox are interwoven from our first Western--James Fenimore Cooper's The Pioneers, through the genre up to and including film and television westerns [from police stories to space westerns]. Tarantino reverses the roles, and gives the man of color the victory of survival--no Green Mile denouement here. Sure Calvin Candie is the film’s “villain,” but what exactly does he do? Thank you for visiting me today. I will be using Mr. Tarantino's strange film to bring out these complexities when I teach this Fall about the origins of American culture. Nothing with his own two hands. Checkout www.MVMT.com/Wisecrack and use offer code "WISECRACK" for $15 off your purchase!Join Wisecrack! He was willing to uphold a gentleman’s agreement and give Schultz and Django their freedom. Candie’s demise is Schultz’s peak of juxtaposition, and his turning point. Django Unchained: Communication and Culture The film set in the deep South in 1858, about a slave who gains his freedom with the help of Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz), a German bounty hunter, and sets out to rescue his wife from a brutal Mississippi plantation owner … The great personality theorist Sigmund Freud is also relevant here, as his theory of personality stems from Darwin’s theory. PS: Really, I recommend you to see that movie "Wild Tales", you'll see it's comprised of six 'short-movie' chapters, all packed to the brim with wild, out-of-control, insane violence. Hello Dan, I will always appreciate my post doc psychoanalytic training. And before you read on, I’d like to point out there is some major spoilage going on in this article. It's wonderful today that we can get social, political and psychological understandings about subject matter in film and literature. It’s only when Schultz is confronted by another equally vague, yet dark character does Schultz reexamine himself. Cooper brought race into his first Leatherstocking novel, and set the stage for a war against the Western by the remainder of America's classic and great writers, and a few of its great film directors. Also Sam J should have turned on his captors the moment Calvin died but he didn't? It steeps itself within the cartoonish realm. Schultz’s tones are far more graphic with the Mandingo fights, and the slave being torn apart by dogs. I suppose I watch his movies more for the entertainment aspect. There are many examples of Darwin's and Freud's theories of human nature in this movie. Glad to say hello to you here Dan. Django — the D is silent as most everyone now knows — the nickname of the great Belgian-born jazz guitarist Django (originally Jean Baptiste) Reinhardt, makes a dynamic musical choice for any jazz aficionado. What should we do with slavers who have a wooden box out in the field to lock people in just for their own amusement? A new theory aims to make sense of it all. Tarantino says a lot with his choice of music (you could use any of his past works as a reference) and you will notice that every aggressive rap song is used after the act on black on black crime; however non rap black music is used in scenes where justified justice of black vs white oppressors is about to take place. They never feel overplayed or foul at all. Moreover, genetic makeup determines the ability to achieve a compromise to your advantage. Freud saw human beings as inherently selfish and willing to do whatever it takes to compete effectively and to keep fit enough to stay in power. In this moment, he embodies both the hero and villain. Love the thread of comments. Without Schultz’s control, the film is allowed to explore different areas, reach different heights of tension, and explode in glorious violence and celebration (accentuated by an explosion). The opening credits present a downtrodden slave marching forward along to someone else’s accord, yet the roaring, almost inciting music in the background argues that the hero “Django” is underneath that individual. But, let's stick to the psychological analysis again. And yet, angry as he was, Candie still did nothing. After all, people as you suggest in your last comment do suffer from using learned ideas alone to process experience. the D is silent as most everyone now knows — the nickname of the great Belgian-born jazz guitarist Django (originally Jean Baptiste) Reinhardt, makes a dynamic musical choice for any jazz aficionado. How much of himself was he truly revealing to Django? Is that why Schultz feels like the villain? At times, it feels like it is fighting itself to decide what kind of film it wants to be. Django's burning desire to rescue his wife Brunhilde from slavery, at all costs, gave Schultz hope in something greater than himself. You are not narrated into structures and theories of personality. THR: I heard that there was a scene where Calvin Candie’s lawyer, played by Dennis Christopher, he buys a slave and you end up shooting that slave. If you liked my post today, please let me know by selecting the Like icon that immediately follows. I don't agree completely that our sole motivation is to stay fit enough to compete effectively. It's when we let past ideas, learning and identifications drive seeing and action, the opposite of which is good faith, where we seize the power within us to CHOOSE out of full awareness the right action. Hello Anonymous, I agree with you on Tarantino's films. Like all of Tarantino's films, Django Unchained is an ironic mix of humor and violence that steadies you between the horrific and the comical, so that your senses are neither overwhelmed by the film’s violence nor lulled into denial of the seriousness of the subject matter, by its humor. Porter was an early film pioneer and the director of the classic Western The Great Train Robbery (1903). Django Unchained is a peculiar film. The slave owner is saying that he doesn't want a slave that has the courage to defy his master, possibly escape, and maybe even start a revolt. Hence, you have to negotiate desire with other people’s needs and social norms, to avoid punishment, social rejection, and disgrace. Like an afterthought. Animal Liberation Orchestra, an American rock band, originally known as Django (in 1989) "Django" (composition), a 1954 composition by jazz pianist John Lewis "Django", a song by Rancid on the 2003 album Indestructible Cooper was also the creator of the "buddy genre" so heavily utilized by Hollywood in its action films--pairing a man of color with one who is white or plays the role of white protagonist. I appreciate their concerns but have to disagree, respectfully, with their points of view. So, they strike a compromise to satisfy their desires. I'm not in favor of death penalty or anything like that, even with horrible horrible people. The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly. In every early interaction with Schultz, Django is almost childlike and remarkably more innocent than he should be. The film has triggered much controversy over what some regard as an insensitive, humorous treatment of slavery in America’s past, like Spike Lee who is sure that the film is racist and surely will be "disrespectful to his ancestors” (CNN, Gene Seymour). There's nothing like the in depth training to really deepen our understanding of human motivation. You can tell the shift between Django and Schultz’s stories thanks to the shift in tone. 25 CoolFacts About Django Unchained 1-5 CoolFacts About Django Unchained 1. Lots of food for thought.