Django Unchained
The Django Unchained demonstrates a change in the movie industry. As mentioned above, the old white male actors normally take the lead role in the movies involving black actors. However, that is not the case in Django Unchained. At the beginning of the movie, though, there was a feeling that Django Unchained was another movie where a white actor would take the lead role. Immediately after gaining freedom, Django Freeman takes the lead role. While Dr. King Schultz recruited Django for special goal, he (Django) does not think he is obliged to do everything he is expected to do.
What is observed in Django Unchained is known as ‘color-blind ‘casting. It refers to the act of assigning the roles without considering the race or ethnicity of the actor (Tehranian, 7). Sometimes the practice is called ‘blackwashing’ when there is a deliberate move to appease the nonwhites by assigning the lead roles to the blacks (Weaver, 1467). Critiques argue that the goal of blackwashing, as shown in Django is to send a wrong impression that there is equality in the film industry. Blackwashing conceals the real issues affecting the nonwhite actors in Hollywood. Django Unchained sends the impression that something has been done to address state of affairs in the film industry. Giving the white roles to the blacks or vice versa does not change anything. If fact, it is an embarrassment and humiliation of the actors. On the surface, the act of blacks taking the lead role may appear great, especially among the nonwhites. However, the question should be whether the development will be consistent in the film industry. Are people about to see a black actor taking the lead role in James Bond, for instance? Are more blacks going to be nominated for major awards in the film industry? Currently, there is nothing tangible to demonstrate any meaningful progress, as far as addressing racial prejudice and discrimination is concerned.
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Probably, to understand the new development in Django unchained, it is vital to understand why Django Freeman was given the lead role. The film is about the emancipation of the black slaves from their white masters. Django unchained is already a free man, but he needs to rescue his wife, who is still a slave. Being a movie that is based on vengeance, the most appropriate person to take the lead role was a black man. Dr. King Schultz was a bounty hunter. He was also white and never been a slave. He could not understand what it is like to be a slave. He did not know the pain. On the contrary, Django Freeman had been enslaved before he gained freedom. He had gone through traumatizing experiences as a slave. Also, it would be against the expectation of the audience if a white actor decided to fight slave masters. There is already an impression that the whites perpetuated the slavery. Therefore, the best person for the lead role in freeing the slaves had to be a black actor. Movies with depictions of slavery normally evoke strong feelings, especially among the blacks and other people who experience oppression and exploitation. If a white man is used as the lead actor in such movies, then it would be historically incorrect.
In conclusion, Django Unchained depicts slavery and racial inequality in the movie industry. The movie is unique in the sense that a black actor has been given the lead role. Normally, while actors take the lead role even in the films that they should not. Assigning the lead role to the black actor as shown in Django Unchained should not be perceived as the change in the film industry. The racial and ethnic prejudice and discrimination still remain rife in the movie industry. The reason why Django Freeman was given the lead role was because of the theme of the movie. The movie was about vengeance against the white masters. In such a movie, only a black person was more suited to take the lead role based on the history of slavery. Much still need to be done to enhance equality in the movie industry.
Works Cited
McNabb, G. " Django Unchained and the 'new sadism' in cinema ". The Independent. Retrieved October 25, 2016. 2013. Web.
Tehranian, J. " The Last Minstrel Show?” Whitewashed: America's Invisible Middle Eastern Minority . NYU Press. p. 98. ISBN 978-0-8147-8273-6. 2010. Print.
Weaver, J. "The Role of Actors' Race in White Audiences' Selective Exposure to Movies". Journal of Communication. doi:10.1111/j.1460-2466.2011.01544.x. 2011. Print
