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Sunday, January 13, 2013

Quentin Tarantino Is Nobody's Slave

"Django Unchained" continues to garner more attention, and we're not just talking about its Oscar nods. During a recent "interview," (Quentin Tarantino kept referring to it as a commercial) writer-director Tarantino got virulent when the reporter asked whether there was a link between film violence and real violence.
Because I refuse your question. I'm not your slave and you're not my master. You can't make me dance to your tune. I'm not a monkey. --Quentin Tarantino
Tarantino told the reporter to "Google" him to find out his views about guns.

In the wake of the Sandy Hook shooting, some might praise Tarantino for not taking the bait about gun violence in film. Certainly, mentally healthy adults can make the distinction between fictional movies and reality enough to not use a movie as inspiration for a shooting spree. However, Tarantino did miss an opportunity to defend his craft. He could have talked about his inspirations as a writer and artistic integrity. Instead he "blew up" at the reporter invoking slave references and racist symbolism.

For a movie with an excessive use of the n-word, by some counts 110 times, Tarrantino's use of the slavery metaphor just seems like another attempt to shock the consciousness of the viewer. And for the simple fact that this is a post about Quentin Tarrantino and "Django Unchained," it seems like Tarantino's shock therapy is working to wake up viewers.