Django Unchained

    Film Sparks Discourse about History and Contemporary Social Issues

Photos by and property of Columbia Pictures

Still of Jamie Foxx (Django) from Django Unchained

    Quenton Tarantino's film, Django Unchained is not intended to provide a historical depiction of slavery in America, though certain elements are accurate and believable. It is primarily a fictional story created more for entertainment than historical content. It is an adventure, spaghetti western with much shooting and spewing of blood. It has even been labeled an updated version of the Blaxploitation films popular in the 1970s and 1980s.

     Django Unchained is the story of a male slave, Django (Jamie Foxx) who is freed by German bounty hunter, Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz) so that he (Django) can help Schultz find a band of murderous stage coach robbers who have high bounties on their heads. After they successfully apprehend the gang, Schultz offers Django the opportunity to become his bounty hunting partner, and in exchange, agrees to help Django find his enslaved wife, Broomhilda (Kerry Washington), from whom Django was separated when they were sold to different masters.
 

 Still of Christoph Waltz (Dr. King Shultz) and Jamie Foxx (Django) from Django Unchained

      After a prosperous winter of gunning down criminals and collecting bounties, Django and Shultz learn that Broomhilda is being held as a "comfort woman" at a plantation owed by the wealthy slaver, Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio). The bounty hunters contrive an elaborate charade to rescue her.
 

 Still of Jamie Foxx (Django), Kerry Washington (Broomhilda), and 

Christoph Waltz (Dr. King Shultz) from Django Unchained

     The unlikely partners pretend they desire to purchase a warrior slave for the gladiator sport in which slaves fight to the death, and they heard Candie has the strongest and best fighters. In the midst of negotiations, Candie's loyal head house slave, Stephen (Samuel L. Jackson), unravels the scheme, informs his master, and the spilling of blood escalates until the Candie Plantation is destroyed.
 

 Still of Samuel L. Jackson (Stephen) and Kerry Washington (Broomhilda)

 from Django Unchained

 In terms of storytelling, plot, and character development, the film supports Tarantino's reputation as a master of his craft. The twists and turns in the storyline make it totally unpredictable. It is noticeable, though, that Broomhilda, as a central character, is not fully developed, and most of her story is filtered through Django's eyes. Kerry Washington is excellent in the role of the classical "damsel in distress" who needs to be rescued, but greater depth of character would allow viewers to be even more emotionally invested in her struggle for freedom and her desire to reunite with Django. Although Django is a hero who rescues his woman, some viewers feel he is not concerned enough with the salvation of others who are also enslaved.

Photo by Andrew Cooper, SMPSP – © 2012 - The Weinstein Company

Still of Jamie Foxx (Django) and Franco Nero (Bar Patron) from Django Unchained 

      Historically, the film captures the brutality suffered by African-Americans during enslavement. The horrific lash marks on the backs of slaves, the use of castration as punishment, the transporting of slaves in face, neck, wrists, and leg shackles, the use of gladiator slaves for viewing entertainment, and the destruction of black families were all evils of slavery. However, there were some aspects of the film that were quite implausible. Django, even as a free man, would not have been allowed to eat dinner at a table with wealthy white slave owners. Stephen would not have been permitted to stand over his master at the dinner table, interrupt conversation, and tell his master what to do. After capture, Django would likely have been tortured, dismembered, and killed in front of a gathering of slaves. He probably would not have been sent to another plantation or turned over to another slave owner.

                                                          Photo by Andrew Cooper, SMPSP – © 2012 - The Weinstein Company

 Still of Jamie Foxx (Django) and Leonardo DiCaprio (Calvin Candie)                                                    

     For a number of reasons, Django has fueled the ongoing and sometimes contentious dialogue on several social and political issues. For African-Americans, it again raises the questions of whether people of other ethnicities, particularly white Americans, can tell stories depicting the African-American experience. In the artistic worlds of film and literature, many have expressed the view that authenticity is lacking when stories are told by people other than the ethnic group (or gender) being portrayed.

      In addition to who tells the stories, African-Americans are concerned with how those stories are told. Some African-Americans are insulted when the enslaved are depicted mainly as brainless, submissive beings who loved their masters more than themselves. The argument is that substantial numbers of those in bondage constantly plotted to destroy the institution of slavery, and that theme must exist in any stories on the subject. Some feel the best film storytelling approaches are documentaries, or in some cases, docudramas which portray events accurately and realistically, and anything else is disrespectful to the ancestors who suffered and died during what some African-Americans call the Maafa (Kiswahili term meaning great tragedy, and refers to the decimation of African lives during the middle passage and slavery).

     Having been released shortly after the killing of twenty elementary school students and six school staff at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, in the shadow of other mass shootings that have occurred over the past 14 years since the Columbine high school massacre, and daily shootings in US urban areas, Django Unchained has become more fuel for the debate about whether violence in the media promotes violence in society, and what should be done about the proliferation of guns in America. Whether remedies lie in decreasing youth exposure to violent games, television shows and movies, gun control laws that remove high powered assault weapons from the street, armed security in schools, mental health care and stricter screening of those who purchase weapons, at this juncture, Django Unchained is evidence that violence in film is still a selling point.


        Still of Jamie Foxx from Django Unchained          © 2012 - The Weinstein Company   
                                  
     From a historical, social, and artistic perspective, Django Unchained is a film worth seeing. It embellishes history and in no way captures the totality of the horrors of slavery in America, but it reminds viewers of America's sordid past. Socially, the film, with its unrelenting bloodshed, forces us to continue examining the contemporary controversies around guns and violence in the media and the impact on society. Artistically, to the satisfaction of African-Americans viewers, it depicts a black hero, in spite of his flaws, who is actually alive at the end of the movie, and reunites with his black woman. Django Unchained is one story told from a particular viewpoint, and should be seen by African-Africans so that we can knowledgeably, intelligently, and constructively analyze what others say about us in their interpretation of our experience. It also reminds us that we must contribute to the discourse as we continue to tell our stories from our perspective.

FIRST LADY MICHELLE OBAMA IN BALTIMORE

    

     In her recent appearance in Baltimore at Morgan State University (MSU), First Lady Michelle Obama spoke to an enthusiastic audience that filled the seats of the Murphy Fine Arts Theatre. In an atmosphere that assumed the character of a political rally, supporters touted the success of President Barack Obama and received the First Lady with a rousing standing ovation. Mrs. Obama emphasized that in the November 2012 election, every vote will count, and this election will be closer than the last. She encouraged everyone to get out and vote.

     "Don't think because the political process is complex, it cannot be affected by your one vote, because it can," the First Lady stressed.

     She quoted statistics revealing that during the 2008 election, in some precincts around the country, the number of votes impacting the election were only in the single and double digits.

      Mrs. Obama also asked the audience to get involved in the political process beyond voting. She urged everyone to become campaign volunteers in their respective communities by doing jobs such as working phone banks and making sure people register. Talking to people and explaining what this election means for the future is important, she submitted.

     "This journey is going to be hard, and the days are going to be long," Mrs. Obama said. "We have come far, but we still have much farther to go. We will not step back and allow the country to move back into the same policies that got the country in trouble in the first place."

     "In this country, we have always moved forward," Mrs. Obama said further, "If not in our own lifetime, in the lifetimes of our children and grandchildren."

     According to the First Lady, President Obama is fighting for everyone to achieve the American dream regardless of race, gender, or who they love. He knows the American dream can be achieved because he has lived it. She believes we must maintain hope and give our children solid foundations for their dreams.

     Included among the president's accomplishments addressed by Mrs. Obama and other speakers are: thirty consecutive months of job creation with more than four million attributed to private sector growth; the end of the Iraq War; changes in the policies for illegal aliens who came to the U.S. as children; and the repeal of "don't ask don't tell." Additionally, there are reforms in Wall Street business practices, policies affecting student loans, and health care.

     Were it not for student loans, the First Lady asserted that she and the President would not have been able to attend college. During the early years of their marriage, their combined student loan payment was more than their mortgage. Because of that firsthand experience, they empathize with students who are in debt because of educational expenses.

     As she introduced Mrs. Obama, MSU senior and bone cancer survivor, Charnelle Bacon said with the implementation of health care reform, she no longer has to worry about her pre-existing condition preventing her from obtaining insurance. The education major says that she also benefits from the student loan reforms implemented by the President. Mrs. Obama said she has heard stories like Charnelle's from many people.

     The First Lady and President Obama value the institution of family, and both are from families who worked hard to better themselves, and they did it without complaint. They did not take short cuts or try to cheat the system. One of the things she loved about Mr. Obama from the beginning of their relationship was his devotion to family, especially the women in his life. She admired that he fought for others and he has continued to do so during his presidency.

     "I've seen up close what it means to make the hard decisions that impact future generations," she said. "As president, you must be willing to work for the benefit of the people you represent."

     Mrs. Obama had a special message for the students in the audience. "Value everyone from the teachers to the janitors who keep the building clean. And when you walk through the door of opportunity," she advised, "You don't slam it shut behind you."

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama

     Other speakers at the event that preceeded Mrs. Obama's address included Congressman Elijah Cummings, Senator Ben Cardin, and Governor Martin O'Malley. In attendance also were MSU president, David Wilson, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, Representatives Donna Edwards and John Sarbanes, and Maryland Senator, Barbara Mikulski.

  

                            Congressman Elijah Cummings

     Congressman Elijah Cummings asserted, "President Obama has accomplished more in three years than some accomplished in eight, and did so with maximum opposition."

 

Senator Ben Cardin

 

     Senator Ben Cardin maintained, "The rest of the country can learn something from Maryland, a strong democratic state. President Obama has had a partner in the White House who has worked with him to move America forward. We fought for the middle class and expanded funding for military families so that they receive proper health care. Everyone must vote in this election and nothing can be taken for granted. We cannot give into the extreme forces that will cause gridlock in Washington.  First Lady Michelle Obama cares deeply for families, and this election is about the future of our youth."

 

 

     Governor Martin O'Malley

 

Governor Martin O'Malley suggested, "We need to give President Obama a better Congress to work with. Tea Party Republicans are blocking everything the President is trying to do."

 

     For more information about voting consult: www.register.com, www.vote.com, or 1-866-myvote1.

 

    

Fela! The Award Winning Musical

"His Story Inspired a Nation. His Music Inspires the World."

Photos by Titilayo Akanke


         


     Fela is a stunning, colorful, musical tribute and biographical profile of Nigerian artist and political activist, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, known to most simply as Fela. Produced by Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, Will Smith, and Jada Pinkett Smith, the award winning show is currently touring the country after fifteen months on Broadway. New Yorker, Stephen Hendel, writer, Jim Lewis, and choreographer and director, Bill T. Jones form the creative team who masterminded the production which has received three Tony Awards for Best Choreography, Best Costume Design for a Musical, and Best Sound Design of a Musical.

     Featuring Afrobeat which combines jazz, funk, African rhythms and harmonies, a genre pioneered by Fela, the story is told with pulsating drums, roaring horns, dancers who move with the grace of butterflies, and poignant monologues and vignettes which recount Fela's quest to unveil the political corruption in his country and the tragedy that befell him and his family as a result. In several sketches, Fela consults the spirit of his beloved mother, Funmilayo Anikulapo Kuti, who was also a human rights advocate. He seeks her guidance as he upholdss her legacy of challenging the system and seeking retribution for the oppressed and downtrodden masses.

     Fela's scathing lyrics called for obliteration of the corrupt regime, and demanded justice, freedom and human rights for the people of Nigeria. His message eventually stretched beyond the borders of his country and became part of a global outcry for human rights for the oppressed. As a result of his relentless condemnation of his country's political system, his mother was killed in an attack on his compound, and Fela was arrested 200 times and brutally beaten in many of those instances. He allegedly died of AIDS in 1997, but those close to him believe his death was the result of "one beating too many." His funeral was attended by a million people. In a world where Fela’s political perspective is still particularly relevant, his legacy and music continue to influence and inspire.

The award winning Broadway musical, Fela, was showcased in Baltimore at Morgan State University's Murphy Fine Arts Theatre as part of the national tour. Fela's music is available through Knitting Factory Records. For further details about the production, the artist and the show's touring schedule, visit www.felaonbroadway.com.