When is enough, enough?
After accepting the Golden Globe for Best Screenplay for Django: Unchained, Tarantino stepped backstage to speak to reporters about the biggest controversy surrounding the film-the use of the N Bomb over 100 times, and then used the word in the interview. He defended his artistic fortitude while taking heat from critics and not sugarcoating anything in the script. Tarantino wanted to stay true to the setting of the film as much as possible. He also commented on the relevance of slavery by reminding the reporters that it is still a part of society in other parts of the world and even in America, but under another institution-the prison system. “The way private and public prisons trade prisoners back and forth. It’s like they are not even hiding it anymore.”
What The Source wants to know is, what are his credentials for addressing this issue that never seems to die? And are there even credentials you need to tackle the subject like Tarantino? Sociologists, thinkers, and writers all speak of a post-racial society in America but clearly when the N Bomb enters the conversation in its many forms, heads turn and stink eyes form. Is it okay if he has over 10 Black friends? Is it okay if he listens to Wu-Tang Clan everyday? Would it have been ok if Spike Lee directed Django: Unchained? Would it have been better if he included an intro screen like in Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song? Is it okay if he adopts a Black child and marries a Black woman? Will it ever be just, okay? I suppose the main question is the motivation he has behind its use, which he states is purely preserving historical accuracy and in turn, raising awareness. Do you guys think we should give him a pass this time? Or should we all continue to give him this backlash?
Props to Hollywood Reporter.
Bryan Hahn (@notupstate)
