By Jueseppi B.
From The Grio:
‘Django Unchained’ turning n-word controversy into box office success
Follow Chris Witherspoon on Twitter at @WitherspoonC
“Django Unchained has received overwhelmingly strong praise from film critics, and at the same time ignited a highly publicized controversy over Quentin Tarantino’s use of the n-word in his script. However, the controversy surround the slave revenge epic seems to be translating into big profits. As the weekend approaches, Django Unchained is holding the top spot at the box office.
According to Box Office Mojo, the film starring Jamie Foxx, Kerry Washington and Samuel L. Jackson took in $4,551,813 Wednesday, beating out the holiday heavyweight The Hobbit and the hit musical Les Miserables. In just 9 days, Django has brought in an impressive $83 million in domestic box office sales, which is impressive considering that 1997’s slave epic Amistad only made $44 million during its entire run.
Django is on pace to be Tarantino’s biggest film ever at the box office. According to the Toronto Sun “if the trend holds, the blood-soaked slave-revenge fable will rack up more at the box office than Pulp Fiction ($213.9 million worldwide), Kill Bill Vol. 1 ($180.9 million worldwide), Kill Bill Vol. 2 ($152.1 million worldwide) and previous record holder, Inglourious Basterds ($321.4 million worldwide).”
Although the n-word is reportedly used 110 times in Django, black audiences have been supportive of the film.”
Thank you The Grio and Mr. Chris Witherspoon. Read the rest of this story at The Grio.
Django Unchained – Official Trailer (HD)
Published on Jun 6, 2012
http://www.joblo.com - “Django Unchained” – Official Trailer
With the help of his mentor, a slave-turned-bounty hunter sets out to rescue his wife from a brutal Mississippi plantation owner.
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Writer: Quentin Tarantino
Stars: Jamie Foxx, Don Johnson and Leonardo DiCaprio
In theatres: December 25, 2012.
Why do people give such power to the word nigger?
You can think it, but you can’t say it.
And you KNOW you think it.
I just walked in the house from viewing Django Unchained and it was very good entertainment. Thats all it was.
Django Unchained is NOT historical fact nor is it in any way a retelling of Black History. Django Unchained is a film that was made for profit and to entertain an audience.
Thats all it is.
The use of the word nigger in any entertainment venture, whether it be comedy, song, poem, story, or film, is just another tool to get you & me to pay money to see and hear that word used.
If you are offended by the use of the word nigger, might I suggest you stay away from any places where that word just might come to be used. Remember this simple fact, the word nigger gets it’s power from our misunderstanding of what the word means and whom it applies to when used. We give that word power, a power it does not deserve.
Black Americans have taken a negative word, in nigger, and turned it around to be a very positive word in some sections of the Black community. The spelling was changed from nigger to niggah, or nigga. It is considered acceptable, when applied to a close friend or buddy, just as “my dogg’ is used to signify friendship….so is “my niggah” or “my nigga”. It signifies a close relationship between users of the word.
As Biggie would say…”if you don’t know, now you know”
If you are concerned about racism and the use of the word nigger, stop using it around your caucasian friends, in the basement, after dark, in a whisper. Stop thinking it the second you get angry with someone of color.
I didn’t see one thing in the film Django Unchained that offended me as a Black man who uses the word nigger when I feel it applies.
I have watched old cowboy films depicting Native Americans in a light that offended my Pawnee Indian heritage, much more than this film, Django Unchained, or the use of the word nigger in this film.
I have met people of all races, nationalities, genders, religions, sexual orientations and cultures who are niggers.
Take a moment to digest that fact.
All this fake, made up, phony, pseudo, false & boring controversy over the use of the word nigger in Django Unchained is stupid. Developed by morons. Idiots with too much time on their hands. The same folks who think and feel the word nigger often, but just have no balls to say it out loud. Thinking it but not saying the word nigger….still makes you racist.
No matter what your skin tone is.
Hear me Mr. Spike Lee?
Nigger. It’s just a word. Much like Django Unchained is just a film.
Words don’t define me as a Black man nor does the word nigger define a nation of Black Americans.
Filed under: Black History, Causes, Celebrity, Celebs & Fame, Comedy, Dumb Shit, Education, Fun & Games, History, Movie Reviews, Race, Racism, Videos Tagged: | Box Office Mojo, Django, Django Unchained, Grio, Inglourious Basterds, Jamie Foxx, Kerry Washington, KKK, Leonardo DiCaprio, Nigger, Quentin Tarantino, Race, Racism, Samuel L Jackson, slang
Jueseppi B.
[...] cadesertvoice Submitted on 2013/01/04 at 22:29 [...]
I loved your comments.
I just walked in the door after seeing the movie. I highly recommend it. I will be buying the dvd when it comes out so I can see it whenever I want to. I appreciate your assessment…it’s right on target.
The word nigger was appropriate and the over play on the word was intentional because that’s all they called slaves back in the day…nigger this and nigger that. Fetch me some water, nigger. All the way through to today, the word nigger is still used in white circles. Yeah, you better believe that because it’s true. And the way blacks are STILL being treated says if they aren’t saying it, they’re thinking it. But as you said, Jueseppi, it’s only a word. And I am more concerned about the racism still going on, more blacks in prison than whites for petty crimes in comparison, difficulty getting a job, inability to get loans, and getting loans at higher rates of interest. There’s a modern day slavery going on and it’s in high gear. On and on it goes.
While this was fiction, art imitates life. This was the first movie to show in this way the brutal whipping of slaves, dogs eating slaves, throwing slaves in holes for punishment like animals, cutting off slave penises, burning slaves like cattle, letting them fight to the brutal kill like pit bulls, and uncle toms (played perfectly by Samuel L.). That is the message that should stay with viewers more than anything else: the gross, ungodly, horrendous horrors endured by the slaves for hundreds of years. I’ve seen whites laugh at blacks for fear of water and dogs. You saw why blacks are afraid of dogs. Did you know whites fed black babies to alligators to lure the gators on land so they could kill them for their skins?
Tarantino’s brilliant movie did what Tim Wise and many authorities on racism could not do: he showed in the most shocking fashion what slavery and racism has done to African Americans and brings to mind the dynamics of fears, hate, anger and psychological trauma that has been done to these people and the nation. When you consider that racism is alive and thriving today, it’s as if slavery never went away and the wounds have never healed.
It also shows the legacy of lust for blood, domination, cruelty, power and more in certain whites, and how that filters throughout society and molds a consciousness from the very rich at the top, to the poorest of poor at the bottom. Our society today STILL is affected by that sick consciousness, and we see it played out every single day in politics, media, employers, family, churches, everywhere. When Django blew up that house of horrors at the end of the movie, I could not help but wish we could do the same with controlling faction of this nation.
As I walked out of the theater tonight, I listened to hear what viewers were thinking. One white man told his family, “I’ll never seen another Tarantino movie again. Too much blood for me!”
I could only wonder how many westerns he’s seen over the years with Indians getting killed, how many Clint Eastwood and Bruce Willis movies he’s seen and sat through all the blood and killing.
This movie’s time has come.
I loved your words so much Ms. Marion, that I made them into a post….
I’m honored, my friend!
Me too.
I don’t like the use of the “N”word in this day and time, but it was the truth ,back in the day.History defines this message .At 75 years of age,Iam pleased that a new day has arrived and Iam no longer offended but we still have a lot more to do.to make it right.
Amen on having a lot to do to make it right.