This week represents the 10th anniversary of my paying admission to see my favorite movie for the 10th time.
Django Unchained opened on Christmas Day 2012, but I was hooked.
I loved the film, and I bet you think you know why.
Django Unchained is a miserable scene in the cruelest form of slavery, chattel or otherwise, in the world.
Django operated during America’s unique, horrific and inhumane brand of slavery. If you don’t believe me, study how cruel it was.
Some historians have written that when slave masters had valuable but unruly “Bucks,” they would send them to Jamaica to be sodomized. They were sent to be “domesticated” in much the same manner as you would “train” a pit bull.
A 2007 article in the Pink News publication explains how slavery in this nation still creates hatred and venom for homosexuality in Jamaica.
“It is alleged that if and when a white enslaver suspected that enslaved Black men were showing any sign of resistance to their enslavement, the cruelest and brutal treatment would be meted out to them.
“The Black slaves and most of their descendants developed this hatred for homosexual activities because of the painful experiences that their forefathers endured during slavery.”
Black women were forced to sexually satisfy and breed children for their masters. To add insult to injury, these women faced the scorching scorn of the wives of those who violated them.
Django Unchained didn’t dwell on these atrocities but gave us a snapshot of what enslaved Africans endured. From the brutal Mandingo fights to shackles and brass faceguards, this movie makes the blockbuster series “Roots” like a musical about Black people who were having a hard time adjusting to “corporate relocations.”
Django Unchained had movements that played beneath the violence like a well-chorded descant. For the simpleminded, it was blood and guts. For the sophist, it was a treasure trove of perplexing plots and nerve-wracking novellas.
Dr. Jeremiah Wright, the Pastor and Theologian, is also an avid writer and African American history buff. He is known to say that Black folks are the only people who have escaped slavery or a holocaust who do not teach our children about the revolution.
African Americans today rarely tread or trace the waters that we claim to have gotten over. Django pricked the curiosity of another generation who had no real idea about their history.
Imagine a Jewish Child who doesn’t understand the ritual of “breaking the glass” at a wedding. Meanwhile, Negroes are still arguing whether a betrothed couple should “jump the broom.” And worse, others have no idea that their ancestors were legally barred from marriage.
Django, like so many other slaves, was viciously severed from the woman he loved and would do anything to get her back. This separation was typical. Unfortunately, that pursuit leads him to deceive, maim and kill anyone in his way.
This film was rich in menacing metaphors and alarming allegories. Moviegoers were tethered to Jamie Foxx’s portrayal of a formerly enslaved person on the rampage, but by the time the bloodbath concluded, the means seemed to justify the proverbial end.
And while many Whites prefer to believe that Django found favor with Black men because he was able to get paid for killing his white oppressors, that was not my moment of joy.
Instead, my joy came within three minutes of the end when Django locked eyes with Stephen, the penultimate house negro, and Uncle Tom.
Django chided Stephen before shooting him in the kneecaps.
“Seventy-six years, Stephen. How many niggers do you think you seen come and go? Seven thousand? Eight thousand?
Nine thousand? Nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine? Every single word that came out of Calvin Candie’s mouth was nothing but horsesh!t, but he was right about one thing: I am that one nigger in 10,000.”
Two minutes later, Candyland was decimated by dynamite, death, and destruction. That was pivotal because when we fight against evil, quelling the institution cannot be second to personal vendettas. It’s about the system, STUPID!
The real moral of Django’s saga was the celebration of that one in 10,000 men or women who won’t be deterred or detracted from their dreams.
Django Unchained modeled that for me!
Happy 10th Djangoversary!
Vincent L. Hall is an author, activist, and an award-winning columnist.
