7/22/2019 Django Unchained - The Hero's Journey
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Film Review Narrative
Django UnchainedDirector: Quentin Tarantino
Django Unchained is both bold and bloody, and is a
creative masterpiece from director Quentin
Tarantino. Set in the antebellum era of the Deep
South and the Old West, the narrative follows the
journey of a freed slave who treks across the US,
with a bounty hunter, on a mission to rescue his wife
from the cruel ownership of a cotton plantation
owner.
Django Unchainedfits into the Heros Journey film
category as it essentially follows the chosen
individual, Django, as he goes through a series of
trials until he reaches the point of evolution after he
overcomes the struggle through persistence. Upon
analysis, Django Unchained can be interpreted in
two ways within the light of the heros journey. Does
the narrative follow the journey of Djangos release
from slavery and the breaking of his bonds, or is the
narrative focused on the journey of the mentor
figure in Dr. King Schultz?
Breaking Django Unchaineds story down into a simple act
structure, the narrative is
built up from 3 story arcs; Djangos Revenge, Schultzs journey,
and finally Djangos
journey. Djangos Revenge (Act 1) begins with the introduction of
Django to
audiences where his introduction is juxtaposed with inducing
music that
fundamentally tells a story of the hero which implies, that as a
character, Django
hasnt reached his full potential and has yet to be unchained.
From the point when
you are introduced to the heros call to adventure and the
acquaintance of his
mentor simultaneously, it becomes recognisable that the firstact
centres on the soleneed for the heros revenge. The ending of this
act indefinitely comes to a close once
Django has crossed the threshold after dispatching of the three
Brittle brothers,grasping the revenge he desired so badly. This is
where Schultzs reveals to Django
they are going to Candyland and Schultzs heros journey
essentially begins.
From here on Schultz steps into the limelight and controls the
next act of the story,
as the narrative becomes more personalised about his character,
as well as the
development of his own persona which has been a mystery up to
this point.
Throughout the mid-section of the film, Schultz appears to have
a poker face where
nothing seems to faze him, however with the introduction of
Calvin Candie, his
persona begins to crack which further supports the idea that act
2 follows his
personal journey instead of Djangos.
7/22/2019 Django Unchained - The Hero's Journey
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This is more apparent after graphic scene where he witnesses a
slave, owned by
Candie, get mauled to death by a pack of dogs. Visually, this
memory reoccurs
multiple times which appears to haunt Schultz, fuelling his own
journey to put his
mind at rest. For the best part of this act Schultz commands the
audience attention
and continually controls the direction of the story providing
exposition which
furthermore suggests his physical control over Django promoting
the idea that the
character is still bound and sitting underneath Schultz in the
hierarchy of power and
heroic attributes. This whole contrast lets the viewers know
that we are not in
Djangos story anymore, and that the narrative has changed to
follow Schultz in a
very subtle way after Djangos initial revenge has been
dealt.
The journey of Waltzs character comes to an end at the peak of
the narratives
turning point where Candie meets his demise at the hands of the
Schultz after being
killed by the concealed weapon. Schultz cements himself in a
place that gives him
the hero archetype when he faces his villain having a just
reason to kill. This then
allows Django to take up the full mantle of his hero status once
again when hismentor and friend is killed, triggering a heroic
shootout allowing the rebirth of the
narrative and driving Django forward as the now hero of the
story.
With Djangos journey still needing to be unveiled and with
Shultz dead, Django is no
longer in the shadow of his mentor and is finally unchained.
This allows the film to
really excel into the unrealistic realm of Tarantino violence
with ridiculous amounts
of blood and action, where Django can walk on stage as the hero
he is billed to be,
effectively becoming the fastest gun in the west, where he can
begin making
decisions for himself. With this diversion in plot, the film is
then allowed reach
different heights, and begins to explore different areas of
glorious violence. Djangosjourney comes to an end when he faces his
villain in Stephen, dispatches him in
Tarantino celebratory fashion and reunites with his wife and
effectively returning
with the elixir.
The contrast in tone throughout supports the theory that Django
Unchainedtells to
story of two heros journeys, having Djangos story involving the
unrealistic animated
violence with the typical heroic action lines push through
eventually after being fed
Schults juxtaposing realistic heart-felt graphic violence which
psychologically
affected a mysterious character through the best part of the
film. This inventive use
of narrative and the innovative combination of contrasting heros
journeys make usas an audience believe into a combination of
character conflicts and journeys all
together.
