How can Django Unchained be viewed as a postmodern film?

Postmodernism suggests that nothing is original, everything is created from existing ideas or is a mash up of a number of existing products. Postmodern texts often include intertextuality and may reference or use other texts.

Django Unchained is the story of Django, a slave who is freed by Dr King Schultz, a German bounty hunter who takes Django on as a partner. The two partner up as bounty hunters and eventually take on the task of rescuing Django’s wife Broomhilda, from Candieland, a plantation owned by the ruthless Calvin Candie.

This film has a huge number of intertextual references, as is often seen in Tarrantino’s work. It pays homage to the original Django film (1966), using the original theme tune in the movie and also including a cameo appearance from Franco Nero, the actor who played Django in the 1966 film. Django meets Nero’s character in Candieland where he is asked to spell his name. When he explains the D is silent, Nero’s character says, “I know”. This is a reference to the fact he played Django in the original film. This is a use of homage as it is a sincere use of the first film.

There are a number of other intertextual references throughout the film. When Django becomes a free man, he chooses his first outfit. The outfit he wears is a replica of the outfit shown in the painting, The Blue Boy, by Gainsborough. Another intertextual reference in costume is Django’s later outfit which includes a green jacket and cowboy hat. This is a copy of the outfit worn by Little Joe in the TV western, Bonanza. These outfits are examples of Pastiche as they imitate the original texts and use similar, if not exact copies of the outfits for the character.

One example of parody in Django Unchained is the raid scene. This is similar to scenes from birth of a nation and show an early form of the KKK. This scene is a parody as it shows them as unorganised and unthreatening, as some fall off their horses and most are caught in the explosion of the horse drawn wagon. They are also shown having an argument over the poorly crafted masks before the raid. This is meant to show them in a bad light and parody the usual image of the KKK as being organised and dangerous. Another example is the acting of certain characters. Characters such as Stephen and other black slaves throughout the film seem to be over exaggerating their actions. They are extremely obedient to their owners and don’t seem particularly bothered about being slaves. Characters such as Django and Broomhilda are more active in trying to gain freedom. They frequently try to escape their owners which led to them being separated in the first place. The other slaves seem to have accepted their fate and follow their ‘masters’ orders. This could be seen as over exaggerating acting as in reality they may not be quite so accepting of their new roles.

Although Django Unchained is a Western, it is set mainly in the south and Quentin Tarrantino prefers it to be called a southern. Some aspects of it are in the West however a large part of the film is set in Candieland, a plantation in the South. There are a number of aspects that suggest this film is not a western. Part of the film is set in the mountains, in snow. This environment was taken from the film, The Great Silence, which was a western set in a snowy environment. This is not typical of most westerns as they are often set in the desert. There is also a lack of cowboys which is a huge part of westerns, Django and King Schultz are bounty hunters, not cowboys. Although at some points in the film there are characters such as sheriffs the film is mainly set around a variety of plantations and farms as the two hunt down wanted criminals. Most westerns use Americans as the heroes however in Django Unchained, the Americans are the ‘bad guys’ whereas Django and Schultz are the heroes of the film. This is an unusual feature of a western as usual the foreign/European characters, such as Schultz, are the villains and the American hero has to defeat them. It is unusual as an African-American is the main character and ultimately, hero of the story and the German is one of the only characters to treat slaves with respect and kindness. At the beginning of the film he frees Django and gives him work and also gives the other slaves traveling with him the key to their shackles and a gun to kill the white Americans who were transporting them. This kindness continues throughout the film as he partners up with Django, helps him save his wife and finally gives his life by killing Calvin Candie. The American characters in the film were only ever cruel to the slaves which contradicts the general format of existing westerns.

Throughout the film there are references to other films. The original Django theme tune is used along with the same font as the 1966 film. Franco Nero also makes an appearance, referencing the film. The snowy scenes and Django’s target practice on the snowman are taken from The Great Silence, and the KKK raid scene was taken from the film, The Birth of a Nation. This shows the use of bricolage as the film is a mash up of inspiration from a huge variety of existing films. The title of the film came from a number of different films such as Django and Hercules Unchained. Stephen is left in Candieland before it is exploded and his final shouts at Django are cut off by the explosion. This is a reference to the final scene in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly where a character is cut off mid-sentence. There are a number of Westerns in both TV and film that influenced Django Unchained, from the shooting of Calvin Candie to the scene where Django and Schultz ride into a town together.

It can be argued that Django Unchained is not a film, instead it is a mash up of scenes and ideas from existing media. Jameson suggests that postmodernism is “vacuous and trapped in circular references” and that it is “nothing more than a series of self-referential ‘jokes’ which have no deeper meaning”. While this is partially true, as postmodern films reference a number of different texts, I do not believe this makes them unworthy of being called films. Django Unchained is a mixture of Western influences, in a southern setting with southern melodrama. It is a revenge film were the heroes are African-American and German. It includes a number of references to Quentin Tarrantino’s other films along with cameos from Tarrantino and Franco Nero. However I think that it is a film, a postmodern film. It is influenced by other text, reusing old material however it should be classed as a film because it is different. I has taken a number of aspects from different media genres and created something that works well. A lot of aspects of the film have been done before but they have not been done in this exact way which should be credited. I think this is a postmodern film as it uses homage, pastiche, parody and bricolage. There are a number of intertextual references included in the film, referencing a number of existing texts throughout.