For this entry I chose to do a vlog. I am still very new to this, so please go easy on me! Thanks for watching.
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Interpretations of Django Unchained
Continuing on with my last post, I felt that addressing another movie might be appropriate. This time, I think that we might take a look at Django Unchained, the latest in Quentin Tarantino hyperbole movies.
For those who are not aware, Django follows the tale of a freed slave, one Django (played by Jaime Fox) and a German bounty hunter, Dr. King Schulz (played by Christoph Waltz). The story follows these two characters around the pre- Civil War American South as Schulz trains Django in the ways of bounty hunting. Of course, there is much more to be said about the plot of the movie, but I usually try not to spoil anything without a warning. That being said:
There, I think that takes care of that issue. I felt the need to place the spoiler warning because there are a few things about Django that I want to discuss that need reference from the film. The first thing that I wanted to mention is the proto- Ku Klux Klan scene that takes place about a 1/3rd of the way through the film. The scene is meant mostly as comic relief, as we see the proto-clansmen rallying together with white hoods on their heads. However, through the course of this scene, things start to break down as varying characters express disdain in how the hoods are made. Eventually the bickering and hollering leads the group to vote by committee to determine just how they are going to go about the lynching. The group eventually settles on riding without the masks, and thus they commence the attack. Predictably, the attack is unsuccessful and the riders are routed and humiliated.
This scene might not warrant mention. In fact, as I type this, I find myself questioning if perhaps even I am reading too much into the scene. I don't mean to suggest anything about Mr. Tarantino or his persuasion, but this scene appears in very bad taste. In my last post I said that I try not to pass judgement on the way popular culture portrays history, but in this case I find that it just was not possible for me to avoid. For one, the movie is already of sufficient length that this scene was not needed as filler. Also, this scene serves no purpose but to portray a bitter southern "gentlemen's" petty attempts at revenge. The film would have been just as good had this scene hit the cutting room floor.
Now that I have ranted and raved a bit I feel a bit better... But with that being said, there was one other thing that I wanted to address about the film, this time in a more positive light. This one requires a bit more of an abstract look at the film, so stick with me on this as it is just a theory of mine. In regards to the character that Leonardo DiCaprio plays, I have a bit of a pet theory. DiCaprio's character is supposed to be the representation of a Southern Gentleman during the 19th century. Sure he is a bit eccentric, but that is perhaps to be expected. However, as the movie progress, hist character gets more and more over the top, culminating in his death as a result of a small dispute of honor. For the most part I enjoyed his character, but I couldn't help but wonder about it. As I thought about it, I pondered whether his character was more of a caricature of a Southern gentleman. You have to take into account who the protagonists of the film are: a German and a freed slave. Both of these men have their own unique cultures and ideas, and thus a different lens through which they see things. This means that what the viewer is getting is not the actual representation of a Southern plantation owner, rather just what either Django or Schulz is seeing of him. I don't know, just a theory of mine. I tend to find in regards to the Civil War, American's tend to only remember what they want to and see what they want to. So I thought perhaps maybe seeing the era through the eyes of an outsider might give it a different perspective. Just my two cents.
For those who are not aware, Django follows the tale of a freed slave, one Django (played by Jaime Fox) and a German bounty hunter, Dr. King Schulz (played by Christoph Waltz). The story follows these two characters around the pre- Civil War American South as Schulz trains Django in the ways of bounty hunting. Of course, there is much more to be said about the plot of the movie, but I usually try not to spoil anything without a warning. That being said:
There, I think that takes care of that issue. I felt the need to place the spoiler warning because there are a few things about Django that I want to discuss that need reference from the film. The first thing that I wanted to mention is the proto- Ku Klux Klan scene that takes place about a 1/3rd of the way through the film. The scene is meant mostly as comic relief, as we see the proto-clansmen rallying together with white hoods on their heads. However, through the course of this scene, things start to break down as varying characters express disdain in how the hoods are made. Eventually the bickering and hollering leads the group to vote by committee to determine just how they are going to go about the lynching. The group eventually settles on riding without the masks, and thus they commence the attack. Predictably, the attack is unsuccessful and the riders are routed and humiliated.
This scene might not warrant mention. In fact, as I type this, I find myself questioning if perhaps even I am reading too much into the scene. I don't mean to suggest anything about Mr. Tarantino or his persuasion, but this scene appears in very bad taste. In my last post I said that I try not to pass judgement on the way popular culture portrays history, but in this case I find that it just was not possible for me to avoid. For one, the movie is already of sufficient length that this scene was not needed as filler. Also, this scene serves no purpose but to portray a bitter southern "gentlemen's" petty attempts at revenge. The film would have been just as good had this scene hit the cutting room floor.
Now that I have ranted and raved a bit I feel a bit better... But with that being said, there was one other thing that I wanted to address about the film, this time in a more positive light. This one requires a bit more of an abstract look at the film, so stick with me on this as it is just a theory of mine. In regards to the character that Leonardo DiCaprio plays, I have a bit of a pet theory. DiCaprio's character is supposed to be the representation of a Southern Gentleman during the 19th century. Sure he is a bit eccentric, but that is perhaps to be expected. However, as the movie progress, hist character gets more and more over the top, culminating in his death as a result of a small dispute of honor. For the most part I enjoyed his character, but I couldn't help but wonder about it. As I thought about it, I pondered whether his character was more of a caricature of a Southern gentleman. You have to take into account who the protagonists of the film are: a German and a freed slave. Both of these men have their own unique cultures and ideas, and thus a different lens through which they see things. This means that what the viewer is getting is not the actual representation of a Southern plantation owner, rather just what either Django or Schulz is seeing of him. I don't know, just a theory of mine. I tend to find in regards to the Civil War, American's tend to only remember what they want to and see what they want to. So I thought perhaps maybe seeing the era through the eyes of an outsider might give it a different perspective. Just my two cents.
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Popular Culture and The Civil War
I know the title sounds a bit crazy. Just how can the Civil War be related to popular culture in anyway? Well just stop and think about it. Movies, books, TV Shows, and many other forms of entertainment often draw directly from the Civil War. The most recent, and probably most visible example of this would be Steven Spielberg's Lincoln.
Lincoln is a highly visible and critically acclaimed movie about the last 3 months of Abraham Lincoln's time as President of the United States. I'm trying not to spoil anything, but if you know anything about American History then you probably have a good idea of how the story goes... And unfortunately ends. I saw the film with my girlfriend and a friend of hers, both of whom have little to no interest in history. That being said they still enjoyed the film, probably as much as I did, if for different reasons.
Anyways, the point of this post was mostly to direct attention to an article that was published on cnn.com about a week ago. I've included a link here.
The article points to some historical inaccuracies in the film, which is all fine and dandy in its own right. Historians love to argue about whether a movie is accurate and they bicker when things are wrong. On some levels its ok for historians to complain and argue about this. They want the public to be educated AND have correct information. After all, it seems that a large amount of people only get their historical knowledge from media in some way (whether thats Ken Burns or South Park isn't up to me!). However, their is also the argument that the purpose of popular media is not to be historically accurate, rather it is to entertain the consumer, something that a movie like Lincoln certainly achieved.
I don't want to pass an opinion on this one way or another, I just thought it was something worthy of conversation. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, who am I to get in the way of that?
Lincoln is a highly visible and critically acclaimed movie about the last 3 months of Abraham Lincoln's time as President of the United States. I'm trying not to spoil anything, but if you know anything about American History then you probably have a good idea of how the story goes... And unfortunately ends. I saw the film with my girlfriend and a friend of hers, both of whom have little to no interest in history. That being said they still enjoyed the film, probably as much as I did, if for different reasons.
Anyways, the point of this post was mostly to direct attention to an article that was published on cnn.com about a week ago. I've included a link here.
The article points to some historical inaccuracies in the film, which is all fine and dandy in its own right. Historians love to argue about whether a movie is accurate and they bicker when things are wrong. On some levels its ok for historians to complain and argue about this. They want the public to be educated AND have correct information. After all, it seems that a large amount of people only get their historical knowledge from media in some way (whether thats Ken Burns or South Park isn't up to me!). However, their is also the argument that the purpose of popular media is not to be historically accurate, rather it is to entertain the consumer, something that a movie like Lincoln certainly achieved.
I don't want to pass an opinion on this one way or another, I just thought it was something worthy of conversation. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, who am I to get in the way of that?
Introduction
Hello all! If you are reading this then you have successfully found your way to my brand new blog. It is kind of exciting when I stop to think about it. I have very little experience with actually blogging, but everyone has to start somewhere right? I guess that would make the a private when it comes to blogging so bare with me here.
A little bit about myself might be appropriate to throw in here as well. My name is Connor Hillmann, I am a senior studying History with a focus in 19th century American History at Arizona State University. That probably explains the focus of this blog a bit. I hope to turn this degree into a PhD and continue on in the academic world as a professor. Beyond that I enjoy sports, video games, reading, and spending time with friends. Besides the whole history thing I sound like a pretty typical college student (minus the booze I guess).
Anyways as far as content goes, this blog will be mostly dedicated to the American Civil War, how we remember it today, and how it has been perceived throughout history. It sounds boring right? Well not really, if you sit down and look at just how the Civil War affected the United States you can find a pantheon of things that still linger around the country. History is inescapable. I hope to be able to find things that are relevant to modern day, but also historical lenses of the Civil War. Beyond the history stuff, I will probably included some sports stuff, since baseball is my second passion and I bleed Sedona Red for my Diamondbacks. Also, I might produce some vlogs on Youtube that I will then link to here. Hopefully the vlogs will be able to stimulate some interesting thoughts and discussions.
Beyond that, I hope you enjoy your time on my blog and I promise lots of content is coming soon!
A little bit about myself might be appropriate to throw in here as well. My name is Connor Hillmann, I am a senior studying History with a focus in 19th century American History at Arizona State University. That probably explains the focus of this blog a bit. I hope to turn this degree into a PhD and continue on in the academic world as a professor. Beyond that I enjoy sports, video games, reading, and spending time with friends. Besides the whole history thing I sound like a pretty typical college student (minus the booze I guess).
Anyways as far as content goes, this blog will be mostly dedicated to the American Civil War, how we remember it today, and how it has been perceived throughout history. It sounds boring right? Well not really, if you sit down and look at just how the Civil War affected the United States you can find a pantheon of things that still linger around the country. History is inescapable. I hope to be able to find things that are relevant to modern day, but also historical lenses of the Civil War. Beyond the history stuff, I will probably included some sports stuff, since baseball is my second passion and I bleed Sedona Red for my Diamondbacks. Also, I might produce some vlogs on Youtube that I will then link to here. Hopefully the vlogs will be able to stimulate some interesting thoughts and discussions.
Beyond that, I hope you enjoy your time on my blog and I promise lots of content is coming soon!
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