'Django Unchained' roundtable

Was the recent Quentin Tarantino film 'Django Unchained' a revenge fantasy? Revisionist history? Harmless escapism? The only thing not in doubt is that Tarantino is a controversial filmmaker. These and other points will be taken up at the next Cinema Roundtable on the film Feb. 22 at 4 p.m. in room 248 of the MLC:

organized by the UGA Institute for African American Studies in cooperation with the department of theatre and film studies in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences and the Jane and Harry Willson Center for Humanities and Arts.



“Django Unchained” has received both accolades and criticism. It has a current Academy Award nomination for best picture; and Tarantino, who directed the film, has been nominated for his original screenplay. The film also has been criticized for its approach to American slavery, which has been the subject of discussion among historians and critics who disagree on whether the film’s overall impact is positive or negative.



“Any film that essays the subject of slavery, even as a backdrop for a spaghetti western-meets-blaxploitation homage, turns out to be ‘more than a movie,’” said Freda Scott Giles, an associate professor of theatre and film studies and a member of the Institute for African American Studies.



“What is the takeaway from this film? I do not know what to expect from the discussion, but I know that since there are very few frank discussions of slavery, and this is a season with two major films (‘Lincoln’ is the other) that center on the subject, this might be a good time to hold a discussion on the representation of slavery in these films and in media in general.”



The panel members, made up of Franklin College faculty, are Giles; Valerie Babb, professor of English and director of the Institute for African American Studies; John Morrow, head of the department of history; and Christopher Sieving, assistant professor of theatre and film studies. Richard Neupert, Wheatley Professor of the Arts and Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor of Theatre and Film, will moderate the discussion.

This is some of what our faculty does best: makng their expertise publicly available on topics of the day. Kudos to the group and to the Willson Center for organizing.