It's not always easy to get an original version screening in Spain. We dub everything, even documentaries. But I was in luck and I watched it properly. It's a great film, except the editing, which made me think Tarantino is getting closer and closer to his dream of just shooting his novel-length scripts. I must admit, however, that the ending made me forget all about that and I enjoyed it thoroughly.
However, my experience was weird. There was a rare sense of cultural disconnect. Most Europeans roughly know the infamous history of American slavery, but that's not really the point: in most reviews, half of it was about the portrayal of slavery or even more so the use of the "n" word.
The thing is, that didn't happen here. We have our own euphemisms and troubles, obviously, as everyone else. But the black population here is very recent and a very tiny minority —something like 1%. So we call black people "black", which confuses some English speakers since our word for "black" is "negro." And yeah, "nigger" does ultimately from the Latin "niger," which just means "black." However, I get that words carry baggage.
But as I was watching Django, with everyone taking it as the usual Tarantino "light-hearted but dark" movie, I thought about the black people I heard from who were surprised that they were uncomfortable with the laughs coming from the mostly white audience, and the white people who simply felt guilty about enjoying it too much.
My point is: that 'risqué' element was utterly gone with the distant and distinct Spanish cultural context. Of course, the Tarantino craziness was still there. But the feeling of breaking social taboos (for good or ill), of uncomfortable laughter, was simply missing.
Everything in screen was the same thing. In the comedy bits, my friends laughed. I laughed. And that's fine. But we laughed uncomplicatedly, comfortable in our seats. And for a guy who is so ingrained into American culture because I read and watch everything in English, that was really weird. I experienced cultural disconnect in my own head, which just shouldn't happen. I don't think Westerners make enough allowances for our cultural differences, really. That day, especially after watching the film and thinking about it, I was acutely aware of them.
In a way, the fact that the "n" word didn't get gasps here may be pretty crucial to how it has been received. I'm pretty sure they just dubbed every "nigger" with "negro" —which not only means literally "black" but it is the social equivalent of "black" or "African American" in the US. I don't really think we have a cultural equivalent that transmits the same emotion to modern audiences. That fact might've made the film more palatable around these parts, but I'm pretty sure it's also made it a less relevant film here.
Last edited by Luka Nieto (2013-05-22 05:12:27)
