Once upon a time in Hollywood and the feminist appeal of Tarantino



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Kill Bill is a fantasy of revenge. Basterds without glory, Django Unchained, and Once upon a time in Hollywood are all alternative historical fantasies. In any case, extreme and stylized violence is the means by which Tarantino achieves a satisfying, rose-tinged end: Beatrix moves away at sunset, Hitler gets shot down at the screening of one. movie and Sharon Tate waking up in the morning of August. On June 9, 1969, she still has a bright future ahead of her. Marked violence is the way he achieves it, but fantasy is the motive, the bottom line.

Once upon a time in Hollywood Tarantino has been praised in some corners for his impeccable work and lavishly immersive construction, but he has also been criticized for treating Sharon Tate with Margot Robbie and for making Bruce Lee a joke.

Mastering fantasy is both the greatest strength and the most problematic quality of Tarantino. The fantasy is escape at its best; Tarantino has a way of making movies that sucks you. He is also a white man and of mature age, and his realized fantasies reflect that. The fantasies are both deeply personal and unfiltered, and are not designed with regard to how they might make others feel or worry about potentially problematic content. They are formed only by what their creator desires and finds agreeable, without thought for impression, without subtext or consequence.

While watching one of Tarantino's films, there are at least a handful of alienating moments where I suddenly feel ejected, struck by the notion that this film is not for me, a woman of color. Then, the moment pbades and I'm back in.

When the credits return and the lights come on, these moments can not simply be swept away and thrown away. However, the pleasure of the experience can not be ignored either. If the film has some problematic elements, does that mean that by appreciating it and appreciating it openly, you support its problematic elements? Is that part of the problem?

I asked myself these questions coming out of several Tarantino movies, but it's only after seeing Once upon a time in Hollywood finally, I was able to reach some peace about my feelings about Tarantino's work. Yes, I like a lot of his films and I have finished feeling guilty. Having a good movie on Tarantino does not make me a failure for an intersectional feminist.

The key to this achievement had less to do with Once upon a time in Hollywood itself that the list of trailers that preceded it during my projection, in which more than half – Harriet, Jojo Rabbit, Queen & Slim, and A nice day in the neighborhood – were projects led by women and people of color. Although Quentin Tarantino never makes a feminist masterpiece or poignant commentary on race, there is still room for Tarantino's fantasy and allows audiences to enjoy Tarantino's fantasy for so long that others will have room at the table. .

Identity inherently shapes fantasy. The fantasies that have gone through the history of cinema have been the subject of an overwhelming majority of whites, people verifying the same demographic criteria as Tarantino. But for some time now, there are signs that the film industry is taking steps towards a more inclusive future, which is good news for everyone, including Tarantino fans.

Ciara Wardlow is an entertainment writer living in New York.

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