Posted by shaun
on 9/1/2009, 10:39 am, in reply to "So I've thought more about why Tarantino's latest bothers me so much"
Message modified by user shaun 9/1/2009, 12:04 pm
I respectfully disagree. In effect, it turned a fictional Jew into a heroine--for killing off the bad guys in one fell swoop. This with the assistance of her black lover. Indeed, the Basterds were portrayed as terrorists. But I tend to think that the double-edged commentary being wielded by Tarantino here is to be commended; after all, truth itself is a twi-edged blade. I rather appreciate Tarantino's tongue-in-cheek "turning-of-the-tables" accomplished in this film. Tarantino himself openly admits that Inglourious Basterds is a "propaganda film" itself--as you have pointed out. What I think pardons it from accusations of hypocrisy, is the fact that, all too often, fire must be put out with fire. I think the movie makes this plain--while simultaneously having the guts to baldface call a spade for a spade. And that's where its saving grace lies, imo. Because we can all spin ourselves dizzy by following through on a "technicality"--for this reason, I think its too easy to try and point the finger back at this movie. The symbolism inherent to the highly flammable nitrate in the old film reels--a reference to the power in film--i.e, a reference to the power of art--undermines the spirit behind the entire Nazi movement itself. It is as if Tarantino is pointing out that the Jews, by going on to have their hands in the movie industry, at least made a more humane decision than Hitler; they were not trying to methodically usurp the basic human rights of others. Herein lies what I discern as the essential difference between the calculated cruelty of the "Nazi Propaganda Movie" and the "Calling A Spade For A Spade Propaganda Movie" delivered with great humanity by Tarantino. I just don't buy the technical calling out of Inglourious Basterds as being anywhere near in shape or form to the particular evil of the Nazi regime.
That said, I can certainly understand how the subject matter tackled hands-on by this movie may not "sit right" with you or any one of us, kovacs--but when you say it could "easily" be interpreted as an anti-semitic movie, I feel compelled to point out that, yes; too easily, I'm afraid.
i.e, Perhaps if Hitler had expanded on his professed love of art, and diverted his energies towards putting his fingers in "Hollywood's pie" so to speak (rather than engaging in the attempted genocide of a people), his legacy would have panned out differently. Yet History clearly states otherwise. It is for this and other reasons that Inglourious Basterds sits right with me. I sense that these reasons also came into play when the movie received standing ovations in Germany, and is largely praised by German critics (or so I've been led to believe).
In the end, we must be wary of calling the kettle black when there are so many blacker shades to hold accountable. This is why I feel the Basterds is a triumph. Is there such thing as a "good" propaganda film...? Only if one has the nerve to call a spade for a spade. We must navigate such slippery slopes with extreme care.
"Paranoia is a skill"
~...
http://freezineoffantasyandsciencefiction.blogspot.com
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