America 1987

Chapter 84 The Right Way in Hollywood

These classic scenes and the memes that have spawned are the fundamental reason why this movie has maintained its vitality. As for the metaphors, they are merely for the convenience of Bilibili up-loaders to make explanatory videos.

"So you made this film to express this kind of white supremacist value system?"

"I've given the answer to this question enough times, and I don't want to repeat myself. Why don't you use your time to come and help me see if this outfit suits me?"

David, who was putting on his costume, said to Quentin, who then pulled the latter over to act as the on-set director.

The film "Dances with Wolves" is set in 1863, during the American Civil War.

This period coincided with the peak of the American westward expansion and has strong symbolic significance.

David dressed himself in a 19th-century U.S. Federal Army officer's uniform, which presented a typical Western frontier garrison style.

Quentin sized up the other man's attire—a dark blue uniform jacket with a stand-up collar. There were gold decorations on the collar and epaulettes, and he wore a white stand-up collar shirt underneath, with a crisp collar and a dark bow tie.

"It's suitable, very suitable, but..." Quentin suddenly frowned, his gaze fixed on David's crooked collar, and then stepped forward to straighten it for him. "It's just that the inner lining of the jacket has a stand-up collar design, so the collar will be crooked if you're not careful."

"Oh, thank you, thank you."

David was surprised to find that the other person also had obsessive-compulsive disorder. He looked in the mirror and saw that the line was indeed a little straighter than before.

His next scene to film is the opening sequence of the movie—the protagonist Dunbar lying on the operating table undergoing surgery.

The scene is set inside a field medic's tent, dimly lit and hot. In the center of the camera's view is an operating table, on which David lies supine, his shirt open, the white surgical cloth soaked with blood.

This scene mainly tells the story of how two military doctors, while performing an amputation on the male protagonist, temporarily stopped due to exhaustion and went to have coffee. The protagonist, not wanting to have his leg amputated, endured the excruciating pain, put on his shoes, and left.

Within five minutes of the opening, the film establishes its anti-war tone—there are no heroic battle scenes, but it directly cuts into the most brutal and sordid rear medical scenes of war.

The bloodied operating table and the exhausted military doctors allow the audience to immediately feel the real cost of war, rather than the romanticized state of charging into battle.

Quentin Tarantino, who has watched countless films, naturally noticed this as well.

Because David was going to perform on stage, he was mainly responsible for the on-site personnel management.

After reading the script, his feelings about the film were somewhat complicated—he was indeed extremely obsessed with Westerns. In the original timeline, when Reservoir Dogs was screened in Cannes in 92, he publicly discussed his three favorite Westerns: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, and One-Eyed, and expressed his admiration for Sergio Leone (director of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly).

However, judging from his later films such as Django Unchained and The Hateful Eight, he seems to prefer Westerns that are "dirtier," more genre-specific, and more playful.

The epic, dramatic narrative style wasn't particularly to his liking.

more importantly……

"Why? Why did you make a Western like this, David?"

"What? What's wrong with the movie?"

After leaving the film set, the two were having coffee in a restaurant on the first floor of the hotel when David asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Of course there's a problem. Don't you think it's too accurate?" Quentin took a sip of coffee. "And it's too steady. If I were to film it, I would definitely speed up the pace. This is too steady."

Quentin Tarantino has always been clear and consistent in his aversion to "political correctness," and can even be described as openly criticizing it.

In 2022, he stated on a podcast that Hollywood today, like the 50s and 80s, is "the worst era in Hollywood history."

As for what's wrong with it? His original words were this: "Current movies are openly and blatantly politicized. If you violate this conventional 'value' system, you will be labeled as 'racist,' 'sexist,' or 'homophobic,' and you will be whipped on social media."

The first two are self-explanatory, but the last one, "homophobia," is a form of discrimination against homosexuals.

From this perspective, his remarks were practically a direct declaration of war against "political correctness."

Yes, that's courageous. To dare to speak like that in that kind of public opinion environment is a brave thing to do.

Spielberg once publicly praised Nolan as "the last auteur of Hollywood." I wonder if he regrets saying that after seeing the casting for "Odyssey."

Helen of Troy, described in ancient Greek epics as "the most beautiful woman in the world," was described in black and white as having "fair skin, blonde hair, and blue eyes." Yet, when the movie was made, a Black actor was chosen to play the role.

No wonder Musk has repeatedly publicly attacked Nolan on social media, saying things like "Christopher Nolan has lost his integrity and ethics" and "Nolan is pissing on Homer's grave, shameful."

He also retweeted a conservative commentator's statement: "No one in the world truly believes Lupita is 'the most beautiful woman in the world.' Nolan is technically talented, but deep down he's a coward—afraid of being labeled a racist by white people."

Nolan was attacked by the world's richest man, but he didn't dare to respond.

However, in an interview, she subtly expressed her hope that the film would allow viewers to "re-examine the characters and emotions in classic stories, especially the diverse interpretations of female characters," believing that modern society should be more inclusive in its standards of beauty, rather than adhering to ancient stereotypes.

However, this is clearly an attempt to cover up the truth, as his previous films have never featured this aesthetic of "beauty in black".

In my opinion, casting Elon Musk's ex-girlfriend Amber Heard as Helen Keller, the "most beautiful woman in the world," would have been a good choice. Although she's a bit older, her looks would definitely surpass Lupita Nyong'o's.

However, David understands Nolan's tendency to compromise with mainstream opinion and pursue political correctness.

“Being right definitely has its advantages,” David chimed in. “If I make a few more correct ones now, I can make some less correct ones in the future.”

It was the late 80s, and public opinion in the United States was far less complex than it would become in later years.

Leaving aside the "#MeToo" movement sparked by Harvey in 17, which also fueled the anti-sexism movement.

Twenty years after George Floyd, a Black man, died from being knelt on by a white police officer, a civil rights movement called "Black Lives Matter" or "Black Lives Matter" broke out.

Nolan's "The Odyssey" is adapted from Homer's mythology. The influence and popularity of this story in the West is roughly equivalent to the influence and popularity of "Journey to the West" in the East.

This is true, because Journey to the West is often translated in the West as Chinese Odyssey to make it easier for Westerners to understand.

Knowing this, it becomes clear why Nolan chose this casting method, and why it was criticized.

A work adapted from a classic myth is naturally at the center of a storm of "political interpretation," since it is not the director's original work and belongs to the public domain.

If a nationally recognized IP is used, then the casting must be as "diverse" as possible. If no Black actors are used, it would be seen as a lack of recognition of the Black community as part of the nation, which would be detrimental to unity.

In addition, Nolan's film has a huge investment and is under a lot of pressure to achieve box office success, so he needs to avoid offending any potential audience as much as possible.

Since it's a public domain copyright, anyone can comment, so it's not surprising that he gets criticized.