From Violence To Identity Reconstruction As Illustrated In A Study Of Django Unchained

A lot of research has been done on the subject of identity reconstruction. Thereare research studying migrated people’s acquired new identities in new societieswhich are relatively culturally different from where they came from; there areresearch studying people’s gradually changing identities through the ages, especiallythose of women; there are research studying people’s identity-rebuilding after certainbig change or shock in life. However, there’s seldom any research done on the courseof identity reconstruction of a iflm character.It’s considered scientiifc to get statistical support from research done on realworld people. Whereas it’s also known that statistics from this source can besomewhat unreliable when the people/subjects get blurred memories or makesubjective or changeable judgments. Meanwhile, iflm，as a new form of visual art anda neighbor of literary work, can be seen as a cross-section of the real world to someextent. With its headstreams in real life and a great deal of precedent examples thathad far-reaching influences on society through ifctional stories’, its worth studyingand in turn it may offer some insight into the corresponding real-world problem.Quentin Tarantino, an American iflm director, is famous for his nonlinearstorylines, neo-noir iflm characters, and most of all, his way of applying the aestheticsof violence. In his new iflm Django Unchained he tells us a story of a black man’srevenge in a White man’s world through identity-reconstruction by means of violencewith the background set in1858，two years before the Civil war. In this iflm，thehero’s identity-reconstruction process is clearly marked stage by stage by things heundergoes along with new ideologies he absorbs. Thus it can serve as a suitable casefor study on identity-reconstruction. Besides, Quentin’s typical aestheticization ofviolence was given full play in this iflm as usual, which may also serve as animportant element to look into during the study.This thesis proposes to use case study method to look into the identity-reconstructioncourse of Django, the leading character of Q’uentins iflm Django Unchained, with hypotheses made ahead that the new culture and ideology accepted and acculturatedby Django work as vital catalyzer, the culturally hybrid roles he played duringrevenge process help promoted his identity-reconstruction course, and the violencedisplayed in the iflm is the reasonable path to achieve his goal in his condition. Thisthesis will particularly delve into key communication parts to get a thoroughunderstanding on Django’s identity-reconstruction course. Theories used in this thesisinclude Ting Toome’ys Identity Negotiation Theory (INT), Homi K. Bhabha’sHybridity Theory and Foucault’s Theory of Power.Through detailed case study of Django Unchained, this thesis will testify itshypothesis, discuss its limitations and give suggestions for future studies. The authorfurther suggests that it may be a new way for scholars to delve into the iflm world andprovide new insights into real-world problem.