RHETORICAL ANALYSIS: DJANGO UNCHAINED
Controversial director Quentin Tarantino’s recently produced film Django Unchained used several rhetorical appeals to establish itself. Through the appeals of ethos, pathos, and logos, Tarantino created a successful work of cinema.
Ethos, or the credibility and reliability of the work, is a rhetorical tool that is used to a certain extent in Django Unchained (Bernanke). Quentin Tarantino has been establishing his pathos for years, seeing as how he is one of the most successful and acclaimed directors in Hollywood. In the movie, Tarantino uses production values to establish credibility. The overall quality of the movie, and the obvious time and dedication that went into creating it work to establish the work’s credibility in the eyes of the viewer. Also, by casting such well known and successful actors such as Jamie Foxx and Christoph Waltz, Tarantino establishes credibility in the viewer. Specifically Waltz, who was cast in Tarantino’s film before Django, Inglourious Bastards, for which Waltz received an academy award. This lends to the movie’s credibility by being able to say “starring Oscar winning actor Christoph Waltz" (IMDb). Credibility is a very important appeal in not only films themselves, but also the advertising of films. If a film looks poorly-made, or has poorly-made advertisements, then not too many people are going to be interested in seeing the movie. This is the case with Django. In order to create a successful work, credibility is absolutely crucial.
The appeal of pathos, or appealing to the audience’s emotions, is also very present in Django Unchained (Bernanke). The plot centers on the lives of a former slave, and his wife, a current slave. The escaped slave is trying to be reunited with his wife, and this plays on the emotions of the audience. The audience can sympathize with the characters and their emotions are affected. In addition to the love story, there is a particularly grizzly scene in which the title character’s wife is being unmercifully whipped by an overseer, and the viewer can be almost overcome with emotion to the point of turning their head. Pathos is, in my opinion, the most powerful of the three appeals and this movie is no exception. The ease with which Tarantino affects the emotions of the audience is a credit not only to Tarantino’s talent, but also to the power of emotions and intentionally affecting them.
The third appeal, logos, in also on display in Django Unchained. Logos is using logic and reasoning to convey a point (Bernanke). In Django Unchained, the controversial topic of slavery is one of the focal points of the film. Using logos, the audience knows that slavery is unreasonable and immoral, thus establishing the protagonists as well as the antagonists. Thus, by establishing a clear difference in right and wrong through the use of logic, the audience now has a vested interest in watching the movie- to see who is victorious between good and evil. In Django Unchained, Tarantino uses this appeal to perfection. He establishes antagonistic characters that are so easy to hate, that the decision between what is reasonable and logical is almost unnecessary. Tarantino makes it clear.
Django Unchained was a very good work of film in terms of the three rhetorical appeals of ethos, pathos, and logos. Logos and pathos were more clearly evident, and were present in the majority of the film. These rhetorical appeals are almost everywhere, and films are no exception. When used correctly, rhetorical appeals absolutely work to make a better work. In Django Unchained, logos and pathos were used primarily, but the three of them worked to create a credible, emotion-evoking work of cinematic art.