The incorporation of conventional stages of a hero’s journey development is a characteristic feature of classic literature pieces. However, the same principles, although with some alterations, might be identified in contemporary works of filmmaking art. In particular, the film under the title Django Unchained directed by Quentin Tarantino and released in 2012, is one such example. This paper is aimed at analyzing this film according to the use of twelve stages of the hero’s journey development with the use of eight archetypical characters to validate the completeness of the epic story. In such a manner, Django passes through all the stages, during which the hero’s transition from a slave into a free man naturally occurs as a result of hardships and rebirth.
The beginning of the film is marked by a scene that represents Django’s Ordinary World as the life of a slave. Django first meets Dr Schultz when he kills the slave owners and frees Django with the aim of using his help to find the Brittle brothers. The episode where Dr Schultz negotiates Django’s participation in finding the Brittle brothers might be classified as a Call to Adventure. However, initially, the protagonist resists the proposal, which signifies the next stage of the journey, which is the Refusal of the Call. After a short hesitation, however, Django rethinks the benefits of such cooperation to find and free his wife Broomhilda and reaches the stage of Meeting the Mentor. Since Dr Schultz is a mentor of the protagonist, the meeting implies their agreement to cooperate, which is followed by Schultz teaching Django essential skills necessary for the successful journey.
At the stage of Crossing the Threshold, Django embarks on a journey with Dr Schultz to bounty hunt Brittle brothers at their mansion. There, he crosses the threshold by becoming a bounty hunter and killing one of the brothers as revenge for the atrocities he caused Django when he was enslaved at their mansion (Tarantino). The next stage of the hero’s journey that might be identified in the movie is Tests/Allies/Enemies. This stage uncovers in the form of Django’s training under the guidance of his mentor, who is identified as a friend and ally. Moreover, the protagonist encounters tests and enemies by fighting the members of Ku-Klux-Klan.
The stage of the Approach to Inmost Cave is represented by Django and Dr Schultz’s implementation of the plan of coming to Calvin Candy under cover of slave fighter traders. In such a manner, the hero is prepared to encounter his enemy in the next stage. Indeed, the stage of Ordeal comes in the form of a battle with Calvin Candy and then with his sister and her company to restore justice and obtain freedom for himself and his wife. Ultimately, the ordeal results in Reward (Seizing the Sword), which is manifested through the reunion with Broomhilda; her freedom was the guiding force of the whole journey.
The story finishes according to the archetypical development of the hero’s journey. The Road Back is demonstrated in the final scenes of the movie where Django and Broomhilda ride away in the background of the burning house of Calvin Candy. However, the point of Resurrection/Atonement is not placed in the conventional spot. Instead, it precedes the road back and appears as the final escape from the mining job where he was sold by Calvin Candy’s sister. This escape and the ultimate explosion of the house constitute the resurrection of the hero. The Return (with the Elixir) closes the film by picturing the Hero as a free man whose home is not slavery now but freedom.
The Hero, Django, develops on the background of other archetypical characters presented in the movie. Dr Schultz is a Mentor in the film because he guides the hero through the journey. In addition, one might suggest that the archetypical Ally in the story is also Dr Schultz, who not only guides and teaches the Hero but also helps him achieve his goal of freeing his wife. Similarly, there is no identifiable character that might be labeled as Herald; it might be relevant to state that the features of Herald are seen in Dr Schultz. It is him who selects Django for the journey at the beginning of the film. Since the whole plot is intertwined with amusing and humoristic episodes with the wits of Dr Schultz, this multifaceted character might be characterized as the one performing the role of a Trickster as well.
Stephen is a Shapeshifter in the story because his character is introduced mysteriously without clear identification as either an ally or an enemy at first. Calvin Candie’s Sister Lara might be characterized as a Threshold Guardian since she attempts to sell Django to a mining company for death. In the context of a classic archetypical interaction, such an action is a way of the Threshold Guardian to send the hero home, which in this case means returning Django to slavery. Finally, the Shadow of the Hero is Calvin Candie, who is the main villain of the movie.
In conclusion, the analysis of Quentin Tarantino’s film allowed for detecting some classic patterns in the development of the story. Django as the protagonist in the film, passes through all of the twelve stages of the hero’s journey. However, Tarantino does not precisely allocate a separate character to each of the eight fundamental archetypes, combining several roles in one character. Overall, the use of the outlined characteristics of monomyth allowed for delivering Django’s vivid journey from slavery to freedom.
Work Cited
Tarantino, Quentin, director. Django: Unchained. Columbia Pictures, 2012.