I've read a decent amount of the reporting on the 'debate' over the Confederate flag and the mythology surrounding the very prevalent reverence for all things Confederacy. I have always been perplexed by the Southern reverence for the Confederacy, the whitewashing of what it represented, and the idolization of its generals. I think I have something important to add to the conversation, and perhaps it may have some resonance as I am the son and grandson of Jews who escaped Europe during WWII.
I'll begin with an example out of Hollywood -- because. Maybe that will make the diary more interesting than just the stuff of my personal experiences. Not that I often turn to Quentin Tarantino for deep social commentary, but people dig Tarantino and I think he did make a jarringly powerful commentary on slavery with Django Unchained. Of course, the narrative itself is tremendously affecting in its portrayal of the brutality of slavery. It goes deeper than that, though.
Tarantino made a particular statement in choosing Christoph Waltz to play the role of Dr. King Schultz -- Django's ally in his quest to free his his long lost, enslaved wife. On one level, it's immediately striking that he made the character a German immigrant who seems devoid of any prejudice and finds slavery to be a crime against humanity. He speaks in a German accent and he stands in judgment -- in moral condemnation of white's enslavement of blacks.
That's kind of jarring for an American movie audience that is used to seeing Germans as the villains. However, Waltz himself makes that choice even more inspired, because Waltz had already played another role in Tarantino's ouvre -- that of the chillingly successful Jew-hunting Gestapo officer in Inglorious Basterds. I think Tarantino intended to make a connection for his audience between Nazi Germany and those who were immersed in the exploitation of African slaves. I think it's a fair comparison and one I want to explore at greater length -- after I offer a personal tangent that might make my perspective more meaningful -- more personal and maybe a little richer for it.
