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The films, Django Unchained and Unforgiven are both classified as westerns. As a result of this classification, both films use motifs commonly associated with westerns to challenge the audience's typical perceptions of the genre in creative ways. This project will analyze how each film presents motifs such as using text on the screen to move the plot forward, prostitution, the saloon, shootout/gun violence, and the imagery of men on horses. Our analyze will also discuss how each film modifies these individual motifs to challenge our perceptions of the western genre.

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Django Unchained is a spaghetti western set before the Civil War. The two main characters are a German bounty hunter, Dr. King Schultz, and a slave, Django Freeman. Dr. Schultz traveled to Texas to “buy” Django. He wanted Django to help him find three brothers with bounties because they were previously Django’s slave masters. Dr. Schultz promised Django’s freedom if he were to assist in the process, and so they set out on an adventure to find the three brothers. While traveling, Dr. King Schultz told an old German folklore to Django. The main character of that story happened to have the same name as Django’s wife, Broomhilda. Django told him that they were separated and sold to different families because they tried to run off together. Dr. Schultz promised to help Django find his lost wife and so they set out to travel to Mississippi. Broomhilda lived in one of the biggest plantations in Mississippi, Candyland. Dr. Schultz knew if he were to travel all the way out there for just Broomhilda, it would seem suspicious. He had a clever idea to pretend to be looking for a Mandingo fighter, which was a big hobby of Dr. Calvin Candie, the owner of Candyland. Upon arriving, Django spotted his wife and was ridiculed by Stephen, the main house slave. Stephen grew suspicious of Django and while Dr. Candie and Dr. Schultz were discussing to buy a Mandingo fighter at the dinner table, Stephen figured out the plan of Dr. Schultz and Django. He realized they weren’t interested in the Mandingo business and instead just wanted to buy Broomhilda. Stephen told Dr. Candie, and he was to too fond of this idea. As a result, Candie makes Dr. Schultz buy Broomhilda for $12,000 (which was the original price for just the Mandingo fighter). An altercation between the two happened and Dr. Schultz and Dr. Candie were both shot, leaving Django to fend for himself. He was captured and sent to a coal mining company as a punishment. While being transported, Django convinced the handlers that he was a bounty hunter and told them there was a bounty back at Candieland. The handlers agreed to travel back to Candieland and gave Django a horse and a gun. He then shot the three handlers and traveled back to Candieland. He set the plantation on fire and escaped with his wife, Broomhilda.

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Unforgiven is a western film set after the Civil War. The main character is William Munny, a retired gunslinger who became a farmer. The film starts with a prostitute who is nearly killed by two cowboys for making fun of them. Outraged by this, her and the other prostitutes in the town gathered all the money they had made and put a bounty on the two cowboys. Word quickly spread, and a young man who calls himself, “Schofield Kid” went to visit Munny at his hog farm to ask for help with the bounty. Will first rejected the offer, but soon after realized his farm is failing and he needed the money. Will then recruits an old friend, Ned Logan, and went with the Schofield Kid. We are then introduced to “English” Bob and his autobiographer, Beauchamp. They traveled to Wyoming to collect the bounty. The sheriff, Little Bill,  told them there was an anti-gun law and seized their handguns. English Bob put up a fight towards this and was beaten as a result. The next day, Will, Ned, and The Kid rode into town and were told to give up their handguns. Will refused and suffered the same fate as English Bob. A few days later, Will, Ned, and the Kid killed the cowboys for the bounty. The prostitutes gave Will and The Kid the $1000 reward, but they found out Ned was captured by the sheriff, Little Bill and murdered. The Kid headed back to Kansas with the reward while Will went back to town to seek revenge on Little Bill. Little Bill had assembled a posse to capture Will and they met at the saloon. Will murdered all the men as revenge and then traveled back to home.

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Iconic Imagery: Text on the Screen Moves the Plot Forward - Django Unchained

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Iconic Imagery: Text on the Screen Moves the Plot Forward - Django Unchained

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In this shot, Dr. King Schultz and Django are seen riding against the backdrop of several snowy mountains. This long-shot is used to present the audience with a set of text designed to move the plot forward, a common motif found in western films. In the context of this shot, the text is telling the audience that Dr. Schultz and Django are headed to Mississippi after spending the winter making money as bounty hunters. This is designed to establish that Dr. Schultz and Django are going to Mississippi to help rescue Django's wife, Broomhilda. This shot appears about midway through the films and symbolizes a shift. After this shot appears, the film begins to shed the western themes as it begins to focus in on the story of Schultz and Django rescuing Broomhilda from Calvin Candie. Additionally, this shot displays several other motifs associated with the western genre of film. For one, both Schultz and Django are wearing western-themed clothing. In particular, they are both wearing hats in this shot. While this shot displays several typical western motifs, there are in fact many diversions from the genre to note. The main characters in this shot are a German guy and a free black man. It is also worth noting that this shot depicts a scene talking place in 1859. This is a departure from the typical post-Civil War environment that most westerns are set in.

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Iconic Imagery: Text on the Screen Moves the Plot Forward - Unforgiven

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Iconic Imagery: Text on the Screen Moves the Plot Forward - Unforgiven

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In this shot, the text is placed over a shot of the sun setting behind William Munny's house. Even though this shot is taking place at night, the western imagery can clearly be observed. Based on the scenery, it is obvious that this shot is taking place somewhere in vast landscape of the western United States. In particular, this shot is taking place in the desert. This shot occurs at the beginning of the film and the text in this shot gives the audience background information on William Munny by discussing his marriage. In the text block, William Munny's wife, who we later discover to be dead, is our frame of reference. Again, this shot displays the typical western motif of placing text on the screen to move a film's plot forward. This shot changes this motif by using William Munny's wife as a frame of reference when giving the audience details about his past.

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In this shot, we see Broomhilda pictured with Candie's sister, Lara. This shot occurs outside of the bedroom housing Dr. Schultz in Candie's plantation house. Dr. Schultz asks Candie if he could "get to know" Broomhilda by spending some alone time with her. Schultz claims that he is interested in her because they both speak German. Candie assumes that Schultz wants to use Broomhilda for sexual pleasure. As a result, in this shot, we can see that Broomhilda is being led to Dr. Schultz's room with the impression that she will be used for sex. Prostitution is a theme that is commonly associated with the west. One of the best ways to summarize the idealized version of western expansion is by the idea of lawlessness. With this idea, drinking, killing, prostitution, and other morally questionable acts are permitted. In Django Unchained, the theme of prostitution is presented in an atypical way for the western genre. For one, the western prostitution theme is paralleled with the horrors of slavery. Moreover, slave owners would often force their slaves to engage in sexual acts against their will. With this being said, the theme of prostitution is presented in an unconventional way.

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In this shot, there are three women. It should be noted that all of these women are prostitutes. One of the ladies has blood and medical tapes on her body and face, the other two ladies are sitting around the injured women try to help her out with her injury. At the beginning of the film, a cowboy cut up one of the female character's faces by using a “cutter." This cowboy reacts in this way to seek revenge for a comment the female prostitute makes about his genitalia. Later in the film we learn that these women are seeking revenge against the men that have repeatedly abused them. Unforgiven presents prostitution in a sense that is typical to the western film genre. Moreover, the women are available for the men's pleasure and are considered to be "lesser" in the town's social structure. However, Unforgiven presents this motif in a different way by giving these women agency. In short, the women seek revenge against the men who have repeatedly harmed them, thus proving that there are consequences for one's actions.

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The Saloon Marks Character Transitions - Django Unchained

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The Saloon Marks Character Transitions - Django Unchained

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One setting that is commonly found in a western film is a saloon or a bar. The saloon is depicted in a traditional way though Django Unchained takes places outside of the typical time period associated with the western film genre. However, in the film, the saloon is used to mark one of the turning points in the film. In this scene, Dr. Schultz and Django make an agreement to form a bounty hunting team. Dr Schultz claims that he needs Django to help him identify the ...,  who are his current bounty. Eventually, the two characters enter into an agreement and Django becomes a bounty hunter, making a transition in his character.

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The Saloon Mark Character Transitions - Unforgiven

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The Saloon Mark Character Transitions - Unforgiven

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In Unforgiven, the saloon is used to mark one of the film's major character transitions. During the final act of the film, the main character, William Munny, transitions back to being a ruthless killer. This character development comes after his confident, Ned, was killed by Little Bill Daggett's gang. After Ned's death, Munny fully transitions back into the killer that he once was. This change in character occurs once Munny enters the Big Whiskey's saloon, Greely's, and brutally murders Bill Daggett and his gang. As a result, Daggett has transitioned back into the killer that he once was.

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The Western Shootout - Django Unchained 

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The Western Shootout - Django Unchained 

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In this shot, we see Schultz holding and facing a gun toward Calvin Candie. A gun is a part of American culture and most of the Americans’ men hold guns for many purposes such as (hunting, self defense, and for showing power). In this part of the film, Django Unchained, there is an agreement between two parties (two white men) about selling one of the slaves. one party is a buyer and the other party is a seller, a seller party (Calvin) seems unhappy with the final deal that already had been signed between the two parties and asked the buyer party(Schultz) for shaking hands and Schultz feels unsafe with this demand, so he pull his gun out and killed Calvin, in turn the Calvin’s bodyguard killed Schultz. In conclusion, a gun is a technique that used to play a great role to determine the most powerful in the American society. In Django Unchained, the weapon comes to symbolize Schultz's desire to do the right thing, even though it means that he will die.

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In this shot William Munny is training about the improvement of the shooting skill. Within this shot, we see that him training in front of his kids, which is not good sociologically for the kids because. In particular, it can be argued that the influences of this scene will last with the kids and remain it in their minds the rest of their lives. Another aspect of this shot is killing people by using guns. William tried to improve his shooting skill in order to get the reward (which is money) paid by female prostitutes of Big Whiskey for killing the men that harmed them. Eventually, Munny accepts the financial offer of $1000, leaves his kids, and heads to Big Munny with his old confidante, Ned. In a modern world, we still live in a society where this idea is still on the minds of people. Some they believe that money is the most valuable part in their loves and they use guns as the critical tool to accomplish money. Also, in this scene the gun comes to symbolize two aspects of Munny's character. First, the gun comes to symbolize Munny's age. The audience is exposed to William Munny as he repeatedly misses the shots he takes. This symbolizes that Munny is growing older and is unable to live up to his legendary status as the ruthless killer of women and children. Second, this shot symbolizes Munny's inner-demons. After Munny keeps missing his target practice, he goes back to his house, grabs a shot gun, and blasts his target. This demonstrates that even with age, Munny cannot run from his past.

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Iconic Imagery: Men on Horses - Django Unchained

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Iconic Imagery: Men on Horses - Django Unchained

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In this shot we see Django and Schultz riding on horses. In most Westerns when the viewer is introduced to the main characters riding horses, it marks the beginning of the adventure. In this shot, Django and Schultz are about to collect their first bounty. In classic Tarantino fashion, we see that Schultz is riding on a carriage instead of just a horse, which is his way of creatively making the western his own. We can also see that Django isn't dressed in typical 19th-century fashion

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Iconic Imagery: Men on Horses - Unforgiven

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Iconic Imagery: Men on Horses - Unforgiven

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In this shot, we see William, Ned, and The Kid riding off on their horses into town. Horses play a vital role in most Westerns since they were the main source of transportation and are usually seen at the beginning and end of the conflict or adventure. The ending usually includes riding off into a sunset, and since the conflict is about to start, we see that it is the afternoon so this shot symbolizes the beginning of the adventure.

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Overall, these two films present ideas and motifs that are commonly associated with the western film genre. However, each film presents each respective motif in a creative way. In Django Unchained, western motifs are used within a different context as the film presents them coupled with antebellum settings. In Unforgiven, the western motifs are presented in a way that challenges are perceptions of these themes. For example, we are asked to think about the roles of guns, women, etc. in western films.