Django Unchained (western)

Django Unchained is a western movie made in 2012 by Quentin Tarantino, it had a budget of $100 million and made $425.4 million back at the box office. It has since won 17 awards globally. Django unchained had an ensemble a-list cast, including Quentin Tarantino, Jamie Foxx, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Christoph Waltz. 

Western movie conventions often consist of: cowboys, shootouts, ranches, and horses. The opening title sequence to Django Unchained appears to adhere to these stereotypical conventions. The first shot highlights the desolate landscapes of the wild west, whereby the actors' names are shown over the landscape. 

The opening scene has a serious yet violent tone, Its apparent from the characters shown and the lack of technology that Django unchained is going to be set in the US, specifically in California, and set during the 1950s/60s, we know that at the time the civil rights movement was very prominent due to Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, so at the time the film was based racial equality was horrific, moreover this is conveyed within the opening scene whereby we see numerous black men who have obviously been abused and enslaved by white men whose status are represented through horseback. As well as the civil rights movement, during the 60s the American civil war took place, this could affect the narrative of the movie.

The non-diegetic soundtrack assumingly called “Django” establishes the western genre through the tempo alongside the choice of instruments and vocals. Guitars and banjos are instruments western artists use therefore the soundtrack radiates a strong western music vibe setting the genre off strong from the opening scene. The continuity within the song reflects the non-stop journey the “slaves” are on, indicating they've had no rest over a few days through the use of lighting as well as costumes. The scene starts out showing the desert in the peak sunshine, although throughout the opening scene the sun begins to fade and the sand becomes more mountainous and grasslike, by the end of the opening scene its pitch black, and the men appear to be walking through icy woods, whereby their costume has changed to represent the change in temperature. The change in set shows the power the men on horseback have over the “slaves” as it reflects the brutality they can inflict on them.

Moreover, the audience is engaged as there isn't a lot hinted at in the rest of the story, for example, we don't know anything about any of them or where they are or where they're going, the element of mystery engages the audience and makes them want to carry on watching. There is only one character whose face is intentionally shown, we can assume that he is “Django” and the rest of the movie is going to be about him. The use of screen time further reflects his status as it gives him the most importance within the scene. Additionally, we can gather from the title “Django unchained” that the movie is going to be about his life when he's no longer part of the slave trade and how he potentially gets out.

The opening title sequence is good at establishing the western genre, the use of the panning shot establishes the location, whereby the western genre is reflected through the desolate landscape. Furthermore, the characters and their lack of costume highlight the slavery theme within the movie, although the slave trade can be associated with plantations often in the wild west, which highlights the western theme. Therefore the genre is successfully identified within the sequence and not too much of the further narrative is uncovered.