Over the next few weeks, you are going to hear a lot about Quentin Tarantino’s new film, Inglorious Basterds. Actually, I think its been blogged about more than once on our site already. But with the days coming closer to its opening, I gotta hype it as much as I can.
While Holocaust films come out all the time, this movie defies genres. Basterds seems like it is going to be much like Defiance, but on crack. It will be pure “Nazi scalping” that in Jeffrey Goldberg’s new article in The Atlantic, is referred to as, “kosher porn.” It is the idea that it is every Jew’s dream to see Nazis getting killed. And we get pleasure out of seeing it on screen.
It’s an interesting concept. Most Jews have some type of revenge complex against Nazis. But while I am personally very excited to see this film, I’m not sure the Jewish community is going to have as positive of a reaction. When The Boy in the Striped Pajamas came out, it was panned by some Jews because it didn’t give a realistic depiction of the Holocaust. It was more of a fantasy tale about two little boys–a story that, in essence, was implausible.
Now imagine the reaction the Jewish community is going to have to Tarantino’s new film–a Western that has been transformed into a Holocaust film. The subject of the Holocaust is really delicate. While I don’t think Tarantino, means any harm, he will be offending some. Oh, to be a fly on the wall the first time a Holocaust survivor confronts the director.
Quentin (because you will obviously read this), don’t say I didn’t warn you.
