Aladdin and His Magic Lamp (1968)

Quentin Tarantino did not direct By Any Means, but he did direct the movie Django Unchained, which grossed $449.8 million worldwide. 

Spike Lee did not direct By Any Means, but he did direct the movie BlacKkKlansman, which grossed $93.4 million worldwide.

Before Django Unchained came out, Spike Lee criticized Quentin Tarantino’s film, saying on Twitter (now X): “American Slavery Was Not A Sergio Leone Spaghetti Western. It Was A Holocaust. My Ancestors Are Slaves. Stolen From Africa. I Will Honor Them.” 

All three movies – Django Unchained, BlacKkKlansman, and By Any Means – make the creative choice to dramatize a certain period of systemic oppression of Black people in a way that excites and thrills the audience.  All three movies are also told in a way that reminds the audience of the terror of oppression.  That naturally raises the question – are movies like these a force for good, essentially slipping the spirit of liberation into our minds through entertainment?  Or are these movies ultimately misguided, minimizing what was unimaginably horrible by associating them with thrills?  Can the same analysis of these films be applied to war films like Saving Private Ryan and this year’s Pressure?