The Hateful Eight is a film without heroes, but the interplay between characters is always what’s made Quentin Tarantino’s films special. The film is set against a post-Civil War backdrop with wounds still fresh and hatred between Union and Confederate characters still flowing. Of course, those injuries still have not fully closed, which makes the film relevant even today.
In an interview with The Telegraph, Tarantino discusses the U.S. racial tensions that have seemingly reached new heights in the past year. These events went down during the scripting and production of the film, including the downing of the Confederate flag in South Carolina with plenty of subsequent fallout. Tarantino discusses his thoughts on the Rebel flag and compares it to the principal symbol of Nazism:
“All of a sudden, people started talking about the Confederacy in America in a way they haven’t before. I mean, I’ve always felt the Rebel flag was some American Swastika. And, well, now, all of a sudden, people are talking about it, and now they’re banning it, and now it’s not OK to have it on f*cking license plates, and coffee cups, and stuff. And people are starting to question about stuff like statues of Bedford Forrest [the Confederate general and Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard] in parks. Well, it’s about damn time, if you ask me.”
Tarantino goes on to stress how contemporary America “hasn’t been as divided with itself since the Civil War.” This leads to a discussion on his words at an October police brutality protest, which led to a national police boycott and an an ominous-sounding “surprise” for the director. Tarantino did not budge then, and we won’t see him backing down from his statements on the Confederate flag either. The unapologetic Tarantino strikes again.
(Via The Telegraph)