For those unaware of Quentin Tarantino’s latest film, "The Hateful Eight" is set a few years after the Civil War, in a world rampant in racism. Early on in the film, Kurt Russell’s character John Ruth asks to see Samuel L. Jackson’s character Major Warren’s letter from President Lincoln. In true Tarantino fashion, we are teased with only three words of the letter “Ole Mary Todd” to rest in our minds. In this way it’s similar that we know absolutely nothing of the letter, save for what Warren tells us. In this way, the audience is left to believe.
It’s a scene that occurs about halfway through the film, while the cast eats dinner at the table together where the Lincoln letter is once again brought up. Walton Goggin’s character, Chris Mannix, doubts the truth of the letter, stating that the friendship cast between Warren and Lincoln as pen pals is just a fabrication. Warren relents, admitting that the letter is just a fabrication. It’s in his response to why he created the lie that really shows how Tarantino transforms a moment from post-Civil War to reflect modern society.
“You got no idea what it’s like being a black man facing down America. Only time black folks is safe is when white folks is disarmed and this letter had the desired effect of disarming white folks.” Tarantino has received many criticisms over his use of language and that it only contributes to the racism within our world, but I bet many people glazed over a quote of such weight like the one above. As a white male, I really have no idea of what being a black man in America is like, I am only allowed an idea or stories from friends and others, and Tarantino has captured the feeling of our society with his quote perfectly. Many people today like to think they know what hardships people go through, people who say they understand what people went through in Baltimore, Maryland last year or what those struggling in Flint, Michigan are currently experiencing, but the truth of the matter is as an outsider, you won’t ever truly understand.
The second sentence of Warren’s quote also faces down a hard truth about modern society that doesn’t really get exposure. Due to pressure from society and negative prejudices, many African Americans today try to assimilate into white culture and views, and those who may argue simply need look at our societies rise through a company. Our society is built upon white males succeeding and moving forward, and it’s something that has continued for years. No, we simply can’t undo years and years of oppression and racism, but we can shed light upon solutions for these problems. If our society never acknowledges them, then they don’t exist to the majority. The sad truth of our society is that while we may think we are more progressive today than years ago, we may have just learned to not be open about it anymore.
During the closing moments of the film, we get a full reading of the letter courtesy of Mannix’s curiosity. The audience knows it’s a farce, Mannix knows it’s a farce, yet he still wishes to read it. In the end, of the film, we are shown someone who presents himself as a full proponent against what the North achieved in the Civil War, and yet here he is wishing to be disarmed. The question at the end of the film begs to ask whether the falsehood of the Lincoln Letter was something to disregard, or whether it’s simply the way for African Americans to succeed in society.
