New “Django Unchained” movie action-figures have created outrage in multiple communities over the idea that characters from a slavery-themed movie are being sold in stores.
In “Django,” a slave goes on a revenge-killing spree in order to save his wife. But now, National Entertainment Collectibles Association appears to be profiting off of the movie by packing up characters like Django and even slave master Calvin Candie (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) to sell to kids in stores.
According to The Guardian, director of the Los Angeles civil rights organization Project Islamic Hope, said the toys are "a slap in the face of our ancestors."
In a movie that depicts a time where men and women were sold as goods, it’s a bit ironic that action figures of these same characters (despite being fictional) would be sold as goods to paying, young customers.
More than anything, the movie action-figure outrage seems to stem from the fact that it waters down the horrific nature of slavery. In selling dolls of the movie’s “house slave” or the film’s “slave master,” some think it gives a license for kids to reenact portions of the movie, or even certain elements of slavery itself, without thinking deeply about the fact that enslavement of individuals wasn’t a game or something to be enjoyed on a recreational level.
"Selling this doll is highly offensive to our ancestors and the African-American community," Rev KW Tulloss, NAC's president in Los Angeles, told the New York Daily News this week.
"The movie is for adults, but these are action figures that appeal to children. We don't want other individuals to utilize them for their entertainment, to make a mockery of slavery."
It’s not yet known why an R-rated movie would result in action-figures being targeted for young children.
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