How Will 'Once Upon A Time In Hollywood' Navigate The Age Of Outrage?
Quentin Tarantino
The more I hear about Quentin Tarantino's “Charles Manson movie ” now titled Once Upon A Time In Hollywood  the more intriguing it sounds. The film is reportedly similar to Tarantino's beloved masterpiece  Pulp Fiction  and revolves around a fading actor (Leo DiCaprio) and his stunt double (Brad Pitt) in seventies Hollywood  struggling to adapt to the changing industry.
But the two also happen to live next door to real-life murder victim Sharon Tate  and it’s unclear how the film will handle this delicate subject matter -  Tarantino  isn’t exactly known for his sense of restraint.
Indeed   Tarantino  has to navigate some rough waters in order to make this inherently controversial concept a success  in the era of perpetual Twitter outrage. We live in a time where snarky entertainment writers like  myself  are always looking for the next controversy  be it real or imagined. For example  the groundbreaking Black Panther was recently criticized for a lack of LGBT representation  for some reason  and Netflix was accused of whitewashing for casting Jared Leto in the role of a western man entering the unfamiliar world of the Yakuza  in a film literally titled  “The Outsider.”
But  Tarantino ’s filmography has always attracted controversy.  His  scripts are peppered with more racial slurs than pop culture references  smatterings of misogynistic violence and a ton of historical revisionism. But Once Upon A Time In Hollywood practically seems to be begging for controversy -  he ’s not the first filmmaker to retell the gruesome tale of Sharon Tate  but releasing  his  film on the anniversary of her death is a bit … gratuitous  even for Tarantino.
But I have a strong suspicion that  Tarantino  is going to go down the “revenge fantasy” route for this one. When exploring the atrocities of history  the man gleefully paints over the facts  splashing the screen with the blood of slaveholders and Nazis. This (inevitably) angers some  but  Tarantino  isn’t exactly striving for historical accuracy.
Most of us are aware of the tragic realities of history  but you’re not always in the mood to watch The Pianist - most of us would rather watch Inglourious Basterds for the fifth time. Despite repeatedly targeting the most distasteful subject matter imaginable   Tarantino  has always understood exactly how far  he  can push  his  audience.
And that’s one of the most impressive qualities of  Tarantino ’s movies  in my opinion.  His  films might feature rape  torture  and exceedingly bloody murder  but you could happily watch one while snacking and never lose your appetite for a moment  because the violence never crosses a certain line;  his  bloodsoaked cinematic universe is closer to Looney Tunes than torture porn.
Tarantino's personal life  on the other hand  might be the biggest obstacle facing the film. The man was recently hit with a wave of much-deserved criticism  after Uma Thurman exposed his tyrannical  reckless behavior on the set of Kill Bill. The story does not paint  Tarantino  in a sympathetic light  and  his  long friendship with the predatory Harvey Weinstein doesn’t help.
The more I hear about [TGT]'s “Charles Manson movie ” now titled Once Upon A Time In Hollywood  the more intriguing it sounds. The film is reportedly similar to Tarantino's beloved masterpiece  Pulp Fiction  and revolves around a fading actor (Leo DiCaprio) and his stunt double (Brad Pitt) in seventies Hollywood  struggling to adapt to the changing industry.
But the two also happen to live next door to real-life murder victim Sharon Tate  and it’s unclear how the film will handle this delicate subject matter -  Tarantino  isn’t exactly known for his sense of restraint.
Indeed   Tarantino  has to navigate some rough waters in order to make this inherently controversial concept a success  in the era of perpetual Twitter outrage. We live in a time where snarky entertainment writers like  myself  are always looking for the next controversy  be it real or imagined. For example  the groundbreaking Black Panther was recently criticized for a lack of LGBT representation  for some reason  and Netflix was accused of whitewashing for casting Jared Leto in the role of a western man entering the unfamiliar world of the Yakuza  in a film literally titled  “The Outsider.”
But  Tarantino ’s filmography has always attracted controversy.  His  scripts are peppered with more racial slurs than pop culture references  smatterings of misogynistic violence and a ton of historical revisionism. But Once Upon A Time In Hollywood practically seems to be begging for controversy -  he ’s not the first filmmaker to retell the gruesome tale of Sharon Tate  but releasing  his  film on the anniversary of her death is a bit … gratuitous  even for Tarantino.
But I have a strong suspicion that  Tarantino  is going to go down the “revenge fantasy” route for this one. When exploring the atrocities of history  the man gleefully paints over the facts  splashing the screen with the blood of slaveholders and Nazis. This (inevitably) angers some  but  Tarantino  isn’t exactly striving for historical accuracy.
Most of us are aware of the tragic realities of history  but you’re not always in the mood to watch The Pianist - most of us would rather watch Inglourious Basterds for the fifth time. Despite repeatedly targeting the most distasteful subject matter imaginable   Tarantino  has always understood exactly how far  he  can push  his  audience.
And that’s one of the most impressive qualities of  Tarantino ’s movies  in my opinion.  His  films might feature rape  torture  and exceedingly bloody murder  but you could happily watch one while snacking and never lose your appetite for a moment  because the violence never crosses a certain line;  his  bloodsoaked cinematic universe is closer to Looney Tunes than torture porn.
Tarantino's personal life  on the other hand  might be the biggest obstacle facing the film. The man was recently hit with a wave of much-deserved criticism  after Uma Thurman exposed his tyrannical  reckless behavior on the set of Kill Bill. The story does not paint  Tarantino  in a sympathetic light  and  his  long friendship with the predatory Harvey Weinstein doesn’t help.