News
"Django" Action Figures Dropped & other Django News
(January 18, 2013)"Django" Action Figures Dropped
Friday, January 18, 2013
Among journalists, the most common reaction to the news of the 'Django Unchained' action figures was a version of 'oh, no, they didn't!' (Credit: Amazon.com)
Among journalists, the most common reaction to the news of the 'Django Unchained' action figures was a version of 'oh, no, they didn't!' (Credit: Amazon.com)Advocacy Groups, Writers Called Dolls Inappropriate
"The controversial 'Django Unchained' action figures have officially been DISCONTINUED ... after several African American groups called for a boycott of the dolls ... TMZ has learned," the TMZ website reported Friday.
Later in the day, the Weinstein Co., the film's producer, said in a statement, "We have tremendous respect for the audience and it was never our intent to offend anyone," Christy Lemir reported for the Associated Press. Toy maker NECA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
". . . The studio said Friday that such collectibles have been created for all of director Quentin Tarantino's films, including "'nglourious Basterds,' and that they were meant for people 17 and older, the audience for the film," Lemir wrote.
The earlier TMZ dispatch said, "Sources connected to the toy production tell us ... shortly after advocacy groups like Al Sharpton's National Action Network and Project Islamic Hope spoke out against the figurines ... the Weinstein Company (which produced the film) reached out to the toy company and told them to put the kibosh on the toy line ASAP.
"We're told the toy company agreed, insisting they never intended to offend anyone ... and halted production immediately.
"Sources tell us ... the toymakers only released somewhere in the neighborhood of 1,000 dolls before shutting down production."
As reported in this space on Jan. 7, among journalists, the most common reaction to the news of the action figures was a version of "oh, no, they didn't!"
"Civil rights groups argued that the toys trivialized the horrors of slavery," the AP story said.
- EURWeb.com: Luke Calls Spike Lee 'Uncle Tom, House Negro' for 'Django' Bashing
- Dexter Gabriel, Colorlines: Hollywood's Slavery Films Tell Us More About the Present Than the Past
- Henry Louis Gates Jr., the Root: Did Dogs Really Eat Slaves, Like in 'Django'?
- Adam Howard, the Grio: Why Samuel L. Jackson and Leonardo DiCaprio were snubbed by the Oscars
- Tony Norman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: PBS trumps Hollywood examining slavery
- Barry Saunders, News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C.: The language in 'Django' is harsh, just like the era it portrays
- Jermaine Spradley, HuffPost BlackVoices: Django Unchained Controversy: A Look at the Conundrum Tarantino's Latest Created in Progressive Black America
- Eisa Nefertari Ulen, EisaUlen.com: Invisibility in Django Unchained: Broomhilda in Chains
- Kirsten West-Savali, the Grio: 'Django Unchained': The fallacy of famous detractors' uninformed criticism
- DeWayne Wickham, USA Today: 'Django' really about blaxploitation
- Jazmyne Z. Young, Richmond (Calif.) Pulse: 'Django Unchained': The Good, the Bad and the Ugly