Just when you thought we'd maxed out on controversy surrounding Quentin Tarantino's slavery-themed action flick Django Unchained — mainly around whether and how slavery should be treated as entertainment — EURWeb reports that a line of action figures has been produced by the National Entertainment Collectibles Association in tandem with the Weinstein Co., based on characters from the film.
If the forces behind the effort say they're surprised that a product that puts "black," "slavery" and "fun" in the same sentence rubs African Americans the wrong way, we don't believe them. Najee Ali of Project Islamic Hope, which has announced a boycott of the toys, put it like this: "Selling slaves as action figures is a slap in the face of our ancestors. Tarantino and Weinstein didn't have action figures for their movie 'Inglourious Basterds' because they know the Jewish community would never allow it, and the African-American community shouldn't allow anyone to disrespect our ancestors."
They're calling for a boycott of the "Djano Unchained" collectables. A press conference is set for … Tuesday, January 8.
If you haven't heard, as the Daily Beast's Karu Daniels reports, the "National Entertainment Collectibles Association, Inc. (NECA), in tandem with the Weinstein Company, announced a full line of consumer products based on characters from the movie. First up are pose-able eight-inch action figures with tailored clothing, weaponry, and accessories in the likeness of characters played by Foxx, Kerry Washington, Samuel L. Jackson, Leonardo DiCaprio, James Remar and Christoph Waltz. The dolls are currently on sale via Amazon.com."
In a press release, NECA president Joel Weinshanker said the company was "very excited to bring the stellar cast of 'Django' to life and honored to be working with another Tarantino masterpiece."
Well, to put it simply, Ali and community leaders are not excited the prospect of the "Django" cast being brought to life.
Read more at EURWeb.