Kerry Washington

Movie Django unchained

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1853728/

One of the trademarks of a Quentin Tarantino movie is that they feature strong female leads. How do you bring that same strength to a character who is kidnapped and tied up, and in a situation that is not as easy?

"Broomhilda is very unique because it’s a different kind of strength. It’s more of an emotional, spiritual, psychological strength. People often say, 'How come she doesn’t kick ass, like a lot of the other Tarantino women?' For me, one of the things that I really loved about this character is that she exists in a time when, historically, black women were, out of necessity, independently strong. The breakdown of the black community, in order to maintain slavery, began with the breakdown of the black family. Men and women were not legally allowed to get married because you couldn’t have that kind of love. It might get in the way of the economics of slavery. Your children could be taken from you and literally sold down the river. That’s where we get the expression, 'Sell you down the river,' from."

"I love that this film is about two people who, even though they exist in a time in our Constitution where they’re only 3/5 of a human being, they so believe in their own humanity and so believe in the love that they share and their illegal marriage, that they risk life to find each other. The fact that he travels across the country and goes into the depths of hell to save this woman, in this time period, was so triumphant. And the fact that Broomhilda gets to be the princess in the tower that is rescued by her man, in a way that reclaims black marriage and black love, to me, is a different kind of strength. I felt like the black woman, as the princess in the tower who is rescued, is an archetype we haven’t been able to enjoy. So, that was something I really appreciated about her. It’s a different kind of strength."