Quentin Tarantino: "Finally, the issue of white supremacy is being talked about"

In New York magazine's new interview with Quentin Tarantino, the film director best known for Pulp Fiction says he's excited that America is finally confronting institutional racism.

When asked how his upcoming movie, The Hateful Eight, deals with race, Tarantino responds:

Finally, the issue of white supremacy is being talked about and dealt with. And it's what the movie's about…

It was already in the script [before the Ferguson and Baltimore protests]. It was already in the footage we shot. It just happens to be timely right now. We're not trying to make it timely. It is timely. I love the fact that people are talking and dealing with the institutional racism that has existed in this country and been ignored. I feel like it's another '60s moment, where the people themselves had to expose how ugly they were before things could change. I'm hopeful that that's happening now.

Tarantino's excitement seems to be directed at the growing movement against racial disparities in the criminal justice system and police use of force. Over the past couple of years, this movement really has tried to bring the issues with institutional racism to the mainstream.

So far, the push appears to be working. A recent Gallup poll found, for example, that fewer Americans of all races are satisfied with how black people are treated in US society — and a growing number of Americans said black people are treated less fairly in police interactions, malls, work, shops, and restaurants, bars, theaters, and other entertainment places. And Democratic presidential candidates can no longer avoid questions about what they're going to do to address these issues.

So Tarantino is right that this issue is certainly getting more attention. Whether that will lead to significant policy changes remains to be seen.

Will you support Vox’s explanatory journalism?

Most news outlets make their money through advertising or subscriptions. But when it comes to what we’re trying to do at Vox, there are a couple of big issues with relying on ads and subscriptions to keep the lights on:

First, advertising dollars go up and down with the economy. We often only know a few months out what our advertising revenue will be, which makes it hard to plan ahead.

Second, we’re not in the subscriptions business. Vox is here to help everyone understand the complex issues shaping the world — not just the people who can afford to pay for a subscription. We believe that’s an important part of building a more equal society. And we can’t do that if we have a paywall.

So even though advertising is still our biggest source of revenue, we also seek grants and reader support. (And no matter how our work is funded, we have strict guidelines on editorial independence.)

If you also believe that everyone deserves access to trusted high-quality information, will you make a gift to Vox today? Any amount helps.

One-Time Monthly Annual

$5/month

$10/month

$25/month

$50/month

Other

$

Yes, I'll give $5/month

Yes, I'll give $5/month

We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. You can also contribute via