Lars von Trier's mockery and criticism of the United States has always been clear and decisive. "Manderlay" pointed the finger at the issue of race and contained more content. Grace represents a cowardly reform attitude. What she is full of is actually cheap and idealized equality thoughts. She underestimates the reality, which directly leads to the lack of operability of her reforms and the lack of implementation of her justice. Strong logic, so when she finally faced reality again, she was actually defeated by her own failure. Her anger was not because she had discovered the "true colors" of the slaves, but because she simply didn't have the courage to face this gap between imagination and truth. This formed a kind of frustration and humiliation, and the sexual humiliation between her and the male slave intensified this contradiction, so she took the whip and completed the violence that she had stopped-this ending, and "Dogville" The last slaughter here is exactly the same, even more thrilling.
Lars von Trier seems to remind the whole world that the biggest reality of the United States is not that it lacks justice and morality, but that this kind of morality without strength is actually tantamount to hypocrisy. This is where the power of this film lies, but the black and white photos that accompany the film’s ending theme show the living conditions of contemporary African Americans, but the meaning is straightforwardly disturbing. Film is not a tool of political enlightenment. A film needs thought, but it does not need to be thought itself
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"Manderlay" truly expresses the exploitation of the lower classes of people in the United States and even the entire Western society. The film is based on John Hurt's allegorical narration, and the scenes also continue the style of "Dogville": the background is all black, the setting is minimized, and the house has no walls. This arrangement is not only very special, but also an artistic breakthrough. Because it can make the audience's attention completely focused on the characters and the story
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