Pulp Fiction

Question 1

Postmodernism

Answer 1

•A critical theory that became prominent in the 1970s
•ironic,intertextual, self-referential, full of homage and pastiche, playful and stylish-makes it quintessential Tarantino
•‘tarantinoesque’- referring to or reminiscent of the violence and wit of Tarantino films is widely used

Question 2

Postmodernism jules and Vincent

Answer 2

•jules and Vincent: in a car together driving to their job
•they share dialogue that has no importance and doesn’t help the film’s narrative at all
•they talk about McDonald’s, “Big Mac and quarter pounder with cheese”- postmodern and intertextuality
•shows that America have shared cultural references which are understood worldwide-popular culture filled dialogue- “all style and no substance”

Question 3

Postmodernism: jack rabbit slims

Answer 3

•Tarantino pays typically post-modern homage to two of Travoltas most recognisable hits from the 1970s-Saturday night fever and Grease
•Trav and Thurman presented in a side angle shot in their booth- Tarantino playfully reminds us of a similar date scene in grease~similar with twist contest-Saturday night fever-macho Italian American dancer
•Tarentino also mocks Trav as being a middle aged man

Question 4

Postmodernism: Vincent going to the toilet

Answer 4

•every time Vincent goes to the toilet “the world dramatically changes=motif
•Trav goes to toilet in Marcellus house, butches house and in the diner
•butches house-leads to his ultimate demise
•toilet humour- sparks questions: does a film need to have a message or can it just be entertainment.
•post modern approach- to mock Americans consumerist and capitalist society with meaningless entertainment- critiquing the emptiness of American society

Question 5

Auteur

Answer 5

*Tarantinos inspirations came from the myriad of films he watched whilst working in blockbuster’s in the 1980s
*Tarantino took a magpie approach to filmmaking was inspired by world cinema
-top grossing films the year pulp was published- the lion king and Forrest Gump
-pulp was different with non linear narrative, homage and playful intertextuality- marked Tarantino as a first rate auteur
-first independent film to make $200 mill with an initial budget of $8mill

Question 6

auteur: paragraph one

Answer 6

-Tarantino casted old actors who had fallen out of their prime- Travolta & willis
-non-linear narrative- challenged the conventional ways of story telling
-intertextuality helped the success of pulp as a pop culture references are made- “Royale with cheese”- helps us like bad characters vin and jul-“two adored protagonists
-soundtrack was popular and sold a lot

Question 7

auteur: paragraph two

Answer 7

-“all style no substance”- Jules and Vincent in opening credits- shots held for a long time and shot reverse shot, deep-focus two shot
-scene is packed with intertextuality and homage- McDonalds
-Tarantino could be conveying a deeper message- substance through style
-could tarantineos pointless nod to McDonalds and Burger King be him critiquing the emptiness of American consumerist society

Question 8

auteur: narrative playfulness

Answer 8

-narrative is episodic and circular
-opens with robbery scene, then we wait an hour to find out how it resolves- creates suspense, tension and uncertainty in the audience
-also by opening with a mundane discussion that erupts into a threat of violence- anything can happen
-jules and vin day is so over the top that if we watched is all happen chronologically, the rest of the film would feel flat by comparison

Question 9

auteur: narrative tension

Answer 9

-if the scenes were in chronological order it wouldn’t have the same emotional tension