PULP FICTION: A REVIEW

It all started with a clip from the iconic scene of Jules quoting Ezekiel 25:17 during a death scene from a mobster cliché.  Cliché…the most hated narrative of our day and age.  These days our attention span is short and we as the audience always wish for an avant-garde piece of film that will keep us asking for more. Since Tarantino spent most of his youth hanging around and working in video stores he grew to love and films. During an interview with a reporter Tarantino went on an emotional tirade about his life before he became this famous director. It is admirable that he had  no experience whatsoever  and had no education into it, by simply watching B-rated and Hollywood movies he has gained a vast knowledge in order to critique  and be able to recognize the movies’ narratives immediately is what led to him to create Pulp Fiction , the movie that led  him to glorious fame.  He talked about how he used to have discussions with his fellow co-workers at the video store and customers. He had such knowledge that just by looking at the DVD that a customer previously rented out he could recommend   another film to them. This film is all about satirical, lurid and delinquent behavior.

It can be put in the many genres of films today.  But what is so fun about this is the fact that it cannot be defined in that manner. It just does not fit into one genre. It is a crime action comedic drama film. There are also elements of romance and suspense in it as well. At first I could not understand the forms in which Tarantino chose to do such a film but as a fan it should not be surprised that he would go through this route of bringing back the old fashion references of films in order to create such a modern film. Sort of like to go back in time to create something new. Aesthetically this movie is a must have and has proven itself time and again by being a timeless post-modernistic masterpiece. This movie can be repeated over and over again and you can still get surprised by the plot and how it twists and turns and goes back and forth between all the characters’ lives. To a normal critique the narrative would be incoherent, the script would be considered to be rubbish it would be seen as another B-rated movie that we watch on local television that had short bursts of violence in order to make it interesting.

The questions most would ask are why he would create such a film. The answer is as I said. He wishes to recreate, revise and redefine the narratives of classic Hollywood! Let us face it this movie brings down the expectations of all the genres of film. He puts ordinary people in this clichés thus making them feel more related. The saying “I feel like I am in a movie” always goes through my head whenever I watch this film, it is a thought that always goes through my mind when I watch the characters go through their daily routines of life. To them it is just an ordinary day but to us (the audience) we feel it is out of the ordinary what they are doing. I felt invasive when I was following their characters. It is like walking into another person’s shoes when you watch this film. It is truly one of a kind.

 Talking about clichés, we start off with the most famous of clichés. The Bonnie and Clyde cliché. Whereas a criminal couple are trying to find new ways in order rob places to gain money. We see as well that the director has a way of placing his own thoughts and ideologies in his film. For example when it comes to Honey Bunny and Pumpkin’ we notice how there is a patriarchal standpoint and the movie is quite dense throughout the conversation. She is simply ignorant when it comes to discussing the idea of robbing diners and restaurants. It is misogynistic of Tarantino to do that. Throughout the whole film the female characters are always somehow ignorant or nonsensical about what they do or say. For example when the drug dealers wife  tries to explain why she got all her piercings it was an overrated answer and made her look like a delinquent dumb ass to put it bluntly as well as Mia Wallace overdosing on drugs Vincent made her look stupid by scolding her like a child. They both are reduced to just sexual objects and junkies in the film.

We also get our expectations dashed due to the fact that there is no hero in the film and there is no plot that has a dilemma that needs to solve. Completely rejecting the archetypal clichés in action films. Everyone at some point was a hero, ally and villain in the movie. The irony about all of this is the philosophical quotes coming from the characters and the foreshadowing of what will happen to the characters by the characters for example Marcellus Wallace’s foreshadowing of  getting screwed then later on in the movie gets raped by a BDSM dominant that looks like a security guard, like a sense of déjà vu. It is safe to say that this movie is all too real in being accurate and about what it chooses to represent. The tacky retro 1950s look of JackRabbit Slim’s along with the popular culture around hard-core drugs at that time. Heroin, Weed (called Hash at that time) play major roles in the film and it seems to be given this type of worship and also Tarantino also warns of the side effects of taking too much. He must be saying that we should take it like Vincent and not take it like Mia Wallace.


To be fair I liked Vincent he was after all the best character there was for me and yet the way he got brutally shot by Butch made me wonder about what I said before that there is no hero in this film and that’s reality, that’s our world today. Just like the theme of pop art everything seems to standout in bright bold colors and some taboo subjects are being put forward for the whole world to see. All of Tarantino’s films spring from his imagination and his thoughts. Nothing gets left out. His director that is true to himself and his craft, that’s why he is so loved amongst the grungy bunch of audiences. He represents us, the audiences, into these clichés. That’s why it is a must be a must to put it right next to the Godfather and Grease.


_ PasopNegra