The film under analysis in this paper is “Pulp Fictions” (May 1994) directed by Quentine Tarantino, USA, and produced by Lawrence Bender. It is a black comedy crime film with twelve characters. This paper gives an in-depth analysis of the film by uncovering and exploring its implications.
Research Questions
- Why was the text chosen for analysis and what aspects will be analyzed?
- Was it socially influential?
- Did people talk a lot about it?
- Does it illustrate something natural?
- Is the illustration wrong?
I chose this text because it contains most pressing and emerging issues in the society. These are criminal activities, which blends well with the way actors depict several scenes of humor. The film is also interesting because its actors utilize guns as they execute robbery scenes. The film is also the best because it holds a reputation for having been nominated for the Oscar Awards and for receiving Palme d’Or award in 1994. In this text, I am going to analyze the role, the theme of crime, and its effects that are so rampant in the context of the setting of the film in the 20th century. The film has several social scenes that portrayed negative effects of the surroundings to the people. These social issues include the immoral activities practiced by the people, drug abuse, and criminal activities. However, the most negative social impression is the abuse of drugs. Ladies publicly smoke cigarettes, thereby sending a bad picture to the community, especially to the young generation.
Another reason that I chose the text was because with all the acclaim that the film has had over the years, this film is unlike any other. The difference is easily discernable since the movie does not follow a linear time line like other movies. The film is also characterized by very witty dialogue that makes it very interesting to analyze and a complex story line that is difficult to follow and yet the film has been known to be one of the best ever produced in recent history. What will be analyzed therefore are the themes that are most prevalent in the film such as crime and religion. These themes in particular were chosen since the first is clearly seen in the movie and has a huge social impact even to this day and the second is just as relevant, but is not as clear to see if the film is not analyzed thoroughly.
The film was extremely socially influential. One of the reasons that the film was so influential was that it addressed the issues that are faced in everyday society in a comical and yet accurate way. Issues such as drug abuse, robberies, and killings are addressed in a manner that the society of the time was likely to identify with. In addressing these issues, the film also addresses the consequences of the social ills that are in the society. Religion also plays a role in the impact that the film has had over the years. Issues such as consequences of crime, the brevity of life, faith, morality and comical quotes from the Bible by the main character, show aspects of religion as a theme in the film.
The release of the film was highly anticipated and it found so many waiting fans. Most of the time, majority did not have access to viewing devices such as televisions, especially the poor families of the United States of America. So many people talked a lot about film and the information soon spread quickly among people who were interested in watching these films. Those who had watched the film must have explained it to other people. Furthermore, television advertisements worked best to ensure many people had access to the information concerning the film. The fact that the film garnered a number of accolades shows that it was highly anticipated, in the year that the film was produced; it had the highest turnout in theatres. Over two decades since the movie was released, it still has quite a reputation and many people still see it for the first time or as a rerun. The movie pulp fiction is considered one of the best movies ever produced.
The other research question involves the illustration of nature at its best. The film brings out its themes in a very natural way by maintaining suspense and humor in its scenes. Its captivating pictures and fine volume makes viewers experience natural and fine moment. Natural thematic representation in the film makes it easy for people to relate to. Themes such as crime are represented in way that is easy for the audience to identify with. Another natural representation is the subtlety of other themes such as religion. With crime being so relevant, having another major theme would be confusing to the audience and unnatural. Religion has been subtly incorporated in the film making it easy to grasp without losing focus of other major themes.
The illustrations are factious and wrong because actions portrayed in the movie are impossible and unrealistic. Since this is a fictitious film, the illustrations in the movie are with the purpose of entertaining the audience. One instance of unrealistic illustration is the fact that even with so much crime, not a single perpetrator is arrested by the police. Another instance is where two of the main characters are shot at near point blank range and not a single bullet hit one of them. These events are unrealistic and very unlikely to happen in a real world situation. Therefore, the answers provided above explain the research questions presented earlier.
Rhetorical Perspective
The rhetoric perspectives are the social truths that are found in the text concerning the film chosen in this paper. Such truth is usually affected by political and social factors, which consequently lead to performing of actions in a certain way. The text has other rhetorical perspective such as the prevalence of black comedy and with neo-noir tone makes the film interesting as well. There are instances of political interference in which the government by use of standard measures helps in streamlining the film towards achieving good objectives that the audience expects. The other rhetorical analytical perspective that is imperative in the assessment of the film is the race of the participants. Twenty years after the production of the movie, the blacks are treated as important and equal people in the society. The film achieves this objective through mixing blacks and whites in most of the active scenes. Finally, a rhetoric perspective of gender balance dominates in the film. In fact, the women are portrayed as people having the power to perform actions that are meant for men.
The first perspective was about truth and their related effects from the political side. Politics as portrayed in the movie is depicted as a restrictive force that prevents the growth and development through stifling and organizing for deaths of individuals who can reveal and betray illegal secretive activities. In the second scenario, police officers are not strict in offering security to banking institutions and that is why the level of gun robbery is very high. In the film, robbers make away with lots of money while the police do nothing to assist in recovering the funds for several instances.
Another rhetorical aspect that can be examined is the genre of the movie. The movie has aspects of dark comedy, crime and aspects of the film noir genre. However, it is important to note that even though the film has used black comedy and film noir to make it interesting, it cannot be categorized in the film noir category as much as it can be slotted in the crime and dark comedy genres. Reason for this may be the fact that the director of the film, Quentin Terantino, writes his movies based on a variety of genres making them more complex and interesting. However the non linear story line that is used in the film depicts aspects of film noir in that some scenes of the film are flashbacks while other scenes are forecasts of obscure things to come later in the film. This aspect of the film is characteristic of film noir and in this particular movie has played a vital role in making the film interesting. Interest is generated by the fact that skipping between the scenes in flashbacks and foreshadows keeps the audience engaged and since they are used in this particular film almost the entire time, the audience is hooked for the duration of the film.
Another reason that the film cannot be categorized as a film noir is the fact that there is no presence of a femme fatale. This role is played by a woman who usually uses sex appeal to lure men into doing something that more often than not puts them in danger. One of the characters, Mia Wallace, is supposed to play this role, but fails since she fails to convince another character to be romantically involved with her. Another aspect of the film that disqualifies it from the film noir genre is the fact that this genre is usually characterized by dark shots and with absence of bright lights. The film Pulp Fiction is symbolized with bright lights and colors, hence cannot be categorized under film noir. Even though the roles that the African American actors are cast in portraying a sense of equality among the races, there are also instances of racial profiling in the movie. First, two of the main African American characters in the movie are cast as gangsters. They are responsible for some of the worst crimes in the film such as murder. Although in real life this is sometimes the case, their cast in this role helps promote the stereotype that most African Americans engage in unlawful activities.
Another contradiction in the film is the fact the role that the women are cast in both shows gender balance and cast women in a bad light. The women in the film play major parts which at the time of production, were meant for men. Casting women in positions of power show a sense of equality among the genders. In sharp contrast, the roles that they play in are not enviable or representation of women is the society. Some of the major roles that women are cast in include drug addict who is also the wife of a crime lord, a robber who is also the wife of another robber and a very gullible woman who is entirely dependent on a man. The roles that the women are cast in representing some women in the society, but are not in any form or way representative of the whole female fraternity.
Method
The specific method of analyzing the text about the film is by use of scenes. The film has many scenes, which keeps the viewer in suspense throughout. For the sake of this paper, we shall look at two scenes. One of them is the scenario in which Vincent makes a purchase of heroin at a house dubbed Lance house. In this case, he complains about how people in town are very rude and how their actions lead to the creation of many problems. Erick is seen complaining about the false deception in the city in which someone gave him a wrong direction when he asked for it. Whoever gave him the direction had the intention leading him to a location where thugs would rob him. These scenes, therefore, bring forward the evils in the city, which the film intended to reveal. Another different scene occurs in Esmeralda’s club where the actor by the name Butch gives a lengthy discussion about his urge and feeling of putting to death a man in the boxing ring. The situation portrays how the life of people who participate in boxing are jeopardized every now and then. Therefore, this means that life in the town is not safe since people fight to kill each other. Finally, the analysis of the film had several components. The part that interests me most is when a boxing fight reached its climax, and Butch struggled so much for his fate. The act can be placed in a social context where people of different races compete favorably for their success. In addition to using scenes to analyze the film, another method that was used to analyze the film was categorizing the film based on major themes that were recurrent all through the film. The reason that this method is the best to analyze Pulp fiction is because of the complex structure of the film. First, the movie does not follow traditional paradigms such as linear story lines and/or complex dialogue as is with most of the other films in that decade. Finding themes in the film is the best way to analyze the film since every aspect of the film will be covered. In addition, the complex nature of the film makes it impossible to find one major theme, but a series of themes that make up the entire film.
For example, one of the major themes in the story is the crime that is rampant in the movies, including violent death scenes, the use of profanity drug use among other activities that are in contradiction of laws. Analyzing the film based on crime would certainly cover most of the film, but since this particular film is so complex, it has a variety of major themes integrated within the plot. Another theme that would help analyze the movie more completely is religion. Despite the movie having many instances of crime, the theme of religion is embedded in the film. The theme of religion supports the theme of crime to assist in the progression of the film.
Using the methodology of analyzing major themes in order to analyze the movie thoroughly helps understand the movie better. For instance, it is already established that the movie has a non linear plot; this means that summarizing it by merely looking at the film would pose a major challenge. Analyzing the movie by theme in Pulp Fiction helps get the message the movie is trying to put across. Such lessons include the consequences of crime, morality, the brevity of life among other lessons that would not be easily seen at a glance. All these concepts can be classified to have social inclinations. Once I have a social context, a plan of analysis will be simple to derive, as all the participants will be near for easy supervision.
Anticipated Results
The analysis derived above shows that there are different problems in the society. These problems require accurate strategies in arriving at their solutions. The challenges in the society are very many and the findings indicate that only proper leadership and equality can solve such a problem. Furthermore, the finding’s social implications indicate, that society is worsening as problems like drug abuse, killings and immorality grow up. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the government to monitor the presence of such factors in order to curb negative consequences associated with them and in the end help culminate morals in the society.
Analyzing Pulp Fiction shows the state of the society in a comical but accurate sense. Moral decadence of the society has grown to an extent in which it is considered a norm rather than the exception. The analysis is expected to show how the major themes in the movie work together to come to a satisfactory conclusion. Crime is a major issue in the film and, not surprisingly, it is a major issue in the real world society as well. The analysis is expected to show how deeply crime is entrenched in the film and consequently the society since the film is a representation of a real society.
Even though crime is one of the major themes in the story, the film shows more than the dark side of the society. Some of the positive notes that are seen in the movie include racial equality and gender balance. It is anticipated that these positive results are incorporated even further into the society while the negative aspects are shunned. In the film, one of the characters who is a killer ends up reforming his life by giving up the life of crime. This shows that members of the society who are in a similar situation can reform their lives into a better one; meaning there is hope. Another relevant theme in the movie is the fact that everything has consequences. More specifically, crimes have dire repercussions as seen in the movie. It is therefore everyone’s responsibility to shy away from criminal undertakings since the alternative is not as pleasant.
It is already established that the plot of the film is unlike any other since it does not follow the normal paradigms that other films follow. This means that while the story is harder to follow, it does have elements that keep the audience engaged. As a result, the audience will have to look deeper than the surface to grasp the lessons that the film is trying to put across. Analyzing the film shows that crime only helps the advancement of the movie. Rampant death throughout the movie may show the result of crime in the society, but also helps the audience grasp how unexpected death is, the consequences that choices have among other aspects that might not be understood from the onset.
The plot of the film forces the audience to ask themselves deeper questions. This is because in addition to clearly portrayed themes like crime, there are themes that are not as clearly seen such as religion. This theme is hidden behind comedy and humor that one has to analyze deeper to understand it. One such instance is when the character Jules and his partner are shot at from close range and they are not even injured. Analyzing this occurrence forces the audience to ask him or herself deeper questions such as the concept of divine intervention and the presence of a higher power. Finally, the findings of the analysis will show how social ills have affected the society and the means that are available to combat them. Some of the solutions may not have been shown in the film, but since the film forces the audience to think deeper, seeing the movie may help come up with a solution. For example, there are no police in the movie, despite the prevalent crimes. Bringing up another issue. The movie depects how easy it is to get away with a certain crime if you have the means or know certain people; thus underlining another issue in society. In American society it’s well known that money and power can buy you, or get you anything your heart desires. This can include women, drugs, disposal of people, and anywhere in between. With the power and money certain people would be obligated to look the other way in such events. The solution might therefore be involving the police more so as to curb the spread of crime.
Conclusion
The film finely showed various underlinings in society from African-Americans conducting in unlawful activites, women being a sexual vessel for the male gaze, and even how the love of power and money causes havoc. Pulp Fiction unearths the macho myth by making it ludicrous and deheroicizes the authority trip hyped by standard Hollywood brutality. He goes from Bugs Bunny style cartoon-violence humor in the Bruce Willis segment to whips and chain homosexual rape that deadens the laughter. Tarantino doesn’t stop, however never loses power. He runs into a dreadful nightmare, and yet some how still comes up with something funny, bringing his viewers up and down the slope with him. Although Quientin thinks his script is humorous, and somehow would be dissatisfied if no one laughed, he doesn’t believe Pulp Fiction a comedy. He is rather right; but at the end of the day the film is a unique movie that is seen in various perspectives from numerous people. Every person has a different intake on the movie, and the meaning behind various parts of the movie. At first glance you might not be able to see all of the underlinings the film offers the viewers, but more in-depth you become by analzing the film the more you see numerous “easter eggs” hidden within the movie.
Use the order calculator below and get started! Contact our live support team for any assistance or inquiry.
[order_calculator]