Pulp Fiction (Tarantino, 1994)

Pulp Fiction (Tarantino, 1994)

Section D

Close study of single form

Key elements of film form

Context

Representation

Experimental film - Additional specialist area

Experimental Film

Experimental films resist conventional narrative structures

Familiar narrative structure? - equilibrium (Todorov 3 act structure)

Cause and effects

Representation of time is linear or chronological 

(Classical Hollywood narrative - Linear/Conventions/3 act structure - ‘Hollywood Kiss’)

Storytelling - experimental film and cinema is about new ways of telling the story

Single Stranded - Convention/Expectation

Experimental film offer more than one storyline - Multi-stranded

“Honey Bunny & Pumpkin”

• Launches the spectator straight into the ‘narrative’
• Dialogue is ‘everyday’ stuff - just before they plan to rob the coffee shop
• Voices, being nice - then her voice changes
• (Compare with the moment where Jules says he and Vincent need to ‘get into character’)
• Normalises characters - we never see this side of such characters on the screen
• Morality

Review of working terms

‘Experimental’ - because of narrative structure 

Narrative in experimental film and cinema resists coherent order

Described as bro ‘circular’ and ‘episodic’

Overlapping storylines which work discretely but which also come to together

Pulp Fiction - Storylines and plot

3 Major storylines

7 key moments

Inter-titles at the start of each major storyline

Distinctive through:Black comedy, graphic violence, dialogue and monologues

So what is ‘Experimental’ film and cinema

• Experimental cinematic forms which exploit the medium of film - sound, visuals, narrative to construct a story in unfamiliar ways
• Films and cinema which explicitly draws attention to itself and to the qualities of cinema - it becomes self-referential
• Film and cinema which pushes the boundaries of the medium to compel us to consider what is cinema and what it art or photography

Non-Chronological order of a multi-stranded narrative

1. The Diner
2. Jules and Vincent - ‘royale with cheese’
3. Vincent and Mia - Jack Rabbit Slim’s
4. Butch - the watch and the fight
5. Mr Wolfe the cleaner
6. Back to the diner

Research Task 1 and 2 (merged)

Bricolage - Where you make something new out of other things. So creating a new works, from a wide range of material which happens to be available at the time. For example, in the Jack Rabbit Silm’s sequence, we have visuals of someone dressed as Marilyn Monroe standing on top of an air vent. This is a reference to material already available which was made in the 1950s. Another moment in this scene where bricolage is presented as a mix of historical era is when Mia goes to the bathroom. We see her taking drugs which suggests more of a 90s scene, however the hair of the women around her suggest more of a 60s scene.

Hyper-Reality - A visual language which gives hyper realistic experiences to audiences. A hyper realistic scenario is created by images and shown to audiences who can almost see the scenario as real. Hyper-reality is quite evident in pulp fiction and especially in the Jack Rabbit Slim’s sequence. Throughout the film there is casual pop culture references weaved into the characters lives in order to make the fake scenario of the film seem real. For example how Mia and Vincent danced to the song ‘You can never tell’ as well as casually talking about music and TV shows they enjoy. Also the diner as a whole has numerous pop culture references from a different era to which the film was set in such as Marylin Monroe.

Simulacrum - The imitation of something else which it is not. Simulacrum is very apparent in the Jack Rabbit Slim’s sequence as the film as a whole gives the idea of being set in the early 90s perhaps, whilst the diner they go into is very clearly 50s themed. This display of simulacrum in this scene is also mirrored in Mia and Vincents relationship, and their actions. Mias character as well as her role in the narrative are heavily revolved around the act of seduction in which we see through the way in which she mirrors things such as Vincents speech, the way he dresses as well as his knowledge on pop culture topics. However, they both know this seduction is prohibited as we are told about what happened to another man who ‘got to close’ earlier on in the film. This closeness and seduction if Vincent is prohibited yet Mia still imitates the acts.

Postmodernism - Some of the goals of postmodernism within film are to warp mainstream conventions of narrative structure in order to challenge the spectators perception. Pulp fiction definitely practices this theory as it has 4 separate timelines which don’t conform to the linear conventions of most film narratives. Another characteristic of postmodernist films is that they constantly look back and refer to past events, which Pulp fiction does frequently. This is especially prominent in the Jack Rabbit Slim’s scene as the entire diner is themed in the past, the 50s to be exact.