1. chloe stevens
In what ways can Pulp Fiction be considered post modernism?
Tarantino's 'Pulp Fiction' has many attributes and features which contribute to making it a post
modernistic film. One of these factors, and arguably the most pre-dominant is it's irregular
narrative structure. It disregards chronological narrative, and instead the film is split into three
main stories; "Vincent and Mia Wallace" "The Gold Watch" and "The Bonnie Situation." This
irregular, non-linear structure results in more audience participation, as the viewers have to pay
more attention into figuring out what point the story actually starts. This also is another
example of a post modernistic feature, as Tarantino demonstrates a deviation from previous
films, directed to a completely passive audience.
Moreover, another trait which makes 'Pulp Fiction' considered post modernistic, is the
intertextuality which is incorportated throughout the film. Tarantino deliberately exposes the
references to other texts to indicate to the audience that the piece is entirely fiction and it never
pretends to be real at any point. A specific point in the film when this is presented is with Jules'
many quotations from the Bible, at different points of the film, which is associated with Robert
Mitchum's character quoting from the Bible in Night Of The Hunter (1955 Charles Laughton.)
More examples of intertextuality in Pulp Fiction is Mia's haircut is styled to mirror Louise Brooks
in Pandora's Box (1928 G.W. Pabst,) the moment where Butch is waiting at a crossroads in his
car and then has his pathcrossed by Marcellus Wallace is a direct reference to the moment in
Psycho (1960 Alfred Hitchcock) when Marion Crane sees her boss walking front of her car after
fleeing from him, having stolen $40,000. Furthermore, the scene when Butch chooses his
weapon to save Marcellus, the weapons are linked to older films; the hammer—The Toolbox
Murders (1978,) Baseball bat—Walking Tall (1973) and the Chainsaw— The Texas Chainsaw
Massacre (1974.) The director doesn’t try and hide the fact the media text is constructed, with
all of these references intwined, therefore Pulp Fiction could be what is a perfect example of a
postmodern text.
In addition to this, the use of flattening of effect throughout Pulp Fiction also adds to the
post modernism aspects of the film. The casual talk of drugs, crime and sex which are
juxtaposed with normal conversation captures the laid back attitude towards these topics,
which are normally carefully presented in films. For example, the first introduction to Vincent
and Jules they begin speaking about burgers and fast food, which is then proceeded with the
talk of murder and drugs. This decrease in the effect of drug use is a prime factor in post
modernism, as it once again deviates from the norms of film production.