G321 thriller research. Case Study. Pulp Fiction

Name: Pulp Fiction
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Date Released: 21 October 1994 (UK)
Made in: USA
Awards: Won Oscar. Another 43 wins & 40 nominations


Overall as a film, Pulp Fiction has many of the codes and conventions of a thriller. For instance, the majority of scenes are in unglamorous settings, and the themes in the film include identity, gangster crime, drugs and sex.
I will be discussing two scenes that represent this thriller influence, ‘Mia’s adrenalin shot’ and ‘Butch, in taxi after fight', and the film as a whole and how it has influenced the thriller genre.

Mia's adrenalin shot...
(Vincent finds Mia after she has overdosed and drives her to his dealer’s house for help. They decide to give her an adrenalin shot but neither have done this before.)

Tarantino uses an extreme close up of two hands on the syringe, and this zooms to an even further close up of the needle of the syringe. This helps to build tension and scare the audience. There is then a point of view high angle shot of Mia unconscious. Tarantino uses a close up of the red magic marker blotch (used to show where the needle will be inserted) on Mia’s heart/bust. This red colour signifies danger. This scene objectifies Mia, and causes her to appear vulnerable, as we literally know where her heart is. Mia also appears as exposed, as her shirt has been ripped open and her underwear is revealed. It also signifies Mia’s deviance and her sexuality.
Tarantino uses a countdown to three to increase the tension: 1) close up of Mia’s bloody face, Vincent panting, zoom into face, needle. 2) Two men’s faces, extreme close up of pen mark. 3) Close up of Vincent’s face, raised hand.
As the needle is stabbed into Mia, she awakes and there is a close up of her face as her eyes open wide and she screams. This helps to shock the audience, as the shot is so quick in contrast to the slow countdown.

Butch, in taxi after fight.
Tarantino uses a black and white background outside of the taxi as an inter-textual reference to film noir. Tarantino uses gender reversal, as the taxi driver is female. The driver (Esmeralda) is a typical femme fatale. Men killing men intrigue her and her appearance is very sexual. She is also surrounded by smoke (this can also be seen in female characters in other thrillers, such as Fight Club).
Tarantino raises the issue of Butch’s identity in this scene. Tarantino uses the sentence “I’m an American honey, our names don’t mean shit”. This shows that Butch feels he has a lack of an individual identity and his only identity is that he is an American.
Esmeralda is a more contemporary representation of a femme fatale. She is similar to the ‘Buffy’ (the vampire slayer) character in that she represents contemporary women, for example her tradionally masculine job (taxi driver). Her words are darker and in some ways less obviously sexual than, for example, Mia’s (for instance, “So what does it feel like to kill a man with your bare hands? It's a topic I'm very interested in.”). Esmeralda’s costume is less sexual than Mia’s. Her character represents an independant woman who still maintains her sexuality. She also has the mystery of a femme fatale, for example she says she is from Columbia, which is a referral to cocaine as it is where it is mostly made. Mia is a contrast to many of the original femme fatales and shows the way feminism has changed the way women can be presented.

The film as a whole
The whole film is extremely modern for its time, especially when it's pop culture and cinematic references are considered. The (non-linear) unconventional structure has helped it lead to being named one of the most influental postmodernist influences in cinema. Tarantino used this film to influence many others, such as Reserviour dogs (Vincent from pulp fiction is brothers with Vic "mr. Blonde" Vega, and Tarantino uses the fictional resturant 'Big Kuhuna Burger' in both films. There are similar links to 'Jackie Brown', for instance Jackie Brown wears exactly the same suit as Mia's and drives the same model Honda as Butch.