The Side of 'Fiction' Beaten to a 'Pulp'.

Rating: 10/10 (26 November 2013)

Before I could speak, I loved cinema and the films within it. I'd spent hours upon hours sitting, with my head leaning upon the television screen - probably why I now need glasses - and witness what others had to say about the world around them, or far away galaxies resting upon the edge of the universe. I was incorporated within the worlds of Winnie the Pooh, The Wizard of Oz, Star Wars, The Godfather, or Saving Private Ryan. I was infatuated with the entire concept behind it, and though my tastes may have broadened, few films have had such an impact on my view of cinema, as that of the Quentin Tarantino 1994 independent gem Pulp Fiction ever did. At first, it was the film's structure and creative dialogue that gripped me and hurled me headfirst into this idiosyncratic environment. Yet what I have come to love the most about the film, is how much I have in common with the director, and the brilliant structure he uses to showcase these interests better than I ever could.
Because never has there been a director with such an infatuation towards film, that while watching his work, you could sense the satisfaction he derives through making it. Because of this, all of his films, and in particular Pulp Fiction, brim with cinematic allusions and pastiches. And as a self-reflexive postmodern film, it comes across as a crazy house of homages and unconventional filmmaking structures. However, Quentin Tarantino's masterpiece remains more than a bright neo-noir shock flick of gore and black humor - It's an ode to a genre, and a contradiction of everything wrong with it. The title: Pulp Fiction, is a reference to the Hard Boiled crime novels and Pulp Magazines popular throughout the mid- 20th century. They were thrillers or noir-like stories printed on cheap paper made of wood pulp, and would obtain suggestive, lurid, and violent graphic novels. Their characters were hard hitting, tough, and sexually inviting, all for 10 cents a copy.
So yes, Tarantino's 1994 film contains the same content of these WWII magazines, and even has the gritty and rough look of the authentic paper they printed on. Yet the iconology is distinctive. As obsessed with cinema as he may be, Tarantino drew the line between reality and film. Unlike other memorable noirs such as The Maltese Falcon, Goodfellas, or the slightly more recent Drive (which I will add, are all suburb films), the characters were cardboard cutouts - being my main critique for the vintage novels, as well as these classic films. Yet, to look at Vincent Vega, Jules Winfield and Butch Coolidge, (the three main characters through- out Pulp Fiction,) it is easy to recognize real individuals, who are tough, and still have fear over a situation: such as when Jules' reacts to Vincent after he 'blows' Marvin's head off in the back seat of a car; and as well, don't spend ever hour of the day sitting at home, sharpening their knives. Although The Sopranos later perfected and brought reasoning to this fact, making their characters part of society and disguising themselves as members, Pulp Fiction places them within the daily activities of an odd group, distinguishes them from ordinary civilians, and keeps them afloat through simplistic dialogue demonstrating the needs and wants of a first world audience; such as relationships, religion, or something as simple as, what to eat for breakfast (, and I don't know about you, but I was thoroughly disappointed when Fabienne had to get Buttermilk pancakes instead of Blueberry).
It feels like a cliché to say it, but for a long time Pulp Fiction was my favorite film. It was as influential to me in 2010, as it was to the people who first saw it in the mid-90s. I could go on for hours discussing the unconventional style of chronology, the homages to such films as The Bodyguard (: Jules' famous Ezekiel 25:17 biblical quote is shown within the films opening crawl), On The Waterfront (: Bruce Willis' character Butch's resemblance to Marlon Brando's character through a self-dilemma), or The Aristocats (: From the famous Twist-Dance contest where Uma Thurman bases her moves from that of the Duchess character in the 1970 Disney animation). Yet what makes the film so unique is not the homages to films or magazines mainstream audiences wouldn't recognize, nor the bleak humor, but through these characters and their reflections through an array of bizarre and oddly connected events. I continue to adore this film for several rationales, but to me, the people were always the most specific. They were original, just like the film, and shaped the American audience into viewers ready to find enjoyment from extraordinary people discussing foot massages and European hamburgers for several minutes of screen time. Quentin Tarantino... you are a genius!!!