`Pop' Fiction

Rating: 9/10 (6 March 2001)

After Reservoir Dogs was released, Miramax gave Quentin Tarantino carte blanche for his next film. The studio was well aware of his strength as a storyteller and filmmaker, and was ready to back just about any project that Tarantino could put forth.. John Travolta's career had been declining sharply and steadily for the past decade, and Tarantino wanted him to play Vincent. Travolta was cast, and a career was instantly and miraculously resurrected. Why select Travolta for the lead? The answer is simple. Quentin Tarantino is fascinated with pop culture, or to be more specific, with pop culture relics. He is a man who is still in love with all the little things that he loved as an adolescent, and many of these things are found within Pulp Fiction. The film's well-crafted film noir storyline is flooded with references to 70s cartoons, 50s hipster chic, and the instituted amenities of the middle class. Even the film's music and casting are retro nostalgia. Pulp Fiction, is something more than Tarantino's breakthrough film, it is his chance to show the audience and the world all the `cool' things that he's still hanging on to. We first meet the two lead characters, Vincent Vega and Jules Winnfield in the second scene of the film. As they begin their workday driving to their `jobsite,' the two wax intellectual on the `little differences' between Europe and the United States. As Vincent goes on to explain, these differences include European names for McDonald's sandwiches and the availability of beer in movie theatres. He doesn't address the differences in social norms, political structures, or underlying philosophies of Europe. He is more concerned with the fact that Europeans use mayonnaise instead of ketchup to flavor their fries. The modern middle-class American cares little about anything outside of his/her immediate realm, and we see the characters of Pulp Fiction in this light. After the revelation of the `Royale with cheese,' Jules goes on to ask about the names of other sandwiches in Europe, as though this knowledge could possibly have great bearing on his life. Americans identify themselves by the products they consume, and by finding the European version of these things, it is as if Jules comes to a greater understanding of European culture. In the review for the film on Screenit.com, one reads `didn't everyone think this was set in the 70's, what with the soundtrack, afros, clothes, etc.' One other item that they neglected to mention is the cast. John Travolta had not starred in a movie that was a success primarily because of his acting since Urban Cowboy in 1980. (Granted, Look Who's Talking was a success, but can one truly attribute that to Travolta?)