Referring to "all that which puts one text in relation, whether manifest or secret, with other texts" Gerard Genette proposed the term of Transtextuality. I would argue that the fragmentation of the narrative can be seen as an allude to the strong intertextual influence of Godard. Furthermore already in certain Howard Hawk films bloodshed becomes a gruesome farce. This is another Allusion used by Tarantino. When Vincent accidently shoots the guy he is only concerned about the mess in the car and not about what he did to his victim. Honey Bunny and her boyfriend Pumpkin look as if they were straight out of True Romance while the two hitmen Vincent and Jules could have played in Reservoir Dogs which are examples of an Auto-Citation.
Turning one's attention to the director of Pulp Fiction, Quentin Tarantino let us examine whether he is what the French would call an auteur. There is a big hype about him although the 31 year old American only directed one previous film, Reservoir Dogs . (see Appendix) "Many young punters virtually worship the man on the strength of his debut [Reservoir Dogs] alone" Tarantino has become "Hollywood's great stylist" (see Image 1 & 2) In addition to directing Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs Quentin Tarantino also co-produced Killing Zoe and has supplied the script for Tony Scott's True Romance , and the story for Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers
He is often compared with Orson Welles who was just 26 years old when he co-wrote, acted in and directed Citizen Kane (see Appendix). Will Pulp Fiction soon be seen as "an apparently classical case of cinema authorship." as Citizen Kane has been described by Pauline Kael? In the central proposition of the auteur theory , as it can be read in the Baseline's Encyclopaedia of Film , the director (the "auteur," or author) is the dominant creative force in the making of a film. The corresponding critical methodology, auteur criticism, assumes the "continuity of one or more discernible personal features in the director's oeuvre" that comprise, in André Bazin's terms, "a standard of reference" .
On the other hand the auteur theory has got its problems as for example there are much more than one person working on and influencing a film than just the director. In addition the filmmaker is influenced by many other films especially Tarantino as the intertextual references and the Transtextuality have proved. Finally Pulp Fiction features stars that contribute a great deal to it's success. Harvey Keitel and Christopher Walken's cameos are wonderfully played. "Walken's explanation of the history is a minor classic, while Keitel's summing up of the two inexperienced crooks he faces...is the product of actor and script in delicious symmetry." Tarantino's "standard of reference", his "personal features" throughout his films are firstly his use of violence. I felt that the mood of aggression is often so intense that the viewer will imagine he has seen something that is not in fact shown. Hitchcock for example used this effect in the famous shower murder sequence of Psycho (see Appendix). We actually do not see how the knife enters the flesh. although the clever use of editing makes us think we do. In Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs there is a ear lopping scene, staged in real time, and most of the spectators think they have seen the cutting although the camera is turning away from the cut at the crucial moment while the diegetic sound plays the 70s pop classic "Stuck in the Middle with You" of the radio.
In Pulp Fiction we see how Vincent and the Dealer are bringing Mia back to life, after she had an overdose. In a medium shot the dealer explains to Vincent what to do. (Image Nr. 4) While the dealer is counting to three the camera zooms into even bigger close ups of Vincent's and then Mia's face, the needle where the Adrenaline is dribbling off and the Dealer's and his pierced girl friend's face. The close ups show how nervous the dealer is, how much the pierced dealer's girlfriend enjoys this spectacle (Image Nr. 6) and how afraid Vincent is. The spectator is able to identify with all these emotions.
According to feminist film theorist Laura Mulvey one of the most important pleasures of the classical narrative is identification where the spectator "narcissistically identifies with an idealised figure on screen, typically a male hero whose actions determine the narrative, in a process that recapitulates the discovery of the image of oneself in the mirror phase " I personally identified most with Vincent, or as Mulvey put it with the idealised figure, as I wanted him, or as Metz would put it, me, to save Mia. French film theorist Christian Metz argues in addition but differing in certain important respects to Mulvey that "the spectator identifies with himself, with himself as a pure act of perception."
Then, to even increase the tension of this extraordinary scene, the camera zooms into the place where the needle has to push in while there is no noise at all. As Vincent pushes the needle down (Image Nr. 3) the camera shows Mia's opening eyes in a close up (Image Nr. 5) while the diegetic sound of the needle stabbed in her heart makes us believe that we have seen the crucial moment. The graphic violence of how the needle is pushed into her heart is again elliptical. "The effect, is of a hard, closed, rather linear world." In a medium shot we then see Mia screaming, I could easily identify with her as I had to get rid of the immense tension that Tarantino had built up until here. I felt that this scene has been build in for the spectator's relief "as they identified with themselves."(Metz)
Nevertheless Quentin Tarantino's films show a lot of violence. In Pulp Fiction there is for example a homosexual rape (see 8f in Plot Segmentation), two hitmen killing their victims (see 2c in Plot Segmentation) and a man having his head accidently shot off in a car. Image Nr. 7 shows Vincent just before the gun accidently goes off, again without actually showing the exploding head (see 9b in Plot Segmentation).
As a result the two hitmen are covered in blood their once smart and therefore cool looking suit is covered with blood and parts of the brain. At the end of this sequence they have to strip off and they are dressed in the absolute antithesis: volleyball wear. These cool characters think they have got everything under control and then something unexpected changes everything. It sounds as if Pulp Fiction, as did Reservoir Dogs, talks about the Chaos Theory. The Chaos, the chance dictates the life of each individual.
In addition his violence confused my emotions as I often found his representation of violence comical. Jules asks his victims before killing them what a Big Mac is called in Paris and why the French do not call a Quarter-Pounder a Quarter-Pounder. He then tries their victim's fast food because he has never tried that branch before as he prefers Mac Donald's. Tarantino seems to be fascinated by life's grotesque haphazardness. In one scene Bruce William's character Butch returns to his house. He then finds a machine-gun in his kitchen, whereby the discovery of the gun is being presented as a point-of-view shot," a subjective moment inserted in an overall framework of objectivity" , picks it up and shoots the hitman (Image Nr. 8) after having his last pee. (Image Nr. 9) This scene is terrifying and hilarious at the same time. "The audience laughs, and the violence is seen for what it is, - cartoonishly funny, a game like speech itself."
Quentin Tarantino often achieves the humour through a well written, witty dialogue. "Sharp, profane, vividly memorable and packed with hip allusions to everything and anything in pop culture" David Thomson pointed out that "Quentin Tarantino's critics label his trademark - the counterpoint of cruelty and humour - "designer brutalism"". As Tarantino once observed about violence in his films: "...In real life it is one of the worst aspects of America but in the movies it's fun." You can find representation of violence throughout the history of film. Perhaps the very first violent film was Edwin S. Porter's "The Electroduction of an Elephant" from 1903. Since "Africa Addio" (1966) of Jacopetti/ Prosperi there have been "snuff films": such as Face of Death -films.
Another of Tarantino's "personal features" throughout his films are that he seems to be fascinated by narrative structure. Reservoir Dogs never showed the robbery although it is a heist movie. What was supposed to happen is disclosed via flashbacks. It even includes flashbacks including flashbacks. This fragmentation of the narrative continues in Pulp Fiction. Its four narratives overlap, the characters wandering between them. This unchronological narrative deliberately confuses the audience.
Understanding the plot is often like resolving a puzzle. At one point, towards the end of the film, we see a flashback of Vincent (9a of Plot Segmentation) that continues the story of the beginning (see 2c of Plot Segmentation) after he had already been shot by Butch (see 8d of Plot Segmentation). The creating of the story in our minds on the basis of the cues in the plot becomes an intellectual "pleasure of bliss" The non linear narration is Tarantino's "variation from the expectation, the thrill of the new."
Pulp Fiction uses the classical narrative elements such as parallelisim. After boxer Butch wins his fight and therefore betrays the boss (Plot Segmentation 8a) he flees by taxi while the boss orders to kill him (Plot Segmentation 8b). In the next shot we see Butch again in the taxi (8c). In addition we see the hidden person in the bathroom (9a) while Jules is saying his words from the Old Testament. In addition there is the eyeline shot/match. The conversation between Mia and Vincent in the restaurant is an eyeline shot/match. Bordwell and Thompson point out that "the eyeline match is a simple idea but a powerful one, since the directional quality of the eyeline creates a strong spatial continuity."
In a Sight and Sound interview Tarantino pointed out that: "I love the idea of going into a genre and taking all the familiars we like and giving them back to you in new ways." Tarantino clearly uses art-house devices: He "violates the classical form" (see above) and Tarantino also certainly posses "authorial expressivity." His characters lack defined desires and goals. But can a film in which people get their head shot off be an art house film? As David Lynch's Wild at Heart (see Appendix) Pulp Fiction plays with different cultural levels. He mixes the high with the low levels. His postmodern film is trivial and sophisticated as the conversations between the two hitmen Jules and Vincent.
Conclusion:
In conclusion it can be said that Quentin Tarantino's crime story makes intensive use of intertextual references and shows that Tarantino is heavily influenced by other films. Looking at Tarantino as an auteur I show the problems with that theory as there are many other people, such as stars, and other ideas involved in a film. Exploring his use of violence I show that it is often "cartoonishly funny" and that Tarantino's counterpoint of cruelty and humour is often been seen as a "designer brutalism" Using techniques from Hitchcock he sometimes makes the audience believe that they have seen something that is not in fact shown.
Then I look at his fascination with narrative structure and that he deliberately confuses the audience with the fragmentation of the narrative. Its four narratives overlap, the characters wandering between them. The creating of the story in our minds on the basis of the cues in the plot becomes an intellectual "pleasure of bliss" Using art house devices and mixing them with trivial elements Tarantino's postmodern Pulp Fiction mixes low and high levels.
