A2 Media Studies G325 - Pulp Fiction Case Study

1. Pulp Fiction: Postmodernism.
Pulp Fiction is yet another contested postmodernist film from a backlog of many Quentin
Tarantino films. However there are certain aspects of this film that suggest to me and
many others that Pulp Fiction is unquestionably postmodern, and here’s why:
Firstly and most importantly throughout the film there are inter-textual references, a key
component of postmodernist texts. There are multiple examples of this throughout the
film, however one scene in particular exemplifies this most. This is of course the
restaurant scene, where the protagonists are situated within a 1950’s themed restaurant
being served by none other than Marylyn Monroe and Buddy Holly, cult heroes from the
1950’s. Not only this, 1950’s music is also being played in the background whilst the
characters dance the twist. This is just one example of many that also include references
to JohnTravolta’s‘SaturdayNight Fever’ andconstantreferencesto FrenchdirectorJean-
Luc Godard’s. Not only is this an example of strong inter textual references but such
homages also conform to the notion of pastiche developed by postmodern theorist
Fredric Jameson, another defining factor in whether this film is indeed postmodern.
Furthermore other defining factors include the absence of history and time, fragmented
narrative structure and hybridity. Such occurrences ultimately result in the film feeling
disorientating to audiences, thus meaning that the film conforms to the postmodernist
belief that life is fragmented and irrational thought is profound, such as the killing of
Vincent whilst he is sat on the toilet.
Finally what caps this whole debate is the fact that Tarantino himself, stated that he
hoped that if several million different people watched the film then they all saw a
differentversionofthe film, thereforeTarantino himself believes that thereis no absolute
truth behind the message of the film, therefore also conforming to the postmodernist
theorist RolandBarthes belief that the authoris deadand the audiences perception ofthe
text is behind the existentialism of meaning in the film.