experimental cinema -pulpfiction

 PULP FICTION-QUENTIN TARINTINO 

experimental cinema :

-fragmented narrative and narrative structure

-resists cohesive narrative style-deliberately encompasses a range of film forms within the category.

-poses many challenges for the spectator who must work hard to put the overall narrative together.

-endings and beginnings are enigmatic-more questions than answers

Narrative:

-isolated moments possibly 

-empty of conventional plot and story

-resists creating characters with whom the spectator may engage at any level

-create meaning will be the spectator's role.

honey bunny and pumpkin:

-first storyline 

-honey bunny is seeming really nice to the waitress, they lock eyes, and smiles seem very friendly and her voice is soft, but as they start the robbery her voice and character changes its more performative.

-everyday dialogue-normalizes criminals

opening sequence honey bunny and pumpkin:

microfeatures

-starts in the middle of the conversation, no introduction to characters 

-quick cuts-focus on faces

-no establishing shot

-leaves with more questions than answers

-zoom-when deciding to rob-unsettling -breaking conventions 

-scene foreshadows

butch:

narrative challenges what it means to be an American/patriot

-storyline links butch to Marcellus and julse/vincent

scene Marcellus give butch money: only focusing on butch- side with him 

lighting red-anger-distrust, warning

back of Marcellus head-mysterious character

jules and vincent storyline:

• First meet when driving- movement, the car​

• Jules been in Amsterdam a few years- an intellectual, earnest discussion of hash ​

• Then the etiquette of eating and drinking in Europe: Mcdonald’s ‘Royal with Cheese​

• On the way to meet Marsellus (new task)​

• (back story Antwan gave Mia a foot massage)​

• Vincent to look after Mia when Marsellus ‘out of town’​They go to Brett’s- violent

•  shootings (Brett disloyal to Marsellus)​

• Vincent picks up drugs on way to Mia’s​

• MIA & VINCENT- eat out​

• ‘Force Fox Five’ joke- Mia​

• Mia’s quick reference to Andy Warhol’s ’15 minutes of fame’​

• Again dialogue- ‘uncomfortable silences’​

• She Ods- adrenaline shot​

• Serious situations made comedically​

• REPLAY- at Brett’s with Jules​

• ‘divine intervention’​

• Marvin killed in a car- Mr. Wolf to ‘clean’ at Jimmy’s –again serious and violent issues are normalized​.

butch:

• Bribed by Marcellus to lose in ‘5th round’​

• As a child- Butch given a watch by a marine veteran- irony​

• Butch wins his match and flies with Marcellus after him​

• He made an additional deal with Scott to win- cashes in ​

• Leaves watch behind – goes back to the motel and accidentally kills Jules​

• Jules and Butch- meet (Marcellus common link)​

• Butch crashes into Marcellus- they fight ​

• Both wounded-​

• White man takes them to shop​

• Marcellus- violence​

• ‘what now’ – they part​

honey bunny + pumpkin

• they eat breakfast in a diner, while they plan their next robbery.
• they then decide that the diner is the perfect place to rob and they proceed to do so.
• while robbing the diner, they encounter Jules who takes control of the situation, placing a gun on pumpkins head 
• He decides not to shoot and takes pity on them. honey bunny and pumpkin run away with the money.

in the wolf scene it is experimental because they talk about mundane and ordinary things whilst cleaning a mans blood they just killed, this is unconventional and it humanises criminals. It also is experimental because the director and maker of the film Tarantino, which is random to use yourself as 

EXPERIMENTAL FILM IS OFTEN THE RESULT of an auteur challenging established conventions 

with fresh ideas'. with reference to your chosen film option. how far do you agree with 

this statement [20]

Auteur:Tarintino

because he has a distinctive style-themes and filmmaking across a body of work which becomes more recognizable. specifically dialogue, juxtaposition,reflections, satire,on america passt/present ande certain actors in his films thurman.

BREAKING FILM CONVENTIONS-MAINSTREAM AUDIENCE TARINTINO-RESISTS A BAND APART:

Storytelling conventions -unfamilar = experimental

Narrative -deconstructs structures

because this was a classical hollywood style of narrative

characterization -dialogue

beginnings and endings

genre conventions-his hybrid approach and refusal to follow generic film conventions -confirming the question

multi-stranded narrative and nonlinear time  frame 

Challenges to Convention ​

• HYBRID QUALITIES/ Genre???​

• The heroic portrayal of the US army- absent ​

• Absence of a protagonist/ all villains (Marvin a victim) we side with villains- 

• antagonists- Vincent dies (we might have sided with him; he dies early in the narrative)

• ​

• Constant power shifts- link with key elements analysis- POV​

• Narrative- non linear/ multi stranded/ 3 strands – connected???​

 

challenges to convention

• a lot aspects belonging to the crime/thriller mixed with comedy 
• flashback with young butch (watch) Christopher Walken 
• Marvin -Mr wolf-Marcellus-butch
• pumpkin and honey bunny -Jules/vincent 

counter-arguments how far do you agree:

• Disagree with the statement. He is NOT unconventional-  because:​

• We follow characters and their stories- ‘death, redemption, freedom’​

• Use of establishing shots​

• Still argue there is some kind of structure (albeit confusing)​

• Exploits familiar codes and conventions in unfamiliar ways (Graeme Turner –Genre)​

• Steve Neale- audiences like the unfamiliar in predictable ways​

• Representation of women STEREOTYPICAL- NOT EXPERIMENTAL – MISSED OPPORTUNITY

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