A2 Pulp Fiction
Pulp Fiction and Postmodernism
Here’s a web page devoted to all the film’s intertextual references.
Here are some notes written whilst watching the film
Here are some notes written whilst watching the film
One of the most striking features of the film is its unconventional narrative structure.
There are a total of seven narrative sequences—the three primary storylines are preceded by identifying intertitles on a black screen:
- Prologue—The Diner (i)
- Prelude to “Vincent Vega and Marsellus Wallace’s Wife”
- “Vincent Vega and Marsellus Wallace’s Wife”
- Prelude to “The Gold Watch” (a—flashback, b—present)
- “The Gold Watch”
- “The Bonnie Situation”
- Epilogue—The Diner (ii)
If the seven sequences were ordered chronologically, they would run: 4a, 2, 6, 1, 7, 3, 4b, 5. Sequences 1 and 7 partially overlap and are presented from different points of view; the same is true of sequences 2 and 6. In Philip Parker’s description, the structural form is “an episodic narrative with circular events adding a beginning and end and allowing references to elements of each separate episode to be made throughout the narrative.”[9]Other analysts describe the structure simply as a “circular narrative”.[10]
This clip captures the essence of postmodernism.
As Vincent Vega wanders through Jack Rabbit Slim’s, there is:
- a sense of disorientation as images and characters from the past close in on him
- a sense of aimlessness….he is wandering and lacking purpose as he drifts away from Mia
- everything is ‘a copy of a copy’
- the film/music stars can be seen as wandering in from other films and film sets
- there are further intertextual references in the film posters that adorn the walls
- there is a sense of ‘time travel’. The characers seem to have walked into the 1950s.
- some commentators have even suggested that the sequence borrows from the aesthetics of video games. It is one of a number of scenes where we follow a character from behind as he enters a building (Butch’s return to his apartment is another example) and there is a videogame quality to these long steadicam takes.
- there is a blending of different styles and genres as he wanders past different musicians and different musical genres
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