Pulp Fiction is one of my all-time favorite movies. I love everything about this movie. I loved it so much that it was the subject of my Entertainment Discourse project. As explained in my Discourse, I first saw the movie at my friend's house on his large TV. My first view truly was as monumental as I claim it was. It left an incredible long-lasting impression on me from its gruesome brutality and unexpected absurdity that Tarantino does oh so well ("Just cops? No real people?").
I was blown away at the audacity of Tarantino to create such a film. Audiences unexpectedly walked into the theater the night of it's release to see a movie that would change the film industry forever. Pulp Fiction was a cultural phenomenon. Word spread quickly about the film as being an obscene and filthy flick that was nothing short of awesome. People were surprised that a film like this was being shown. Films like The Bachelor and Midnight Cowboy were the rage in the 1970s because of their big metaphorical middle finger to the industry and critics, but things began to calm down for a while. The 90's weren't entirely PC as our society is today, but a flick that dropped as many F-bombs and was as raunchy as this was completely unheard of.
Our nations cultural perspectives have been ever-changing over the years, but there have always been and always will be Conservative-minded thinkers who resist change. I hate to generalize, but much of the outcry came from this Conservative notion in all of us. It's coarse and it's different and I don't like it. Our community has always been resistant to new ideas. It has been a hundred years since slavery was banned and we still have racial issues to this day. There is a vehement discussion about immigration, one of the shining principles our nation was founded on. Our society has sought to completely forget some of our nation's mistakes in what can only be called "cultural amnesia". These mistakes aren't taught in History class and are hardly touched in our middle-school textbooks. The regrets of our predecessors embarrass us.
Pulp Fiction was a milestone in film. It's influences have reached far and wide. I can honestly say that if it weren't for that rainy day back in high school at my friend's house, I would not be in the position I am today studying RTF here at UT.
Pulp Fiction revolutionized the film industry through through its abrasive dialogue, but also from its aggressive narrative and unorthodox editing. Tarantino didn't invent the colliding plotlines technique. He perfected it (Sorry Chic-Fil-A) as well as many other story-telling approaches. Tarantino is one of the many favorite directors of mine. I love imagining myself behind the camera and inside the head of people like him. What were they thinking of when they made this scene? What stylistic elements did they choose to include? Why? This kind of thinking allowed me to find deeper meanings within scenes and note the stylistic elements and how they added to the theme and feel of the scene. I was beginning to think like a director. I soon found myself looking around in my normal, every-day life as if I were behind the lens. How could I use this shot? Wow, this would make a great background! Due to my introverted way of life, I find pondering to myself very relaxing and would contemplate for hours on end about these types of things. It would all pay off considerably as I soon found myself wanting to create my own work of art. Kill Jhug 1 and 2 were born not long after.
This wallet below ("It's the one that says BAD MOTHER FUCKER") represents my Entertainment emblem. In the literate sense, it represents a prop in one my favorite movies and the director that played a large part in my career choice. However, in the metaphorical sense, it represents the sting or punctum I experienced from the cultural explosion that spread like wild fire when the movie dropped in 1994. This was the reason I wanted to see the movie in the first place! It was heralded as being indecent and inappropriate for many viewers. It was being talked about by every 7th grader and parent on the block in both positive and negative aspects, respectively. All the talk about the movie was making me dizzy. I knew that I had to experience it, and fast.
I was granted my wish on that rainy day and it changed my perception of movies, life, culture and language forever. If someone held a gun to my head and demanded that I single out the most important moment of my life (a la Fight Club), this moment of my life would be the first thing out of my mouth.
"Thats my BAD MOTHER FUCKER. Go ahead, open it up."
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