• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

What was the point of Pulp Fiction?

Status
Not open for further replies.
I

Insertia

Member
After Phil Lamars head is blown off the movie completely loses me. Was there an underlying message towards the end? You know, Jules' breakdown at the cafe, the ending tie-in with the faux Bonnie and Clyde, Vincent dying, all the time cleaning the mess at Tatartino's place?

Is there a subliminal messege I'm missing or is it is what it is?
after seeing Donnie Darko I seem to think there's an underlying messege in all movies. :/
 
DCX

DCX

DCX
Insertia said:
After Phil Lamars head is blown off the movie completely loses me. Was there an underlying message towards the end? You know, Jules' breakdown at the cafe, the ending tie-in with the faux Bonnie and Clyde, Vincent dying, all the time cleaning the mess at Tatartino's place?

Is there a subliminal messege I'm missing or is it is what it is?
after seeing Donnie Darko I seem to think there's an underlying messege in all movies. :/
Click to expand...
If you didn't get it, you just didn't get it...if you need explaination....

DCX
 
C

ConfusingJazz

Member
The point is to make you go, those are some bad ass mother fuckers, a gimp is a really weird thing, and that you will do anything to get a watch that your dad kept up his ass for four years in a Vietnam POW camp.
 
I

Insertia

Member
So it was all Taratino dragging the movie on for 30 minutes of style?

I figured as much. I was hoping someone would tell me otherwise to add purpose to the utterly longwinded and drawn-out ending of a perfect movie. :)

Still, a great movie though. Isn't it great how actors in the early 90's weren't self conscious on camera?
 
P

Prince of Space

Banned
The only thing that really links Pulp Fiction's stories together (other than characters and such) is the redemption theme. Mia gets a shot at redemption when she gets the adrenaline shot; Bud decides to save Marcellus, and is forgiven for conning him; Jules takes the fact that they survived a barrage of cannonfire as a sign from God and decides to leave the business (Vincent doesn't, and pays for it).
 
W

Warm Machine

Member
={<SMOKE>}= said:
what was the underlying message in donnie darko?
Click to expand...

I think that it was...Its a wonderful life but sometimes not. If you didn't exist things good things would happen but also bad things. Everyone touches everyone else and makes a mark whether they know it or not.
 
A

AlphaSnake

...and that, kids, was the first time I sucked a dick for crack
Fusebox said:
And is it really Marcellus' soul in the case??
Click to expand...

What is supposed to be in there? I just thought it was gold. (shrug).

But yeah, best movie ever.
 
S

={<SMOKE>}=

Member
Fusebox said:
And is it really Marcellus' soul in the case??
Click to expand...

my understanding is that it's people's souls in general, not necessarily marcellus' soul. i think their is several people throughout the movie with band aids on the back of their neck (marcellus included) and supposedly there's a part in the bible where it's stated that satan steals peoples' soul through the back of their neck...
 
3

3rdman

Member
The case always reminded me of "Rosebud" from Citizen Kane. For the uninitiated, the word "rosebud" is spoken at the very start of Kane and the rest of the film is essentially spent trying to figure out what it means. In the end, its a metaphor for lost innocence. But what most viewers don't know is that Welles added that to the script as a tool to hook the audience from the start. The case in "Pulp Fiction" is seemingly without meaning and only useful as a narative tool. If there is any symbolism intended by Tarentino, I refer you to a line from one of my favorite films..."It's the stuff that dreams are made of." - Humphrey Bogart, "Maltese Falcon"

The "point" of the movie is to be cool. Sounds kinda silly, but it really is the point. Tarentino has always been in love with pulp fiction writers and pulp fiction movies like "The Naked Kiss" by Samuel Fuller. Mood over drama. Style over substance. All lead (usually) by anti-heroes. For my money, it's a style he perfected with "Kill Bill Vol 1."
 
C

Crag Dweller

aka kindbudmaster
3rdman said:
The case always reminded me of "Rosebud" from Citizen Kane. For the uninitiated, the word "rosebud" is spoken at the very start of Kane and the rest of the film is essentially spent trying to figure out what it means. In the end, its a metaphor for lost innocence. But what most viewers don't know is that Welles added that to the script as a tool to hook the audience from the start. The case in "Pulp Fiction" is seemingly without meaning and only useful as a narative tool. If there is any symbolism intended by Tarentino, I refer you to a line from one of my favorite films..."It's the stuff that dreams are made of." - Humphrey Bogart, "Maltese Falcon"
Click to expand...

I think Hitchcock called it a MacGuffin, which he used quite alot to great effect.
 
K

KingGondo

Banned
Kindbudmaster said:
I think Hitchcock called it a MacGuffin, which he used quite alot to great effect.
Click to expand...

<---

Indeed he did. :D

Don't read too much into the suitcase: it means everything and nothing at once. Just understand that Tarantino wants you to obsess over it, and you've pretty much got it.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

At its core Tarantino's Pulp Fiction is an anthology film
9
2K
SLoWMoTIoN replied
Kotaku bitching about CoD Vanguard - it's too woke, apparently, to the point it defies history ... *SPOILERS*
Opinion Spoilers Drama 2 3 4 5
204
32K
Spukc replied
Jacques Tati's Playtime
2
1K
ROMhack replied
  • Locked
Quentin Tarantino’s Original Wish List for the Cast of Pulp Fiction
2
54
6K
Ventilaator replied
  • Locked
15 Films to See in March (what are you watching?)
41
4K
Natiko replied
Top Bottom