Pulp fiction essay

You could argue that Pulp fiction is experimental as a result of Tarantino's being an auteur and therefore allowing him to challenge the established conventions from Hollywood which is set out and followed by the majority of directors however Tarentino puts his own spin on these conventions one such example is pulp fiction. which can be seen as an influence from the french new wave as they both challenged the conventions set out for what a movie should be. Throughout the entire film, we get a fragmented narrative structure and follow no chronological order jumping from one story arc to the next following no time order. This is unusual of Hollywood films, however, Tarantino chooses to challenge this with his fresh take on telling a story in a different standard by not following the chronological order of events, this allows for a active spectator as they have to try and piece together the order of the narrative. 

This idea is reinforced in the scene in which we see butch get his father's watch. we see Through how he represents themes such as patriotism which is widely seen as 'brave' and looked in high regard especially in America, however tarention decides to go against this. Tarantino challenges this and puts forth his own ideals and views on patriotism or in this case misplaced patriotism. He uses Christopher Walken's character as a mouthpiece for his thoughts on the subject presenting it as a joke and something that can't be taken seriously showing how he perceived patriotism as misplaced patriotism. He even goes further to critique it and exploit the racism hidden behind this brave vecade. He uses his own ideas to challenge the established conventions on patriotism. Tarentino uses the camera to express this idea with the close-ups showing how butch is uninspired and even bored. That mixed with the long slow cuts makes the scene drag  and last much longer than needed and become awkward for the viewer as they see the lack of effect this has going against the themes of the majority of modern day films. 

Another scene in which this is evident is the opening scene of the film where we see two characters at a diner. We are launched into the narrative with no explanation or context leaving the spectator with more questions than answers pushing the spectator to be active and try to find meaning in what tarention provides. However this could be criticised as the camera uses shot reverse shot and there is slow paced cuts can be seen as creating an understanding for the spectaor as these techniques will not hinder them in trying to grasp and understanding of the scene. This is also reinforced as it is not experimental for films to have a lack of information for the audience in the opening scenes. 

Throughout the film we see powershifts this is seen in the scene where butch meets marcelus for the first time. Marcellus is shown to have all of the power in the opening half of the film and this scene reinforces that. The camera only shows butch however we only really hear Marcellus speak and by only hearing his voice Tarention is withholding information from the spectator, verbally showing his power but not through the camera as we only see Marcellus shoulder in the shot this keeps in lign with the experimental feel as Tarentino expects the Spectaotr to do the work and actively aim to understand the scene lookign for the cues placed within.