“Unfamiliar approaches to narrative can be both difficult and exciting for the spectator.” Discuss this comment in relation to your film study.
Essay:
In 1994, new filmmaker Quentin Tarantino’s second film, Pulp Fiction, was screened at Cannes Film Festival and caused a sensation, going on to win the film festival’s top prize. After the success of his debut feature-length and relatively low-budget film Reservoir Dogs, Tarantino expanded on some of its key features to make his follow-up film bigger and more intense. Also a violent crime film with cliched character types and generic storylines, Pulp Fiction goes further with the concept of non-linear narrative to rework these familiar aspects into a new and exciting, but somewhat challenging film for the viewer.
A significant influence for Tarantino were Hollywood B-movies, and his adaptation of the common character types can be seen clearly in Pulp Fiction. In Butch there lies a proud boxer who makes shady deals, but fails to follow through and becomes a target of the mob boss, whilst Vincent and Jules follow the archetype of hitmen. Less evident in Pulp Fiction are Propp’s 7 character types. Originally intended as an overview of characters in folk tales, Propp’s character types have since been applied elsewhere and usually fit to a degree; however, Tarantino’s criminal characters are harder to categorise. This largely stems from the different chapters and therefore perspectives present in Pulp Fiction, as where Butch could be considered the ‘hero’ character in the Gold Watch chapter, Vincent Vega is more likely to be classed as the ‘hero’ in Vincent Vega and Marsellus Wallace’s Wife. Similarly, Marsellus best fits the ‘dispatcher’ character description when in Vincent’s chapters, but is more of a ‘villain’ character to Butch in the Gold Watch. Most fitting, perhaps, are the female characters, as both Mia and Fabienne can be described as the ‘princess’ or damsel-in-distress figure in their respective chapters, although even they arguably move beyond the one-dimensional categorisation of ‘princess’: Mia is a developed character with faults, such as her drug use, and it is hard to imagine that she fits the typical ‘princess’ character from a folk tale, Propp’s primary source. Propp’s 7 character types are difficult to apply to Pulp Fiction simply because they are based on folk tales, not crime fiction films, and they are not a foundation on which writers should base their characters, but an observation of patterns in stories. Therefore, the characters in Pulp Fiction are better categorised by the B-movie archetypes from which they are drawn and Tarantino’s innovation can be more clearly seen in relation to these, rather than Propp’s 7 character types, with which he may not even be familiar.
Similarly, Tarantino is likely unaware of Propp’s 31 narrative functions, and certainly did not use them as a basis for his film. They cannot be applied in the way that Propp intended, since part of the theory is that the narrative functions occur in chronological order and Tarantino’s non-linear narrative goes against Propp’s original ordering; however, when looking at the individual stories in Pulp Fiction, it is much easier to apply this theory. Using the Gold Watch as a primary example, several of the 31 functions are evident from the 4 spheres (the Introduction, the Story, the Donor Sequence and the Hero’s Return): function 11 – Departure -is when Butch leaves the motel room on a mission to retrieve the gold watch, Acquisition (function 14) could be when Butch picks up the gold watch, Struggle (function 16) occurs when Marsellus spots Butch in the car and they fight and Return (function 20) when Butch drives back to Fabienne on Zed’s chopper. Whilst the Gold Watch chapter fits quite nicely into this structure, it cannot be applied to the film as a whole, not only because of the non-linear structure, but because of difficulty applying the character types, or having multiple of each character type, and the way in which the narrative strands overlap. In some chapters, Vincent could be considered the ‘hero’ character and according to Propp’s narrative functions, the hero ultimately triumphs; however, during the course of the Gold Watch, when Butch is our most suitable ‘hero’ character, Vincent is killed, which is problematic for his own narrative strand. Evidently, Propp’s narrative functions work in tandem with his character types in relation to folk tales, and the multiple perspectives and narrative strands present in Pulp Fiction make both these theories difficult to apply as a whole.
Another theory that works in Pulp Fiction only when the film is divided into the individual stories is Todorov’s equilibrium theory. Taking the Prologue and Epilogue as one section, Todorov’s five stages can easily be applied: there is equilibrium in the diner as everyone eats, this is disrupted when Honey Bunny and Pumpkin announce their robbery, and recognised by the diners with their frightened responses. Jules attempts a resolution of the disruption by negotiating with them and equilibrium is either restored as Jules and Vincent leave the diner unharmed, or a new equilibrium is established. By having this sequence separated and sandwiching the film, Tarantino is following the order of Todorov’s theory and opening the whole film with the first stage and ending with the final stage of the same story that started the film, which is important in leaving the audience satisfied with the conclusion; however, the separation creates an unresolved tension from the Prologue that maintains the audience’s interest and excitement until this is finally provided in the Epilogue. Part of what makes Pulp Fiction so engaging is that the audience is not gifted the five stages of equilibrium as a whole for each story in succession, but is forced to wait and fit the stages together in order to complete the stories. By combining a portmanteau film with a non-linear narrative, Tarantino entangles the various narrative strands and makes the audience detangle them, forcing an activity and engagement from the audience that makes the film both challenging and exciting.
Unaffected by Pulp Fiction‘s non-linear narrative is Levi-Strauss’ theory of binary opposition. As in many films, Pulp Fiction contains opposites that drive the narrative and create action to make a more compelling film; for example, Vincent is a man and Mia a woman, which results in a natural tension between the binary opposites that makes the chapter Vincent Vega and Marsellus Wallace’s Wife more engaging. Even the title of the chapter sets up a juxtaposition of the sexes and creates tension, as the audience is acutely aware that Mia is married to Vincent’s boss, and any possible sexual interaction between Mia and Vincent may result in a similar outcome for Vincent as the man who allegedly gave Mia a foot massage. Another binary opposition in Pulp Fiction is between criminals and innocent bystanders. During Marsellus and Butch’s fight in the Gold Watch, innocent bystanders are present and rush to aid each of them and Marsellus and Butch’s response to them creates more action as they start shooting at each other and occasionally hit the innocent women. Their presence creates a greater risk and impact to Marsellus and Butch’s actions.
Overall, by re-ordering the story events into a non-linear narrative Tarantino removes the predictability of otherwise cliched storylines. The lack of chronological flow disrupts the narrative theories of Propp and Todorov, but makes the film more engaging and exciting; for example, by splitting Vincent and Jules’ visit to the teenagers to retrieve Marsellus’ briefcase into two sections, the Prelude and the Bonnie Situation, the conclusion of that particular story is withheld until near the end of the film, creating an anticipation and activity in the audience, as they have to connect the two parts of the story together themselves. Another distinction in Pulp Fiction that stems from the multiple narrative strands is the change in audience positioning. Part of the excitement of films is being placed with sometimes morally wrong characters that we would not normally empathise with in the real world, but can experience in a safe and contained environment, where their actions do not have real-life implications. In addition to creating fun, but morally wrong characters with whom we can empathise, Tarantino changes the position of the audience depending on the chapter, even allowing us to view parts of the same sequence from different perspectives, most notably, the beginning of the Epilogue, which is from Jules’ perspective, not Honey Bunny and Pumpkin’s, as in the Prologue. These elements are vital in challenging the audience and preventing them from passively following one character’s story; as Tarantino himself said, “It’s actually fun to watch an audience in some ways chase after a movie”. Tarantino subverts narrative theories and character tropes throughout Pulp Fiction, such as having the otherwise competent hitmen Vincent and Jules accidentally kill Marvin and have to clean it up. These changes make the film unexpected, exciting and unique to Tarantino, despite it being rooted in the tropes of Hollywood B-movies and portmanteau crime fiction. Therefore, if Pulp Fiction is said to be a better film for failing to conform to narrative theories, it can be concluded that unfamiliar approaches to narrative are more exciting, yet difficult for the viewer.
Second version:
In 1994, new filmmaker Quentin Tarantino’s second film, Pulp Fiction, was screened at Cannes Film Festival and caused a sensation, going on to win the film festival’s top prize. After the success of his debut feature-length and relatively low-budget film Reservoir Dogs, Tarantino expanded on some of its key features to make his follow-up film bigger and more intense. At its core, Pulp Fiction is a film with cliched stories and archetypal characters, based on popular Hollywood B-movies and magazine crime fiction familiar to Tarantino; however, he reworks these familiar elements into a non-linear structure to withhold information until it becomes most dramatic. His manipulation of narrative is what makes Pulp Fiction an exciting and unique film and forces the audience to become active participants, which is a challenging notion for a form in which the audience are typically passive spectators.
Pulp Fiction is a film of three main chapters: Vincent Vega & Marsellus Wallace’s Wife, The Gold Watch and The Bonnie Situation, and each of these form their own narrative strand. In addition to these, the Prologue and Epilogue act as a continuation of The Bonnie Situation, whilst the Prelude is also part of this strand, but occurs before them in the chronological flow of story events. Rather than simply tell each of the chapters in full and in chronological order, or even use flashbacks, as he did primarily in Reservoir Dogs, Tarantino chooses to completely re-order the events of Pulp Fiction into a non-linear and circular narrative.
The stories themselves are littered in hundreds of films, albeit with some variations, and Tarantino doesn’t shy away from stealing them and the archetypal characters featured in them. The Gold Watch is merely the common story of a proud boxer who makes dodgy deals, but refuses to follow through and becomes the target of a mob boss, whilst Vincent and Jules are two regular hitmen who are sent to retrieve an object of importance by their boss. It wouldn’t be a Tarantino film, though, without a fresh twist and he maximises the audience’s knowledge of these generic characters to subvert expectations, such as when the seemingly seasoned hitman Vincent accidentally shoots Marvin in the head. The comedy in this scene comes primarily from the surprise and ridiculousness of it, which in turn stems from the pre-emptive associations we have of gangsters with control and ruthlessness, not mistakes and carelessness. Therefore, Tarantino is reliant on these common character types and the existing knowledge that the audience has of them. He is less concerned with, on the other hand, Propp’s 7 character types.
Originally intended as an overview of characters in folk tales, the types ‘hero’, ‘villain’, ‘donor’ to name a few, have little place in a Tarantino film where every character is morally questionable. The categories are problematic for a portmanteau film such as Pulp Fiction and worse when the narrative strands within that film overlap, like when Vincent (the closest to the ‘hero’ type in that story) bumps into Butch (arguably the ‘hero’ type the Gold Watch chapter) at the bar. In that scene, the audience is still positioned with Vincent, as Butch is yet to have been fully introduced and focused on. Therefore, this shows that the two characters cannot hold the title of ‘hero’ at the same time, and cannot truly be the ‘hero’ character in the entirety of the film Pulp Fiction.
Whilst Tarantino does not adhere to Propp’s 7 character types, he is still very clever in his audience positioning to the degree that two murderers could even make a claim to the ‘hero’ character type. Almost every single character in Pulp Fiction and most certainly the main ones commit numerous crimes and are terrible people, a fact that cannot be denied – Vincent and Jules kill the boys in the apartment, Butch kills his boxing opponent and Vincent, even Mia is married to a mob boss and snorts cocaine. Yet Tarantino constructs the film so that the audience enjoys and roots for these characters, who would be thoroughly disliked and avoided in real life. Thus, Pulp Fiction becomes an extreme form of escapism, allowing an enjoyment of violence that would be considered completely brutal and horrific in reality.
Furthermore, the change in audience positioning across the various chapters is a significant factor in making Pulp Fiction feel interesting and exciting to watch. This change in perspective allows the audience to rewatch the same moments with new eyes, a key example being the opening robbery. The first time, the audience watches the scene by the side of Honey Bunny and Pumpkin as they plan and begin to enact their robbery of the diner. However, when the same section is seen again at the end of the film, the audience is witnessing Jules’ reaction to the robbery, seen by the change in Honey Bunny’s line from “any of you fucking pricks move and I’ll execute every last motherfucking one of you” to “any of you fucking pricks move and I’ll execute every one of you motherfuckers”, as Jules has a penchant for saying “motherfucker” at the end of his sentences.
By overlapping the sequences in this way, Tarantino contextualises the seemingly random and unconnected opening scene with Honey Bunny and Pumpkin, stressing the importance of narrative perspective and creating a much more satisfying ending than the chronologically correct one of Butch and Fabienne riding away on the Chopper. He leaves us hanging until the very last moment to understand the opening scene, holding on to an anticipation created from the beginning, and this is what ultimately makes the narrative order of Pulp Fiction so skilful. Rather than a typical three act structure in which Todorov’s equilibrium theory can be seen, cleanly restoring equilibrium after progressing through the five stages, Tarantino breaks apart each story so that the audience does not get the resolution until he decides that we do.
Even when the audience might feel that there is nothing more to a story, the film takes a turn and surprises us again. On first viewing, Vincent and Jules seem to succeed in retrieving the briefcase in the Prelude, having shot most of the boys and located it, even if we haven’t actually seen them leave the apartment. To us, their leaving unharmed is an inevitability, something that doesn’t have to be shown, they could simply hand over the briefcase to Marsellus with an ellipsis in place of them walking out of the apartment. However, Tarantino throws this into question when the section is revisited in The Bonnie Situation: now, there is a boy hiding in the bathroom, ready to kill Vincent and Jules and has every chance of being successful. But Tarantino plays with the audience’s emotions yet again by having every single shot miss the incredulous Vincent and Jules and this acts as a cause for the effect of Jules having a religious awakening and giving up his life as a gangster. Tarantino’s twists and turns are thus another reason why Pulp Fiction does not conform to theories such as Propp’s 31 narrative functions.
The narrative functions are observations of the narratives in folk tales and the very nature of them as an exhaustive list suggests a predictability, something Tarantino keenly aims to avoid. Whilst a few of the functions can be found in the simpler story of Butch and The Gold Watch, such as ‘Departure’ and ‘Acquisition’, the 31 narrative functions are not a basis for film, and even if Tarantino were aware of them, he would most certainly not be using them as such. Additionally, the 31 narrative functions rely on the identification of a ‘hero’ and ‘villain’ according to Propp’s 7 character types, which is difficult in Pulp Fiction. Therefore, in the aforementioned example at the start of The Bonnie Situation, the events do not adhere to any of the narrative functions, because we are more likely to see the boys as naive, foolish, out-of-their-depth teenagers than villains, Tarantino’s surprises are not particularly accounted for in Propp’s functions and fundamentally, the narrative functions were based on folk tales, not fiction crime films. The 31 narrative functions are further distorted or destroyed in Pulp Fiction by its non-linear narrative, as they are ordered chronologically and are supposed to appear in this way.
Tarantino’s ordering of the narrative strands is very important in understanding why Pulp Fiction is such an engaging and exciting film. He opens with the amateur robbery enacted by Honey Bunny and Pumpkin, before showing the professional Vincent and Jules, then he hints at a forbidden sexual tension between Mia and Vincent that will never be acted on because of Vincent’s loyalty to Marcellus, before showing Butch, who disobeys Marsellus’ orders and escapes with his girlfriend Fabienne. Within the very structure of Pulp Fiction, there is binary opposition, which according to Levi-Strauss, drives the narrative and makes it more engaging. By interlacing these narrative strands, Tarantino forces these opposites closer together in order to heighten the juxtaposition between them. This makes it more compelling and noticeable when Vincent follows Marsellus’ orders and is consequently killed by Butch, the person who goes against Marsellus, yet gets to ride away for his happy ending with Fabienne.
Overall, Tarantino subverts narrative expectations in many ways, most obviously in his non-linear structure and portmanteau style. These particularly make the film difficult for the viewer, as they have to work to reconstruct the events chronologically in order to make sense of them. This is an intentional decision by Tarantino to make his audience active and, as he said himself, “It’s actually fun to watch an audience in some ways chase after a movie”. His clever audience positioning and lack of any clear ‘hero’ or ‘villain’ make the film more exciting for the viewer, we do not get stuck in the same perspective for the whole film, blindly following that character, instead Tarantino forces us to reconsider other characters, such as the way we respond to Honey Bunny and Pumpkin when we are placed with Jules, rather than those characters themselves. Tarantino’s alternative narrative choices are the root of what makes Pulp Fiction a different and unique film, as the stories themselves certainly are taken from Hollywood B-movies and magazine crime fiction. Therefore, it must be his unfamiliar approach to narrative that makes Pulp Fiction so exciting yet difficult, as the film in chronological order would not be nearly as fun.
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