Quentin Tarantino’s films are always controversial, and Pulp Fiction is no exception. The film depicts graphic violence and overt drug usage, while shying away from politically correct language. The film’s controversial topics such as racial stereotypes, has led some critics to hail the movie as racist; however, the movie denies many of these stereotypes, portraying character and character relationships as not exclusive to their stereotype. Furthermore, the movie mocks many of societies stereotypes, and it is not afraid to address, or not to address, uncomfortable racial topics. Thus, Pulp Fiction challenges racial barriers.
Jules Winnifield begins the movie as a criminal, a hit-man to be specific, but as the movie progresses he decides to move away from his life of crime in pursuit of righteousness. Jules’s character development challenges racial stereotypes because he is initially presented as a stereotype, but as the movie progresses he moves away from the cliché and becomes an individual. His character development thus shows the audience that African Americans are not confined to a few archetypes. African American males are frequently portrayed in media as heartless criminals, who do not think twice about their actions, and this is how Jules is portrayed the beginning of the story. However, after he makes it out of the morning visit alive, Jules decides to reevaluate his life, deciding to end his criminal activity and search for a more righteous life. This is a movement away from the stereotype and thus the breaking of our racial barriers. Further, Jules goes from merely reciting scripture to searching for the deeper meaning behind its versus, thus showing him moving away from stereotypical African American preachers a...
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...ationships, treating them as so normal that they do not even need to be acknowledged in the dialogue. By showing and displaying two interracial marriages Pulp Fiction defies the stereotype of members of one race only marrying within their race.
Works Cited
Aldridge, Kevin, Richelle Thompson, and Earnest Winston. "The N-Word." The N-Word. Cincinnati.com, 1 Aug. 2001. Web. 20 Feb. 2014.
Carroll, Joseph. "Most Americans Approve of Interracial Marriages." Gallup Poll. Gallup, 16 Aug. 2007. Web. 20 Feb. 2014.
Metroactive. "The Word 'Nigger'" Metroactive News & Issues. Metroactive News, 9 Apr. 1998. Web. 20 Feb. 2014.
Spears, Arthur K. "Perspectives: A View of the 'N-Word' from Sociolinguistics." Diverse Issues in Education. N.p., 12 July 2006. Web. 20 Feb. 2014.
Willis, Sharon. "The Fathers Watch the Boys' Room." Camera Obscura 32 (1994): 40-73. Web.
While many blacks and whites agree that the word should not be censored from the English language, it certainly should not be used by all people because of its historical significance. For example, black militants believe whites should never use the word nigger. On the other hand, the word nigger has been “reclaimed” by black youths particularly in the hip-hop culture. These modern day teens claim that it is just a word and that people give words meaning rathe...
Moreover, the racial terms can be a projection of more positive definitions and interpretations that can establish individuality. In “Meaning of a Word” by Gloria Naylor, she talks about instances where adults of her community/race have references of the ‘n-word’ that differs from how society or individuals who may use it.
Unfortunately, a question that many African Americans have to ask in childhood is "Mommy, what does nigger mean?," and the answer to this question depicts the racism that still thrives in America (345). Both Gloria Naylor’s "'Mommy, What Does "Nigger" Mean?'" and Countee Cullen's "Incident" demonstrate how a word like "nigger" destroys a child’s innocence and initiates the child into a world of racism. Though the situations provoking the racial slur differ, the word "nigger" has the same effect on the young Naylor and the child in Cullen’s poem. A racist society devours the white children’s innocence, and, consequently, the white children embody the concept of racism as they consume the innocence of the black children by stereotyping them as "niggers."
Quentin Tarantino’s film, Pulp Fiction, uses words to the fullest of their meanings. Words in the film amplify meaning through their duplicity. Characters call one another names wherein the names’ meanings enhance our understanding of what the character is saying. Even if the author or speaker does not consciously intend the meaning, the language that this paper analyzes contains meaning of psychological importance. Characters’ actual names in the film are also of particular significanc e. Nearly every character’s name reflects his personality or role in the film. Because people are human and integrating a name and personality is difficult, it is only genius for every name to be significant and meaningful. Yet, it may be surprising ho w well thought out the naming of the characters is. Pulp Fiction also touches on the interpretive value of words. Oftentimes, a person or group of people may understand the same definition of a word but interpret it differently. Language is prim arily a means of communicating ideas. The film makes an interesting point of how the actual words used may be irrelevant to the idea being portrayed. In sum, Pulp Fiction demonstrates how the meaning of speech can depend either on the choice of w ords used or on the prescribed reaction to word’s usage.
Colored people were neat and quiet, niggers were dirty and loud” (Morrison 189). A character in the novel named Geraldine, a fare skinned African American women, married, one child, lives in a nice home with a cat, symbolizes the division of African American within their own culture. The ability to get an education made or broke an African American’s stance in society. While the irony in Geraldine’s characterization is that while she feels she is an upper-class African American, she is still viewed as inadequate as and less prosperous than White Americans. The desire for societal recognition evolved into the need for verification of societal status; with status entailed an education. Society began to allow African Americans who were not as fortunate to attend school r who were not given the same equal education the title of the N-word to remind them of their lack of racial and societal
The entire film is based on significantly different racial opinions, opinions of different writing styles and stereotyping of different people in general. Race is a huge issue in the film and many stereotypes are made.
When it comes to the use of the “N-word”, “nigger”, most of us will readily agree that it is derived from negativity. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of is this word appropriate and should it be a part of our vocabulary today. Many feel like this word is okay to use but there are some that disagree.
True Quentin Tarantino style is blood spurting, violent, and deep, Pulp Fiction is as encompassing as they come. The series of iconic events that formulate Pulp Fiction include a restaurant heist, murder, drug use, and a scene that implicates highly violent S&M style rape. Through its star persona, genre and film theory (specifically formalism) Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction glorifies guns and violence, thereby mitigating the effects of violence, and ultimately, condoning its use.
Furthermore a little later on in the movie two black guys are coming out of a restaurant and talking about How all the white customers were very much catered too and they weren’t even though the waitress was black because she has a stereotype that black people do not tip well. These two black guys who we later find out that they are carjackers see a white woman and her husband walking down the street as soon as the woman sees them she get scared. Her hunts later becomes right as the two black guys rob her and her husband of their vehicle.In the very next seen a white officer who is coming off his shift Shoots another black officer both of them not knowing they were officers. There is many evidence in this movie of stereotyping and prejudice the list can go on and on. I think that prejudice can be reduced overtime I think there’s many ways to do it one way is to start from the youth and teach them socially equality. Another way that we can reduce prejudice is people having a perfectly of their prejudice through life altering
There are movies that make you laugh, that make you cry, that blow you away with jaw-dropping, ever-so-satisfying action sequences. And there is Pulp Fiction, Quentin Tarantino’s masterpiece, an homage to the old Pulp Magazines and crime novels popular in the 1950s. Known for their incredibly dense and complex dialogue and excessive violence, Tarantino adds his trademark nonlinear chronology and thorough character development to create a movie that celebrates the fact that chance governs all of our lives. The film consists of multiple stories that tell of the criminals, gangsters and outliers of Los Angeles, the underbelly of society. It follows Vincent Vega and Jules Winnfield as they embark on their mission to recovering a briefcase that
The African influence of American English can be found as far back as the Seventeenth century. Although its influence may have began that far back, the influence of African American slang has arguably reached its peak (so far) in the last half on the 20th century. Evidence of this can be seen in magazines, music, television, and films. Perhaps more importantly, evidence can be seen in the way that people of ethnic groups, other than African American, have changed their speech due to this influence. The Equal Rights Movement lead to a paradigm shift in African American linguistic consciousness due to Black intellectuals, scholars, activists, artists, and writers deliberately engaging in a search for a way to express Black identity and the particular circumstances of African American life. Although there had been strides in Black pride in the past, this was the first one to call for linguistic Black p...
One of the biggest issues depicted in the film is the struggle of minority groups and their experience concerning racial prejudice and stereotyping in America. Examples of racism and prejudice are present from the very beginning of the movie when Officer Ryan pulls over black couple, Cameron and Christine for no apparent reason other than the color of their skin. Officer Ryan forces the couple to get out of the car
It is often the case that media and more specifically, film, perpetuates the stereotypes of black men. These stereotypes include not showing emotion, being physically aggressive, embrace violence, supposed criminality, associated with drug use, lack a father figure, sexually exploit women, and others. In the film, Boyz n the Hood, Tre’s father, Furious Styles, encourages Tre to demonstrate loyalty to other people in relationships, resist aggressive behavior, and foster and exhibit sexual responsibility. Thus, throughout the film, Tre challenges the society’s stereotyped norms of black masculinity and what it means to be a black man.
... supremacist gang, to rioting in an Asian owned grocery store, to finally brutally murdering someone. We observe as family ties become increasingly strained in every way, the viewer can easily conclude that Derek’s racism as well as his eventual influence on his younger brother ultimately contributed to their own downfall. As controversial as this movie maybe for the offensive language and brutal violence, it is a movie that deserves to be seen, and even discussed. It really provides insight into some factors within society that cannot be contained by the law or even deterred by even the harshest punishments. Even though American society is becoming more modernized as time goes by in terms of tolerance, racism will unfortunately always be prevalent in society and inevitably it will also lead some individuals to violently express their distorted mentalities.
The film Pulp Fiction was an immediate box office success when it was released in 1994 and it was also well received by the critics, and celebrated for the way it appeared to capture exactly a certain pre-millennial angst and dislocation in Western capitalist societies. The term post-modernist, often used to refer to art and architecture, was applied to this film. The pulp fiction refers to popular novels which are bought in large numbers by less well educated people and enjoyed for their entertainment value. The implication is that the film concerns topics of interest to this low culture, but as this essay will show, in fact, the title is ironic and the film is a very intellectual presentation of issues at the heart of contemporary western culture and philosophy.