Pulp Fiction Is a Film

Pulp Fiction is a film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. The film's title is derived from the pulp fiction stories of the early 20th century that allowed writers to experiment with stories that would eventually lead to the development of the hardboiled detective fiction genre. Through the mise-en-scene, sound, story and genre, Tarantino was able to create a violently delightful film that stands the test of time.

Pulp Fiction revolves around three overlapping stories that intersect at various points in the film. Travolta and Jackson play Vince Vega and Jules Winnfield, two contract killers that work for Marsellus Wallace and are tasked with recovering Marsellus' property after it is stolen. In a second storyline, Vince Vega agrees to take Marsellus's wife, Mia, out for a night of fun while Marsellus is out of town; in this storyline, Mia and Vince go out to a diner, compete and win a twist dance contest, and survive a drug overdose scare when Mia snorts a large amount of heroin. A third storyline revolves around Butch Coolidge, a boxer played by Bruce Willis, who is coerced by Marsellus to fix a boxing match by throwing the fifth round; Butch defies Marsellus, which prompts Marsellus to hunt Butch down. In the course of seeking retribution against Butch, the men are held captive, viciously and sexually assaulted, and eventually declare a truce so long as they never speak of what happened again.

Throughout his career, Tarantino's film's camera shots and angles have come to become the director's trademarks. For instance, the car trunk shot in which Tarantino shoots from a low angle as though looking up from a car's trunk can be seen as Vince and Jules gather weapons and ammunition before retrieving Marsellus's stolen briefcase. This trunk shot has been used in almost all of Tarantino's subsequent films. Also, Tarantino is known for his "corpse point-of-view" shot in which people look down on a corpse or a person that is not moving. The use of this shot can be seen in the sequence where Marsellus gets run over by Butch and later when Butch is beating up one of the pawn shop owners. Tarantino is also known to use a long shot in his films. The use of a long shot can be seen shortly after the film's introduction as Vince and Jules discuss the differences between the United States and Amsterdam in regards to marijuana and hamburgers.

One of the most interesting aspects about Pulp Fiction is its unique editing. The film's narrative is heavily dependent on Tarantino's creative narrative as he employs non-linear editing. For example, the film begins and ends with Vince and Jules eating breakfast at a diner with jump shots being used throughout the film to connect the various subplots together. In the film, character interactions help to create a cohesive narrative as Tarantino demonstrates how they are all interrelated.