Pulp Fiction: Film Noir and Dark Comedy

 

 

 

 

We do not have homework this week. We will have homework after we have finished watching a movie.

Film Noir

Genre: kind of movie or book, for example, science fiction, comedy,

Documentary, romance, action, arthouse, cartoon/animation, horror, etc.

For each movie we watch, we will try a different genre.

We will start with comedy.

Here’s for your grades:

Attendance=come to class (10%). For every hour you miss of class,

I deduct (minus --) 1% from your final grade. If you miss a whole day,

that is minus 2%.
Midterm Exam (30%)
Homework (20%)
Final Exam (40%)

The first movie we will watch is Pulp Fiction. Genre=dark comedy (evil)

Film Noir:

1.  Existentialism: the meaning of life

2.  Background is empty: not a lot in the film

3.  Flashback: memory in the film

4.  Crime: murder; killing; robbery

Please look for these themes when we watch the movie

The movie’s plot (story) is NOT in sequential (chronological) order.

 

First, then, after, next, finally: one, two, three, four, five

Seven scenes: It starts scene six. Put the film back into chronological order with seven sentences. One sentence to describe each scene.

The movie is directed and written by Tarantino. He wrote it in the diner that is shown in the first scene. The diner closed during COVID.

The director also has a cameo in this movie. When a famous person goes in a movie for a short time, maybe a few minutes.

 

What is in the briefcase? Hint number one: 666 is the symbol of the Devil or Satan

Do you read the Bible?  Religious ideas.

Marcellus is paying Butch the fighter to lose the next fight. He does this because he wants to gamble on the fight. This is called “throwing a fight.“  The briefcase with the 666 belongs to Marcellus.

Why is there a bandage on the back of his neck? There is one idea from a long time ago. The soul could be taken out of the body from the back of the neck. Superstitious.

“That is pride f&^%ing with you. F&^& pride.” Don’t worry about or ignore pride.

“Paying homage to” is when a director copies a scene from a famous movie on purpose. Everyone knows he/she is doing this. The director pays homage to because he/she wants to show respect.

Tarantino is paying homage to Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange.

Don’t be a square. A person who is NOT cool or stylish.

I am going to go to the bathroom and powder my nose. Pun. When an expression has two meanings.

1.  Powder my nose is a polite way to say “use the toilet.”

2.  The nickname for cocaine is powder. And cocaine is snorted up the nose.