day 28 - Pulp Fiction

OK film fans, I'm feeling pretty spry for a Thursday night and since I happened across this film juggernaut tonight on IFC. As I mentioned just the other night, the formulaic state of Hollywood is something I despise. I understand that many people view films solely as an escape, a way to enjoy a few hours of mindless fun and many use films as a babysitter. But every so often a film comes out of nowhere and, typically using images of violence taken from the underbelly of society, manages to shock both Hollywood and the audiences out of their ossification.

Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction is a classic example of postmodern film that simultaneously created a cottage industry of piss poor knockoffs (most notably 2 Days in the Valley and The Boondock Saints) and, as anything postmodern should do, riled the sensibilities of the mainstream. There are at least a dozen different topics that stem from this polarizing film, but tonight I'd like to detour into one few people seem to acknowledge.

Pulp Fiction is, since its release in 1994, one of the most ethical films of its time. That's right, a film that glorifies lowlifes and killers is one of the most morally intricate films in recent history. It offers a unique and vibrant dissection on the themes of rescue, miracles and salvation that few films attempt let alone find success in. Virtually every sequence in the film explores motifs on rescue. It begins with the rescue of the briefcase from the young hoods that have wrongfully come into its possession, proceeds with Vincent's rescue of Mia and Butch's rescue of Marsellus and ends with Jules's rescue of Honey Bunny and Pumpkin. This is paralleled by the presence of miracles throughout, the most obvious being the bullets that miraculously miss Jules and Vincent. No less a miracle is Vincent bringing Mia back from the dead or Butch somehow freeing himself from his ropes allowing him to save Marsellus.

Both of these ideas are combined with the theme of salvation where each character is presented moral choices which not only hold their lives in the balance, but their souls as well. Everyone in Pulp Fiction either accepts or rejects the moral choice to save or be saved. Let's look at the characters and their choices, as broken down by Thomas Pope:

Honey Bunny and Pumpkin - are saved by Jules
Vincent - remains "the tyranny of evil men" by denying the miracle; he does save Mia but remains unsaved himself.
Jules - changes from a murderer to would-be saint, taking lives in the beginning and saving lives in the end.
Butch - changes from a corrupt boxer to an honest man to an accidental killer to Marsellus's savior - "shepherding the weak."
Marsellus - even though he extends mercy to Butch, he remains "the tyranny of evil men"
Mia - is saved by Vincent
Mr. Wolf - saves Jules and Vincent.

Ultimately the film asks a question of us as well. Do you accept or reject these lowlifes and killers as worthy of salvation? This postmodern and pop culture wonder subtly reminds the mainstream that everyone, regardless of their transgressions, is worthy of both notice and salvation.