Elements of Narrative in Pulp Fiction

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Grace Martin Professor Hutchinson Introduction to Film – TR 9:25 a.m. 23 September 2014 Elements of Narrative in Pulp Fiction Jules Winnfield, Vincent Vega, and Butch Coolidge illustrate three interlocking stories in the cult classic, Pulp Fiction. Jules’ tells the story of a mob goon finding faith and getting out of the game. Vincent tries to prove himself trustworthy with his boss’ wife after living in Amsterdam for three years. And Butch chooses to forge his own path, driven by the tale of his father’s gold watch. Pulp Fiction uses space quite uniquely in the development of Jules and Vincent’s relationship, as well as the movie’s infamous manipulation of temporal order, which we’ll delve into a little deeper. The scene after the opening credits in which Jules and Vincent are preparing to enter Brett’s home with homicidal intentions, utilizes an unusual shot to show the nature of their relationship. Jules and Vincent were right about to enter the apartment when they decide it’s too early, so they walk a short distance down the hall to carry on their conversation until it is late enough. What’s interesting about this shot, though, is that the camera only rotates, but does not move towards the characters or even zoom in. So Jules and Vincent are carrying on their conversation a good 20-30 feet away from the camera, and the cameral makes no move to get a closer, more intimate look at the characters’ faces. We hear the men gossiping about what happened to a man for rubbing their boss’ wife’s feet. When we, as the viewer, see them talking like this, we tend to see them as developing a closer relationship to each other, socially. They are engaging in an intimate conversation only between them, and they appear pushed together and separate from everything else. Also, the fact that the camera stays near the apartment door while they go down the hall to delay the

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