QuentinTarantino and Racial Barriers - 1202 Words

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†¦show more content†¦By having a rather unassuming African American woman as the most powerful character in the film, who even the macho boss is afraid of, Pulp Fiction is helping demolish society’s racial, and gender, barriers, showing that a movie can have a powerful, African American woman who is also responsible and benevolent. Some would argue that Pulp Fiction remains a racist film as it portrays African Americans as criminals and features a dialog containing racist language. The movie contains highly racist language, making frequent use of the word nigger. In â€Å"The Bonnie Situation† when Jimmy is talking to Jules and Vince about the dead body in the car in his driveway Tarantino’s character says the word four times. This scene is especially jarring because a Caucasian man is saying this racial slur to an African American. Furthermore, the profanity is also frequently used in dialogue between Marsellus and Jules. While Pulp Fiction does use a fair amount of racist language, the movie has a deeper motive for using such language. The frequency to which the word is used in Tarantino’s works, including Pulp Fiction, has led some to believe he has an infatuation with the word. Tarantino has been quoted saying that, â€Å"the word ‘nigger’ is probably the most volatile word in the English language,† and he believes that the word should not hold the kind of power that it does. (Metroactive) Through his movies, Tarantino is trying to make the word less powerful by having it said so