Pulp Fiction Analysis: Detachment, Manliness, Media Criticism, Shakespeare

[RichardNixon6974]

theme of sacrifice, and how he, in his own way, fought hard to break out of captivity and to one day hand down the timepiece to his son or daughter, with his own story to tell with it as well.

[RichardNixon6974]

when the Captain told the young Butch that fellow prisoners were all brothers and would do as much as they could for each other. Alas, another symbolism of my point is that, instead of using the myriad of blunt and crude weapons throughout the shop, he chooses the iiado-Katana, symbolizing his fair and honorable means to dispatch Marcellus's captors. In no way does this complicated, numerously layered story correlate to your chosen theme of "manliness" It much more thoroughly runs with the the

[RichardNixon6974]

the exception of it being an actual war zone, Butch silently infiltrates his old apartment and stealthily kills Vincent; Then bloodied from his accident is pursued by Marcellus Wallace wielding a Colt M1911A1, to which he is then captured as a prisoner upon nearly killing his adversary. Thus, as I previously said, it shows that his very real battle has landed him in the exact same place as his father. His honorable decision to save his extremely hated adversary directly stems from

[RichardNixon6974]

@TheHumanFiction This video is extremely skewed and obviously reflects the biased opinions of the narrator. For one, The boxing does not represent Butch's metaphorical battlefield, It represents Butch's long lineage of proud and valiant fighters. This is made apparent when upon returning to his apartment, the walls show many titles and belts on display as well as framed pictures of his victories in the ring. Butch's "battlefield" was in no way artificial, In clear contrast, It shows that with

[TaffyRaphie]

You use a lot of obscure quotes. Makes me feel dumb. Interesting video nonetheless. Thanks!

[proadmin1]

Doesn't Butch in that father performing real work, son conducting artifice redeem himself in the end, by having the two situations - the rape and and incident with Vincent, come up as factors in doing right at the end of the day.

[TheHumanFiction]

@proadmin1 I hadn't quite thought of this. If we are to judge the men by the value of honor, then yes I think that Butch does redeem himself by saving Marcellus instead of just letting his enemy die a horrible death. Good point!

[psalm69er]

The boxer in PF would have been highly valued in ancient Greek or Roman society for his violent skills. In the modern world those same skills make him a dinosaur... only good if he throws a fight to make a big shot win money in gambling. So the problem is not that there are enough outlets for manliness but that manliness itself has become obsolete... at least the 'old fashioned' version of manliness.

[TheHumanFiction]

@psalm69er Hi there, good comment. I think you're probably right. To bring about a more "modern" society, both sexes have made compromises. Women have gone into the working world, and men no longer "own" them, though we have such a long history of being bred for other purposes that leads to other impulses. I guess the real moral is that it's kinda complicated to be human, haha

[0gods]

Fantastic commentary on one of my all time favorite films. In the boxing match vignette, the fiction is that men fight for honor rooted in machismo (for the most part boxing is a bloody, anonymous sport with little glory). In the bar, against a fatalist backdrop of the "you had your shot," the back story develops as anti-hero Butch has his life, his ability and his value framed as that of a slave--the ultimate evisceration of his manhood. The racial juxtaposition is (cont)

[0gods]

@0gods (ii) part of the fiction too: laid bare is the notion that with enough hard work, dedication and sacrifice that the black man can win "liberatio" and an rudus in the sport of boxing, a sport which is over overwhelmingly dominated at the top by the white establishment. If Butch had gone down in the fifth round, Marsellus would have successfully gamed the system and won but even in this apparently simple power sharing relationship, the tables are turned and "whitey" wins. Butch turns (cont)

[0gods]

@0gods (iii) Marsellus into his bitch. This vignette is juxtaposed with the justice Bret is dealt by Jules and Vincent for trying to betray Marsellus in the Ezequiel 25:17 scene. Clearly, "The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness. . ." This misquote suggests the main theme of the movie to me and the main fiction (cont)

[0gods]

@0gods (iv) that of salvation through grace, the ultimate "pulp fiction." Butch, the washed up "sinner," finds redemption and righteous by preserving the time honored tradition of generational sacrifice (symbolized by possessing and passing on the gold watch) through acts of virtue such as forgiveness and bravery as he shepherds Marsellus through their own "valley of darkness."

Thanks for sharing this. Peace.

[psalm69er]

I'm responding to the last part of your video on outlets for manliness. Great question. For the first time in human history violence is no longer a regular part of our every day lives. Committing acts of violence has been the primary domain of men, whether that be violence towards animals for food/defense or other men for defense. Men were valued by women for success at violence. Now those same skills are outdated and useless in the modern world.