1 - [Media Studies] Quentin Tarantino

Quentin Tarantino described French films as "battling boring, fucked up bourgeois cinema" before Jean-Pierre Melville's genre reconstruction changed the landscape. When Tarantino uses the term 'genre reconstruction,' he refers to the revitalization of a genre by altering established or overused elements while simultaneously paying homage to those same elements. Melville successfully combined American crime novels with familiar plots from previous gangster films, ultimately reconstructing the genre and delivering it "completely in his own way," as Tarantino described it. In his films such as Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, and Jackie Brown, Tarantino reconstructs existing elements of gangster films by altering traditional narratives and implementing non-chronological storylines. With Jackie Brown, Tarantino reimagines typical narratives seen in Blaxploitation and French New Wave cinema. Concepts such as postmodernism can be applied to Tarantino's films through his use of dialogue revolving around pop culture, while other concepts, such as pastiche, are evident in his casting choices.

Considering Quentin Tarantino's unconventional background, one could conclude that films like Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, and Jackie Brown are forms of 'genre reconstruction'. In Postmodern Hollywood, Keith Booker describes how Tarantino's film training involved being "a former video-store clerk." While other filmmakers attended film school, like Melville, Tarantino's education was unconventional. The effect of this is evident in all three movies, where Tarantino reconstructs traditional gangster films through his use of asynchronous timelines. Although not definitive, perhaps Tarantino's creativity, unobstructed by formal film school training, enabled him to reconstruct the gangster film genre.

In Pulp Fiction, one element of gangster films Tarantino reconstructs is the narrative structure. After the encounter with the rapist brothers, a character states:

Yeah man, we're cool. One thing I ask – two things I ask: Don't tell nobody about this. This shit's between me and you and the soon-to-be-livin'- the-rest-of-his-short-ass-life-in- agonizing-pain, Mr. Rapist here. It ain't nobody else's business. Two: leave town. Tonight. Right now. And when you're gone, stay gone. You've lost your Los Angeles privileges. Deal?

Typically, gangster movies are black and white, with the narrative driven by a central collection of ideals, i.e., there's a good guy who succeeds in the end. However, by allowing accidents to dominate the plot, those ideals are eroded and replaced with chance. This allows for unpredictability, as seen in how the film concludes with an amoral character like Butch succeeding.

In Jackie Brown, Tarantino delivers a twist on an element frequently seen in the Blaxploitation genre. In the closing scenes of the film:

JACKIE "Come over here."

Max does.

They give each other a long, tender kiss.

She breaks it.

Unlike many preceding films, Blaxploitation typically coupled young black male leads with a happy ending. Tarantino delves into another level of genre reconstruction by instead featuring an older, working-class African American woman. By doing so, Tarantino modifies an element within a particular narrative that's commonly featured in the Blaxploitation genre.

In Pulp Fiction, Tarantino applies postmodernism through dialogue revolving around pop culture. Mr. Orange describes how the song "True Blue" "was about ... a girl who meets a nice guy." Through this dialogue, Tarantino blurs the line between different types of art within Reservoir Dogs and achieves postmodernism.

In Pulp Fiction, Tarantino applies postmodernism through dialogue revolving around pop culture. Mr. Orange describes how the song "True Blue" "was about ... a girl who meets a nice guy." Through this dialogue, Tarantino blurs the line between different types of art within Reservoir Dogs and achieves postmodernism. Similarly, another concept Tarantino employs is pastiche. He achieves this through his casting choices. In Postmodern Hollywood, Lipman describes how the characters in Tarantino's films are "playing warped versions of characters for which they are known". By casting the same actors and having them play roles similar to their past performances, Tarantino imitates styles from his other works of art.

In conclusion, when Tarantino uses the term 'genre reconstruction,' he refers to revitalizing a genre by altering established or overused elements while still mirroring those same elements. In films such as Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, and Jackie Brown, Tarantino reconstructs existing elements of gangster films by altering traditional narratives and employing non-linear storylines. Tarantino reimagines the typical narratives seen in Blaxploitation and French New Wave with his film Jackie Brown. Concepts such as postmodernism can be applied to Tarantino's films through the use of dialogue revolving around pop culture, while other concepts such as pastiche are evident in his casting choices.