Tarantino as a film auteur

 Tarantino as a film auteur 

A film auteur is a director who takes hold of all aspects of the filmmaking: their film from concept to direction 

Idea - screenplay - directions - camera - editing = FULL ARTISTIC CONTROL 

Consistent qualities to be found throughout their work 

For example - to cast particular actors frequently 

To be an auteur you need a sufficient body of work 

- His recognisable experimental style: hybridity of genres, themes and styles 

- Working in opposition to mainstream ideas/values*/filmic approaches to create and innovate - produce something new or a new perspective

- *history of America - bricolage 

- POSTMODERNISM - repetition and difference - combining familiar elements 

- Includes our understanding of story telling - reviewing our understanding of narrative - perspectives 

HYBRIDITY:

• Mix of comedy with other genres 
• Makes his work experimental 
• Kill Bill - highly stylised, thriller, Noir elements
• Irony as a typical feature 
• Farcical 

- Subverting mainstream narratives about American identity, "dream", culture 

- He is a disrupter: the mock heroic style of "patriotism" in Pulp Fiction - the watch 

- Goes against conventional narratives, goes against the themes of American film. 

- The dialogue is key in mocking ideas about American heroism, it is not necessarily critical or political, interprets film as a art medium in a rebellious way. 

Experimental film is often the result of an auteur challenging established conventions with fresh ideas?" With reference to your chosen film option, how far do you agree with this statement? 

Established conventions:

- Plot and 3 arc structure

- Linear story telling

- Mainstream cinema - comfort for the spectator 

- Cinematic trends (genre, star system)

- Resist change for financial reasons

- Familiar stock characters (femme fatale etc) 

- Distinctive and consistent qualities which run through a wide variety of their work 

- Manipulating spectators to have a certain sensitivity towards reprehensible characters - visualising the unconventional - interesting juxtapositions 

Tarantino is certainly a film auteur due to his recognisable and consistent experimental style in a considerable body of work, his hybridity of genre, extremely stylised sequences and combination of familiar cinematic elements to create something entirely new - emphasising his post-modernist storytelling in Pulp Fiction. Tarantino is a disrupter, mocking "patriotism" and "the American dream" by subverting conventional narratives and the general themes of American film, such as heroism and identity. Though he is not necessarily critical or political in Pulp Fiction, film becomes an art medium interpreted in a rebellious way instead. I do agree with this statement. 

Due to the non-linear events of the film, the implemented experimental elements are evident. Considering spectators are handed these unexpected sequences randomly, creation a conjunction between certain "episodes" of the film is a difficulty. Tarantino as a film auteur is consistently experimental, the idea of hyper reality is presented in the "watch" sequence through the blend of fact or fiction . Spectators are taken to a flashback of Butch as a child being given his father's watch by an officer. This moment pieces together our understanding of Butch's life, however is provided in a dreamlike perspective so we are aware it isn't part of the current reality of the film. Tarantino is challenging established conventions of film here by following a comedic route in a stereotypically patriotic scene in cinema, being the generic inheritance of a specific item. This type of sequence is common in adventure films, regarding the hybridity of genres in Pulp Fiction, "adventure" tropes are depicted, for example Butch on the run after the fight. The officer is telling young Butch an extremely long-winded story packed with unrelated things, young Butch is around 4-5 years of age in the scene and most likely would have little to know understanding of the Officer's performance. This type of scene is usually very serious, but Tarantino makes a mockery of conventional American cinema - "I had to keep this tiny lump of metal up my *ss.... and now I give it to you". Hyper reality is also suggested in this sequence because a wide shot is used when showing the officer elaborating on the story, he is centred in the middle of the cinematic while displaying the mother and living room in the background but blurred because of the pull-focus. The shot is dreamlike due to the distortion of the screen while the camera tilts upwards to his face, mimicking the POV style people would experience in a dream. Spectators are taken to a different moment in time that seems like a distant memory. Tarantino is working in opposition to mainstream ideas/values, creating his own filmic approaches to innovate a new perspective. The value of heroism in mainstream American cinema is tackled in this sequence, Tarantino deliberates on whether America deserves this title, a farcical post-modernist reflection of this highlights how experimental film is the result of an auteur challenging established conventions. To counter argue this mockery of American values, you can debate that this sequence doesn't push cinematic boundaries in experimental film. This is because the standard mise-en-scene, film form and performance simply project the shape of a dream, in which Tarantino desires to display a flashback instead of analysing American ideologies. 

The Jackrabbit Slim's sequence with Vincent and Mia where the two eat at a 1950s themed restaurant represents a time of hope and optimism contrasting with the crime filled life they lead. Vincent has been ordered by Marcellus to take Mia out to do "whatever she wanted" because he is away on "business". This episode of the film almost creates a pause in time where the two roles enter into the bricolage of American culture within the restaurant. Tarantino's juxtaposition between this sequence and the other sequences fraught with violence is a purposeful use of hyper-reality and simulacrum, Jackrabbit Slim is where strands of the classic American past is pulled together to form a self-referential dive into one of Tarantino's favourite restaurant in Los Angeles. Mine-en-scene successfully manifests the the experimental genre of Pulp Fiction, such as repurposed vintage cars for tables and waitstaff entertainers resembling 1950's personalities such as Billy Holly and Marilyn Monroe. The bricolage of mise-en-scene further enhances this mockery of American culture while allowing spectators to step out of the crime on camera into a separate hyper-reality away from the narrative itself. Tarantino challenges established film conventions in this sequence as he simulates past pop-culture, additionally the square boxed animation used in a short moment of the scene intensifies the genre hybridity (a motif of Tarantino films, to mix certain elements that innovate something entirely new). The use of close-ups and wide-shots present intimacy between the characters, however we are aware of the circumstances that place them in this occurrence. "You can never tell" by Chuck Berry plays as diegetic music as they dance, the sentimentality of the song is a reference to American values once again, though the "five dollar" milkshake is a reminder of how they still live in current time, where crime is relevant. 

After a long and eventful morning, Jules and Vincent enjoy a lazy breakfast at a local diner. As soon as Vincent excuses himself to use the facilities, a robbery unfolds. In an attempt to relieve Jules not only of his provocative wallet, but also of his glowing briefcase full of mysterious riches, Ringo loses focus long enough for Jules to instinctively grab Ringo’s gun, pull out his own, and consequently gain the upper hand of the situation. But Jules isn’t simply going to let them escape unscathed. Even though he has experienced a moment of clarity, he still must leave these two amateur robbers with a keepsake; that is, if he won’t harm Ringo and Yolanda physically, then he won’t let them leave without some psychological abuse. With a loaded gun pointed directly at Ringo’s head, Jules shares the fact that typically before killing his helpless victims he will recant his favourite bible verse: Ezekiel 25:17. Although no killing takes place in the diner, the scene is no less bone chilling as Jules shares his sobering translation: that Ringo and Yolanda are the weak, while Jules himself is the tyranny of evil men. When Jules follows this up with, “But I’m tryin’ Ringo…I’m tryin’ real…hard…to be the shepherd,” the effect is captivating. The viewer can absolutely connect with this criminal as he wallows through his moral dilemma in an attempt to come to terms with his reality, and perhaps mentally disturb two wannabe robbers along the way. Tarantino’s seemingly effortless ability to represent experimental unlikely characters in complex and believable ways through dialogue is comparable to none. The character of Jules Winnfield is no exception. The conversation that takes place during the diner scene between Jules, Ringo, and Yolanda epitomises Tarantino’s ability to intimately connect the viewer with any given character through philosophical and thought-provoking conversation. The break of conventional boundaries in gangster cinema is an example of Tarantino's experimental film form, the development of dialogue and performance in this scene juxtaposes typical tropes of crime in film, replacing it with something entirely opposite to a crib-filled life - religion. Subverting these mainstream opinions of American cinema while still placing these innovated values in an abstract presentation, the situation of the sequence is completely strange and unprecedented. Therefore for the final diner sequence I agree that experimental film is the result of challenging established conventions because Tarantino clearly does this here by contrasting stereotypical expectations of a robbery.  

Renowned for its absurd and deadpan humour, modern satirical tone and most noticeably its disorienting and time-restrictive storytelling techniques.