Monday 4 July 2016

Pulp Fiction Opening Scene

Using generic signifiers, how is the genre of the film made clear in the opening two scenes?
The crime drama is made clear with the use of props such as guns and cigarettes. The characters present are also characters usually found in a crime/ gangster film there are two robbers that are a couple and two gangsters working for a king pin boss. The language used is very informal and there is a lot of bad language highlighting the grittiness of the characters to give it a further signifier that it is a crime/gangster film.

What enigmas are present in these two scenes?
The opening scenes raise some questions as to who these people are? and other questions such as what is risky? As the male characters first line is 'its too risky'. Another enigma raised is the scene where the two gangsters are in the car and they are casually talking about BigMacs before going to kill people, is this there first time? Why are they so calm? Where are they going?

In terms of narratives, how is the opening of this film different from the usual way of starting a film?
The story told is out of chronological order this adds a sense of difference to the film rather than your everyday gangster film told in order, it provides you with the correct content for the genre however it keeps it different with the narrative structure. The opening film of this starts off with a scene that is towards the end, this is highly unusual as the audience thinks its a random scene however when the film comes together the decisions as to why the director has made the structure like this unravel. The scene then jumps from towards the end all the way back to the very beginning where the film should of started if it followed a normal narrative structure and progresses, this is something you don't see every day.

What stereotypes are challenged/reinforced in the opening of this movie? 

The opening scene consists of planning a holdup in a restaurant and two gangsters arriving at an apartment to collect a briefcase yet it takes over 20 minutes for these scenes to take place. How has the director made these scenes interesting and appealing for the audiences despite the fact not that much actually happens?