False Stereotypes In Quinton Tarantino's Pulp Fiction

Pulp Fiction

Throughout Quinton Tarantino's horribly graphic movie, Pulp Fiction, women are treated and referred to as inferior to men. Both the women characters and the dialogue in the movie suggest that women have to be taken care of and protected by men. Even the most powerful of the women characters in the movie, Mia, is looked after by one of her husband's thugs while he is out of town. On the other hand, Tarantino has the complete antithesis of Mia thrown in the movie to make women look even worse. That woman is Fabien, the girlfriend of a corrupt boxer and the most delicate and naive of all the characters. Whether it was Tarantino's intention to depict women in this fashion or not, he gives the audience a false stereotype of
women. First of all, the most prominent woman character in the movie is Mia Wallace(Uma Thurman), wife of Marsallus Wallace(Ving Rhames) who happens to be one of the most dangerous gangsters in the city of Los Angeles.
Mia is discussed in a dialogue by Vincent Vega(John Travolta) and Jules(Samuel L. Jackson) before she is even seen on screen. Vincent casually mentions to Jules that he is taking the "boss's wife" out while Marcellus is out of town. Jules warns Vincent of a rumor he has recently heard about Marcellus throwing a man named Antwan off of a roof for giving Mia a foot massage. This scene in the movie gives the viewer the sense that Marcellus is not only protective of his wife, but also dangerously protective. When we meet Mia, it is obvious that she is a very powerful character. Where she derives that power is from her husband, Marcellus. For example, when Vincent refuses to dance with her at Jackrabbit Slims, she subtly threatens him. "I do believe Marcellus, my husband, your boss, told you to take me out and do whatever I wanted. Well now, I want to dance." This quote proves that Mia Wallace does not have any power of her own, but derives power from her husband. This portrays women to be powerless without the attachment of
men. Secondly, Tarantino throws a character in the movie that I believe is completely out of place. In the midst of gangsters, criminals, and Scam artists, lies a character completely unworldly and naive. This character is the girlfriend of a boxer named Butch(Bruce Willis) named Fabien. Fabienne is French and does not speak perfect English. Even the tone of her voice suggests a ditsy and submissive manner. Just as Mia Wallace was protected by her husband, Fabienne is protected by Butch. When Fabienne tells Butch that she has forgotten his father's priceless watch, Butch goes into a violent rage. Instead of standing her ground against Butch, Fabienne backs into a corner and covers her head with her hands, not speaking a word. When Butch sees how distressed he is making Fabienne, he immediately calms down and tries to soothe her. "If you did leave it at the apartment, It's not your fault. I had you bring a bunch of stuff. I reminded you about it but I didn't illustrate how personal the watch was to me. If all I gave a fuck about was my watch, I should've told you. You ain't a mind reader." By saying this, Butch immediately takes the blame off Fabienne and puts it onto himself and there by protecting her from his rage. I believe that Tarantino placed Fabienne in the film to portray women as naive and defenseless, as though they need the protection of men from the world but also from men themselves. Finally, besides the characters in the film, Tarantino demeans women through the dialogue as well. We first get an understanding of this when we hear Jules speak in the apartment of the young men who posses the briefcase. He turns to what appears to be the leader of the group and asks "Would you describe for me what Marcellus Wallace looks like?...Does he look like a bitch?...Then why did you try to fuck him like a bitch?" These few lines make the implication that Marcellus, a man, should not and cannot be "fucked" like a woman. The word "bitch" is often used to describe women, not men. In this particular dialogue, Tarantino uses those few lines to depict women as inferior to men by implying that women, but certainly not men, can be "fucked like a bitch". In conclusion, Pulp Fiction is considered to be one of the most controversial films in recent times. This film portrays women as not only defenseless and in need of protection, but also unworldly and naive. Tarantino achieves this exposé by usage of dialogue and certain character traits. I believe that this movie sets the women's movement back about thirty years by completely misrepresenting and falsely depicting modern women.