Presentation Script

Does Quentin Tarantino's dependence on other films for creative inspiration make him a cinematic con artist or a media-stimulated filmmaker?

Speaker:

If you’ve ever seen a Tarantino film, you've probably seen them all. It is argued that Tarantino steals ideas and rips off cinematographic themes from popular, and unpopular, films around the world. Some argue that the director is simply a thief and is completely incapable of creating his own original content, whereas others argue he is a manipulative genius who takes the most inspirational traits from his favourite films and shrouds them in his own stylistic manner. Tarantino’s patchwork masterpiece, Pulp Fiction, is the most expressive of his works when it comes to representing “stolen” ideas, as most of the elements can be identified as unoriginal content.

City of God - Question

What is the importance of mise-en-scene and/or sound in creating meaning and generating response in the films you have studied? [35]

Level 4:

A sound appreciation of the films studied with an ability to make detailed and to make close reference to film techniques in the context of understanding the urban experience.

A detailed and sophisticated knowledge and understanding of what is the importance of mise-en-scene/sound in the films studied - particularly in their creating meaning and generating a response

An ability to discuss the impact made by specific techniques within the overall impact of films - by reference to film detail

(The very best candidates) may suggest that other factors besides film technique are of as great or greater significance, for example performance and/or narrative devices.

Through the use of mise-en-scene and sound in the films City of God and La Haine the audience is subject to particular messages and responses encoded within the text by the producers. Power, poverty and conflict are the main themes that run throughout this film and the mise-en-scene enforces this, the sound simply enhances this message.

The scene in which Lil’ Zé approaches a group of youths discussing how they are going to run their crime business. We see a mid shot tracking Lil’ Zé and his crew walking through the slums, cattle can also be seen walking through the favelas alongside the crew. This is significant as it represents the mirror image between the cattle and the people of Rio de Janeiro, telling us they are just like cattle, herded in the masses and trapped in a pen. This is relative to contextual information about the film because it tells us how these people are trapped in the favelas as if it is a pen, they don’t know anything outside of it. It is significant that canted shots are used so frequently in this scene because it connotes corruption within the scene and we relate this to the social context; the corruption of the favelas as a whole.

Straight cuts between the gang of youths and Lil’ Zé’s gang are of significance because it tells the audience the two groups are alike. The contextual knowledge behind this information is the cycle of the crimes repeating themselves; the youths are behaving like the gangs they see because they aspire to be like them. They want the power and the respect the older gangs have so they aspire to be like them.

In a canted establishing shot of the slums, we can see the mountains of Rio in the distance, this is important to note as it conveys the significance of how far away this world is from the characters in the slums. Representing the fact the characters in the slums only know the favelas, they know nothing outside of this world they are stuck in. We can take this information from a documentary about the slums called City of God - 10 Years Later. We know that the youths in the favelas look up to the older gang members with the most respect and power i their gangs. This is what gets them the things they want and the women they want, but most importantly their escape from the slums which is what they desire most. This scene is littered with canted angle shots, mainly from a distance to ensure the whole scene appears corrupted, even down to the location the characters are in.

To add to the verisimilitude in the film, the child actors were showing real emotions toward Lil’ Zé and his gang. The children were made to fear the character as if he was real. In an interview with the child actor who was shot in the foot, he was unable to talk about the event; he tells us that “whatever happens to you as a child will stick with you for life.” This is a significant point relating to City of God because it shows us the cultivation of the children in these slums is a significant factor changing how they behave when they grow up.

La Haine Question

What is the importance of mise-en-scene and/or sound in creating meaning and generating response in the films you have studied? (750w)

In French film ‘La Haine’ a wide variety of technical methods were used in order to achieve the portrayal of the messages and values of which director Kassovitz encodes within the text. Among key scenes in La Haine the elements of mise-en-scene and sound are vital at portraying how the scene is going to unfold and what messages the scene will represent. 

Kassovitz aims to create different personalities for the characters through the use of mise-en-scene and sound. It is interesting how the subtle use of mise-en-scene is but also how prominent the messages are upon further inspection. During the scene where Vinz is introduced to us, elements of the mise-en-scene are scattered throughout his room to enhance this encoded message. The message being the westernised American, culture having such an immense influence on the country of France and its people.

The first thing we see Vinz doing is dancing in the underground, in a long shot, he is dancing to Jewish style music and he seems to be extremely happy about something. This information the audience gathers from the mise-en-scene of Vinz’s performance and the non-diegetic song that accompanies this is significant. We now know Vinz is Jewish or from a Jewish background, this is significant in representing the culture and race differences from character to character; an underlying message throughout the entire plot. The following close up shot is of VInz sleeping and drooling, through the use of this straight cut we now know the previous shot was a dream Vinz was having. This tells us Vinz is a dreamer and this interlinks with the messages behind the American memorabilia littered in his room; Vinz is taken over by this westernised media and he dreams of being free in his own culture.

Another element of the mise-en-scene which is significant when portraying the influential western culture within this French society are the posters in Vinz’s room. The first one we see behind him when he awakes has a cannabis leaf on, telling us the drug culture is bigger than the stereotype the world knows. This also hints at how casual the drug culture is in Vinz’s life and the society he lives in, his performance also tells us this; he acts lousy and uncaring. The message behind this is significant because it shows how drugs have been accepted into this culture now due to the influence from the western countries.

Other posters littered around Vinz’s room can be seen through the use of a 360º shot. The way this is filmed is significant because it tells us that he is surrounded by this memorabilia; surrounded by this prominent westernised ideology. The content of the posters is significant because they each carry meaning behind them. A good example of this would be the picture of Bruce Lee on the back of the door. This is significant because it shows us how much of a violent person Vinz is due to the influential power of the western media. We also know from the interaction between Vinz’s sister and Vinz himself, the argumentative conversation gives us information about the relationship they’re in. They seem to be arguing because there is no other male. fatherly figure in the family and Vinz has to be responsible for his family. This ties in with the idea that role models are a huge factor within the social situation. Vinz is supposed to be a role model for his family but he is too busy dreaming about the westernised culture and treating that as his role model.

Catalogue

Catalogue
Does Quentin Tarantino's dependence on other films for creative inspiration make him a cinematic con artist or a media-stimulated filmmaker?

Subject/Topic of Study - Quentin Tarantino

Focus of Study - Thieving cinematography ideas/Auteur

Resources - 3 x Chosen films

Books/Websites - 3 x Other sources

Film 1 - Focus Film — Pulp Fiction

I chose this as my main focus film because I feel it is the most powerful of Tarantino’s films. I feel there are many elements of Tarantino’s cinematic style evident throughout the film; such as exaggerated violence and an intertwined set of story lines. A variety of techniques and themes run throughout this film such as spaghetti western and wuxia cinema violence which we can relate to the films Tarantino likes himself. This is significant because I can relate this to Tarantino being a thieving auteur as we can see the relation between the films he likes and the films he produces.

Film 2 - Django Unchained

I thought this film would be best as my second case study because I feel it is the second most effective film at portraying Tarantino’s style in cinematography. Violence, Spaghetti Westerns, Crime and the postmodern theory as a whole. I also think this is a very significant film to study and compare with the postmodern theory as it can be related to the 1966 film Django. This will be useful when supporting my argument about Tarantino taking inspiration from older films because, alike my focus film, I will be able to judge how Tarantino implements the work that influenced his filmmaking.

Film 3 - Kill Bill: Vol. 1

I feel this film is effective at showing us how Tarantino creates a film. Techniques that are made famous by Tarantino but are taken from various older films he used to watch himself, applying the postmodern theory in film. This is significant for my study as I can take information from the scenes of this film and discuss how they apply to the postmodern theory. I can then compare this to how effective my other two films are at applying the postmodern theory.

Item 4 - http://www.erinenberg.com/blog/tarantino-auteur-or-post-modern-director
Article written by Kate McAuley
This article gives a brief overview and description of Tarantino's work and the influences behind it. I think this source is significant as McAuley discusses what Tarantino should be referred to, an auteur or a postmodern director. This is the underlying question in my study and therefore I think it can be used as a grounded source.

Item 5 - www.slashfilm.com/quentin-tarantino-steals

Article posted on June 8th, 2015 by Ethan Anderton

I chose to use this website to back up some points in my argument because I feel it is efficient at portraying opinions. Although these are biased toward one argument, I feel it is a significant talking point and there are direct quotes from Tarantino himself. The article includes a YouTube video discussing the similarities between Tarantino’s films and the films he ‘stole’ his ideas from. I think this is a significant talking point because I can compare how this is portrayed to another article which glorifies Tarantino’s work.

Item 6 - http://content.library.ccsu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/ccsutheses/id/1472

‘Tarantino: Exposing the Spectacle Of the Postmodern Condition’ - Geoff Elterich

I chose to use this piece because it addresses the topic very well. I am looking into postmodernism and how Tarantino implements pre-made ideas into his own work, therefore addressing the postmodernism aspect of my study. I am aware the director doesn’t address his work at postmodernism in practice in interviews but I feel it is an interesting topic to address as I can relate this to postmodern theory.

Item 7 - ‘Quintessential Tarantino’ - Edwin Page

Chapter 5 - Page 108 - ‘Pulp Fiction’

Strong talking point taken from this source, information about how similar certain elements of Tarantino’s films are. An interesting point in this book tells me there is a similar opening sequence to my three main films. This point is hugely significant as I can discuss how Tarantino recycles his ideas in a different structure. I can use this to discuss the appropriation between Tarantino’s own films and films he finds inspiration in.

Item 8 - ‘Cultural Theory and Popular Culture’ - John Storey

Chapter 7 - Postmodernism - Page 159 - Postmodern Television

I am choosing this book to quote for my research because it talks about nostalgic values within film and television. A key section of this source states the nostalgia style of film recaptures and represents certain styles of viewing from the past,  I think this point is a solid backbone for a talking point in my research because Tarantino addresses this criteria and produces a style of nostalgic cinema in his work.

Item 9 - ‘Postmodernism - A Very Short Introduction’ - Christopher Butler

Chapter 4 - The culture of Postmodernism - Page 62

This chapter from this source is highly significant when it comes to discussing the application of the postmodern theory in creative art. Although this source falls down by discussing this use of postmodernism in specific art forms whereas I am putting this into practice in the creative film world. A short debate about whether postmodernism in film is used to make the directors’ jobs easier or to take inspiration from the media and “semi-digest” or “exaggerate” these ideas.

Item 10 - ‘Tarantino’ - Jim Smith

Pulp Fiction - Page 92

Evidence has been found that compare Tarantino’s films with creative inspiration from media forms around the world but he denies this is the case. In this source, the director denies taking inspiration from other films and simply finished the script. This is a strong discussion point as I can talk about how Tarantino either doesn't acknowledge his own postmodern style in his own films or he just doesn’t let on to his audiences that he knows.

Item 11 - www.postmodernsurfer.com - ‘Tarantino Filmography’

Tarantino discusses how he wants to reuse and recycle his style in his future films as he has done with his existing films. I think this is significant because it is coming from the auteur himself. He tells the audience he wants all of his films to have some sort of a connection to Reservoir Dogs, he wants the same filmography feel to his films so they are easily identifiable as his own films.

Item 12 - https://cathpostgrad.wordpress.com/2013/06/15/django-unchained-and-the-pleasures-of-postmodern-history/ - ‘Django Unchained Postmodernism’

I think this source is useful for my research as it compares modern social issues with postmodern cinematography. I feel this is a significant talking point for my research of Tarantino’s use of postmodernism as he is using technical codes and conventions from older themes but also including modern issues. This could create an argument about Tarantino’s laziness in creating film but passion in social issues. The significance of this source is that the film Django Unchained is one of my focus films and information about the 1966 film Django starring Franco Nero is included. It could be argued the structure of this film is far too similar to those Tarantino has studied himself but the positive argument being he is putting this postmodernism to good use.

Item 13 - http://www.scribd.com/doc/22163586/Postmodernism-Pulp-Fiction#scribd  - Exploring Tarantino’s use of postmodern narrative

I find it interesting how Tarantino is inspired by multiple narratives from various sources and combines them. This could be argued it is postmodernism as he is taking ideas from sources of other’s material but it could also be argued that he is taking inspiration from others’ material and making it into his own. I also think this source is useful to me because it addresses my focus film Pulp Fiction a significant amount, discussing the narrative construction and where Tarantino took the inspiration from.

Item 14 - https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=RRmcAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA34&lpg=PA34&dq=tarantino+postmodern+auteur&source=bl&ots=okLU8gy0XS&sig=Rxv5vq5XlHoD6sWsjY6UakgED28&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwimspeuwczJAhXEdw8KHe9hA4EQ6AEINjAD#v=onepage&q=tarantino%20postmodern%20auteur&f=false
This source is significant for my study as it relates to the idea of giving Tarantino a title as a director. This article specifically gives Tarantino a new title and discusses how he creates a new generation of postmodernism. The main point being how Tarantino takes from the already postmodern themes in existing media. This is a highly credible source because it broadens the discussion of labelling Tarantino, debating whether he classes as a true auteur or a postmodern director.



Rejected Items

“Film Studies - Critical Approaches” - John Hill

I feel this source is insignificant because it provides a brief overview about how the postmodernism theory is applied to film and television in general. No specific information is provided about how postmodernism affects a film’s rating and overall enjoyment. There is no information I can gather from this source that helps me with the specific application of postmodernism in particular genres.

Inglorious Basterds - Quentin Tarantino
I chose not to use this film as one of my focus films because there weren't enough elements of postmodern cinematography included. In comparison to Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill or Django Unchained, my three focus films for this question, there are less relatable elements of postmodernism.

Tarantino is an Auteur Opinion - http://bartiib.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/tarantino-and-auteur-theory.html
This opinion is extremely biased and I therefore denied it as a credible source. I felt it was too one-sided due to the use of extreme examples to back up the author's opinion.

Quentin Tarantino - Auteur

Quentin Tarantino - Auteur

Does Quentin Tarantino's dependence on other films for creative inspiration make him a cinematic con artist or a media-stimulated filmmaker?

• Arguments have been made concerning Tarantino discussing how he "steals" ideas from his favourite movies and how they are structured cinematically.

• "Pulp Fiction and Inglorious Basterds have something that Tarantino's other "films" don't--original cinematography."

• Tarantino is incorrectly quoted frequently. In an article on a film forum I found (here) the writer says the director "lightly calls" his stealing technique "paying homage," whereas a direct quote from Tarantino himself tells us he embraces this adopting of cinematic techniques. 
• “I steal from every single movie ever made. I love it – if my work has anything it’s that I’m taking this from this and that from that and mixing them together."

• He talks about taking inspiration from these films but also talks upfront about how he steals from movies.

• Fans of Tarantino call this homage to his favourite films "an appreciation for cinema's history.

• Quentin Tarantino's influence can be seen in the most blindly obvious ways. His film Django Unchained is clear evidence of the postmodern theory of recycling media. The director based his ideas massively off the 1966 film Django, an Italian spaghetti western film directed by Sergio Corbucci.

• The postmodern theory can be argued as a positive or negative thing. In this case it depends on the audience's view on the director. Critics say this is a negative thing as he simply steals ideas from other films and therefore doesn't come up with his own, original ideas. People seem to like this originality but also manage to develop a hate for the successful career Tarantino has taken on due to this "plagiarism.