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...
View Full Essay