Pulp Fiction

Pulp Fiction

The concept of intertextuality is one that, while it is quite new to me, i can look back in retrospect and remember many movies, TV shows, etc that were either centrally focused on or at least referenced a few pop culture icons/concepts. Tarantino's Pulp Fiction is not only a textbook example of this concept, it also draws from metafiction as well. One of my favorite examples of this intertextuality is in the restaurant scene (and the events leading up to) when Jules has taken the male robber hostage, and has the female robber pointing a gun in his face. While she seems to be loosing control of her emotions, Jules tries to convince her to be calm, asking her, "what would Fonzie do??" He'd be cool.

While perhaps a bit more subtle (whether i'm right or wrong), I got a laugh out of this next example. At Jack Rabbit Slim's, Mia volunteers the both of them to perform in a dance contest. The only thing is that... her dance partner is none other than John Travolta, the leading star from everybody's favorite 1970's flick: Saturday Night Fever. This example may not be a direct reference, but anybody that knows anything about movies knows that John Travolta made a name for himself with those dance moves of his.