Pastiche and Its Vestiges in Tarantino Films

Pastiche and its remnants in modern cinema can be found in a variety of "indie" directors' films, most notably Quentin Tarantino. The film Pulp Fiction, which we were shown in class, most completely encompasses that, but other films, such as Kill Bill Volumes I and II, have some pastiche elements as well. For example, in Kill Bill Volume I, when O-ren Ishii's story is told, the flashback of the memory of her parents' deaths is in the comic book animation style, for no apparent reason. It is not for the sake of humor, or for any point, but perhaps this is Tarantino's point, as the point of pastiche is that there is no point. The later scene where The Bride encounters the Crazy Eighty Eight, the movie fades from color to black and white, reminiscent of the old samurai movies of the 1940s, is also an example of pastiche, a comment on pop culture without satire or a real purpose. Another example is Inglourious Basterds, the most recent Tarantino film. It is campy and satirical, a masterpiece of postmodernism. All of the characters are really archetypes of old Western films; the G.I. fulfills the same role as the Cowboy, tough and handsome; The French Damsel serves as the sexy femme fatale; and the all-purpose Villian gives us an archetype of evil to root against. The entire movie acts a comparison between old West films and WWII.