Pulp Fiction analysis - part 6: The connection between Butch and Jules

CATEGORY: MOVIES

Previously in the analysis, we have mentioned certain ideas which are alluded to in Pulp Fiction, such as meditation (recall that Butch's body position and robe color, when he is shown before his boxing match with Floyd Wilson, are reminiscent of those of someone who is meditating), and the idea that Jules is seeking enlightenment. In Buddhism, both meditation and deliberation are necessary to reach enlightenment.

Above left: Butch 'meditates'. Above right: Jules deliberates.


There exists a text on Buddhism that contains information which helps with the analysis, by way of enabling us to determine what the connection is between Butch and Jules. The text is volume 3 of Sopa's Steps on the Path to Enlightenment, and the material of interest is in chapter 14, which is titled, "The Perfections of Meditative Stabilization and Wisdom". In the below, the famous teacher teacher of Tibetan Buddhism, Je Tsongkhapa (1357-1419), is referred to:

"It is wisdom that destroys the mental afflictions and wisdom starts with study.

"Tsongkhapa [states that] wisdom is the vital life of the path to enlightenment, and that the most important first step for those who want to attain high spiritual goals is to listen to and study the teachings...[But] some people think that because a direct internal realization of the truth is gained through meditation, all this learning is unnecessary. They believe that meditation is non-conceptual, so all the details learned from study and analysis are useless for spiritual development. They say that the kind of wisdom gained from study is only for the purpose of teaching classes, arguing, or giving public presentations.

"This idea is still in circulation and continues to fool people. Those who want to achieve a superior goal must abandon this idea as if it were poison, because the opposite is actually the case; we need the analytical wisdom which arises from study and deliberation when we meditate. It is true that during direct yogic realization of śūnyatā all conceptual dualistic thought ceases, but this does not mean that throughout our entire practice we should abandon thoughtful analysis. There are certain places for certain things. Both analytical and stabilization meditation are necessary. Sometimes we need analytical wisdom and sometimes we need to fix the mind single-pointedly on an object...Without wisdom we would be practicing blindly without complete information. Only with wisdom can we make correct decisions regarding how to practice properly. To think otherwise is false."[a]

With the above in mind, we see that in a sense, Jules and Butch are 'complements' of each other - Jules deliberates, and, as described above, Butch is depicted in the film as meditating.

Earlier in this analysis, we observed that a kind of wisdom was imparted to the young Butch by Captain Koons, during his visit to Butch's home; we observed that this 'transfer' of wisdom (i.e., the wisdom of his patriarchal ancestors) was signified by Butch snatching the gold watch from Koons' hand. It is actually the case that the grabbing of the watch from Koons' hand marks the initiation of Butch's process of acquiring wisdom. Then, over the period of time between this point in Butch's life, and that when his flashback to Koons' visit ends, Butch acquires enough wisdom so that upon his awakening from the flashback, which marks the point in time at which he attains enlightenment, he is an already wise person.


a. Sopa, Geshe Lhundub and Beth Newman. Steps on the Path to Enlightenment, A Commentary on Tsonghkapa's Lamrim Chenmo, Vol. 3: The Way of the Bodhisattva. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2008. Google Books, pp. 526-527. URL = https://books.google.com.


      

Pulp Fiction analysis - part 5: Unlike Jules, Vincent is not converted

CATEGORY: MOVIES

Above left: Recall from earlier in the analysis, that there is a flash of orange-golden colored light in Brett's apartment, while Jules is shown shooting Brett. Above right: Also recall that there is a second orange-golden flash while we see Vincent shooting Brett.


As previously described, we know that Jules undergoes a religious conversion during the movie, somewhat similar to the conversion to Christianity that the apostle Paul underwent when he saw a bright light (and heard the Lord's voice) while on the road: As stated earlier, the first flash of light during the scene in Brett's apartment, is a metaphorical representation of the light that Paul saw. Jules' subsequent statement to Vincent that he had witnessed a miracle when he and Vincent were completely missed by several gunshots fired at them at point blank, and that he would quit being a hit man and instead "wander the Earth", is the indication that he has been converted (although apparently, not necessarily to Christianity; but at least, to a better kind of man).

Vincent, however, is not converted by the experience of being completely missed by the bullets.

The movie-makers want us to see Vincent as an evil and incompetent person, one who has a chance to redeem himself but fails.

The portrayal of Vincent as incompetent includes the scene in which he is shot dead by Butch Coolidge in Butch's apartment, upon opening the door to Butch's bathroom after having just used the toilet (top left); the scene in which he is in the Wallace bathroom (top right) while Mia is inhaling heroin, thinking it is cocaine (above left); and the movie-ending diner scene, in which Vincent is again caught idling in the bathroom, this time while the diner is being held up (above right).

Vincent's chance for self-redemption comes when he is trying to save Mia's life in Lance's house, and although he initially seems to do so, in the final analysis, he fails: Even though Mia seems to 'come back to life' after an injection of adrenaline administered by Vincent, she is subsequently shown with a white, 'ghostly' complexion when returning to her house with Vincent; this is meant to represent her as still being 'dead' in some sense, i.e., as not 'fully saved'. As we will see later in the analysis, Mia represents the woman (i.e., the female component) within Vincent, and therefore, Vincent's failure to completely save Mia ultimately represents his failure to save the feminine within himself, and it is in this sense that he fails to save himself.

Top left: Vincent, stooped over a near-dead Mia, gestures in impatience to Lance (wearing bathrobe). Top right and above left: Mia is revived by an adrenaline injection. Above right: Later, Mia has a 'ghostly' complexion upon returning home after her 'date' with Vincent.

It is evident that Vincent (above left) is not converted by the experience in Brett's apartment, when he later tells Jules (above right), during the diner conversation between the two men, that he views being missed by the gunshots not as a miracle, but as a coincidence. Vincent also makes derogatory statements to Jules in response to Jules' statements about his plans for the future, calling Jules a "bum" for wanting to quit the business (i.e., to quit being a hit man) and wander the Earth.


One must wonder, if Vincent is killed by Butch, why Vincent reappears in the diner scene at the end of the movie. The reason for this has to do with the 'skewing' of time in the movie (i.e., the movie's being chronologically non-linear): The second diner scene actually takes place before the scene in Butch's apartment. At least part of the reason that we, the audience, are shown these two scenes in reverse chronological order is to convey the idea that in some metaphorical sense, Vincent has been 'resurrected'.

      

Pulp Fiction analysis - part 4: Relationship to the TV series, 'Kung Fu'

CATEGORY: MOVIES

Left: Buddhist monk meditating in a waterfall setting.[a] Above: Butch Coolidge before his boxing match with Floyd Wilson. Note that Butch's body position, and the color of his robe, are reminiscent of those of someone who is meditating.

In part 3 of the analysis, we observed that near the movie's ending, in the diner, Jules tells Vincent that he plans to quit being a hit man, and to walk the Earth - "like Caine in Kung Fu." This statement is, in part, a reference to the 1970's TV series, Kung Fu, and its lead character, Kwai Chang Caine. As it turns out, there are several parallels between Caine and the Pulp Fiction character, Butch Coolidge.

In the Kung Fu pilot TV show, the audience is introduced to Kwai Chang Caine, the orphaned son of an American man and a Chinese woman. He has been raised in the Shaolin Monastery, and trained by the monks there to be a Shaolin master. His mentors there, Master Po and Master Kan, impart knowledge to him over a period of many years. Caine gets into trouble when he kills the Chinese emperor's nephew, so he escapes to America, while being followed by assassins sent by the emperor to avenge the killing. While wandering throughout the American West, Caine must periodically use his Kung Fu martial arts skills to defend himself against people who physically attack him for various reasons. In the final episode of the series, Caine reunites with members of his own family who were already in America.

Somewhat similarly, Butch is 'orphaned' in the sense that his own father has died, in the war in Vietnam (subsequent to this, Butch is being raised by his mother).

Captain Koons (above left; note the similarity of the name 'Koons' to 'Kan') acts as somewhat of a mentor to the young Butch (above right), during his visit to Butch's house. He relates to Butch some details about his (Butch's) three patriarchal ancestors, and how a gold watch Koons acquired from Butch's father in Vietnam, has been handed down from father to son (within the Coolidge lineage) over the previous generations.

When Koons hands the gold watch to Butch, this marks an initial awakening (in the Buddhist sense) within Butch: It is the beginning of the process whereby he will eventually acquire wisdom, including the combined wisdom of his patriarchal ancestors. (The implication of Koons himself not being in Butch's patriarchal lineage, will be discussed later in the analysis).


In Kung Fu, one part of the young Caine's training while at the temple, was the use of the martial arts. Correspondingly, Butch learns to box. Later, Butch's killing of his boxing opponent, Floyd Wilson, means that he must deal with an assassin, just as Caine had to deal with assassins, as mentoned above. Specifically, Vincent Vega is sent by Marsellus Wallace to kill Butch; Butch kills Vincent by shooting him, when he catches Vincent by surprise in his (Butch's) own apartment.

Above left and right: Butch shoots and kills Vincent.

Top left: When Marsellus finds out that Butch defeated and killed Floyd Wison in their boxing match, Marsellus says to his assistant, Paul (standing on right), "If Butch goes to Indochina, I want a nigger hidin' in a bowl of rice, ready to pop a cap in his ass." Top right and above left: Later in the movie, during the rape scene in Maynard's basement, Marsellus (top right), who is being held captive in the basement, sees Butch sneaking up on Maynard (above left) with a samurai sword in his hands. Samurai is the historical name for members of the Japanese warrior caste. Above right: After Butch saves Marsellus from his captors, Marsellus tells Butch to leave Los Angeles; he says, "Leave town tonight - right now." The wording used by Wallace here seems strange, considering that it is daytime in this scene, until one realizes that the phrase is a reference to the Orient: while it is daytime in America, it is night-time in Asia. Both of the statements made by Wallace (the one made to Paul, and the one made to Butch) suggest the idea of Butch, an American, eventually going to Asia; this corresponds (in 'reverse') to the idea of Caine, a Chinese-American man, coming to America from Asia.


a. Image from the Wikipedia 'Meditation' page; Abbot of Watkungtaphao in Phu Soidao Waterfall by ผู้สร้างสรรค์ผลงาน/ส่งข้อมูลเก็บในคลังข้อมูลเสรีวิกิมีเดียคอมมอนส์ - เทวประภาส มากคล้าย, licensed under CC-BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.


      

Pulp Fiction analysis - part 3: Jules undergoes a conversion

CATEGORY: MOVIES

Above left: We see a first flash of orange-golden colored light in Brett's apartment, while Jules is shown shooting Brett. Above right: There is a second orange-golden flash while we see Vincent shooting Brett.


In this post, we will address the symbolic meaning, as it pertains to Jules, of the first of two flashes of orange-golden colored light that occur, when he and Vincent shoot Brett in the scene in Brett's apartment (as shown in the above screencaps). For Jules, the first flash represents the bright light that Paul the Apostle saw on the road to Damascus; seeing this light (and hearing the Lord speak) resulted in Paul's conversion to Christianity. Jules undergoes his own conversion experience after the first flash of light in the apartment. The actual event that initiates the conversion itself occurs when, later in the film, we are shown an armed young man who had been hiding in a bedroom in Brett's apartment during the aforementioned shooting of Brett, suddenly emerging from behind the bedroom door and shooting at Jules and Vincent, point blank; all of the bullets completely miss the two of them.

Above left: All of the bullets fired at Jules and Vincent by this man in Brett's apartment, completely miss the two of them. Above right: Vincent and Jules then look at each other in wonderment, after having been missed by the bullets.

Later, in the diner, near the movie's ending, we are shown Jules (above left) telling Vincent (above right) that being missed by the bullets was a "miracle", saying that he had "felt the touch of God", and that from now on he would "walk the Earth." (The making of this statement by Jules, marks the culmination of his conversion experience.) When Vincent asks Jules what he means by "walk the Earth", Jules responds, "you know - like Caine in Kung Fu."


      

Pulp Fiction analysis - part 2: Relationship to the movie 'Hostel'

CATEGORY: MOVIES

In part 1 of the analysis, we talked about the contents of the briefcase. Here in part 2, we will discuss the relationship of Pulp Fiction to Eli Roth's 2005 film, Hostel (of which Quentin Tarantino was one of the executive producers), and we will see how this relationship ultimately gives away one of Pulp Fiction's underlying themes.

For those who have not read the analysis of the movie Hostel on this blog, it is discussed therein that two of Hostel's underlying ideas are that, 1) some of Hostel's characters 'switch places', so to speak, during the film. For example, the character Paxton, who is a victim of physical torture early in the movie, has himself become a torturer by the end of the film; and, 2) there is suggestion made at one point in Hostel that each of the members of its audience is to switch places with Paxton. Putting these two ideas together led to the conclusion that Hostel's underlying theme is that anyone, given the right set of circumstances, can switch, from being a torture victim to becoming a perpetrator of torture, as did Paxton.

That Hostel indicates to its audience members that each of them is to switch places with Paxton, is evident from putting two specific scenes in Roth's movie together. In the first of these scenes, Paxton, along with his friend, Josh, have just arrived at a European hostel and are checking in with the desk clerk there. On a nearby countertop there is a TV playing, and on it is showing Pulp Fiction (see screencap at left; note the lack of subtitles). It is playing in a foreign language, not English, and Paxton comments on this, saying, "Great - no subtitles." Then in a later scene, in which Paxton is about to be tortured, he speaks to his would-be torturer in a foreign language, and the audience (of Hostel) is given no subtitles. By virtue of the fact that each member of the Hostel audience has here become like Paxton, in the sense that he/she is viewing a movie scene in which a foreign language is being spoken but no subtitles are given, each of them is to infer that he/she is to switch places with Paxton; and then, by the end of Hostel, each member of its audience is to realize that he/she could apply the idea of 'switching places' between tortured and torturer to himself or herself.

It was necessary to first describe the means whereby all the switching that is to take place regarding Hostel, was indicated to its audience, for us to now realize how all of this applies to us, the audience of Pulp Fiction. For If we now 'complete' the switch between the characters and audience of Hostel, within the context of Pulp Fiction being shown on the TV in Hostel, we see that when Paxton is watching Pulp Fiction, he must be watching a movie that has a theme of switching among characters, since that is what the audience of Hostel is doing (i.e., they are watching such a movie). The point is that one of the themes of Pulp Fiction itself is switching, in the sense that some of its characters undergo a kind of switching within the film.

Here is an example of the switching in Pulp Fiction: After Butch Coolidge has defeated his boxing opponent (killing the opponent in the process), cab driver Esmarelda VillaLobos ('lobos' is Spanish for 'wolves') accepts money from Butch for helping him - he gives her some cash, and she promises not to tell anyone that she gave a cab ride to the boxer who killed his opponent.










Butch and Esmarelda seal their deal.


Later in the movie, in the scene in Jimmie Dimmick's house, we see that Winston Wolf ('The Wolf') pays money to Jimmie for his help (for the purchase of some of Jimmie's blankets and bedspreads, to be used to hide bloodstains that are on the interior of the car which Jules and Vincent, who have driven to Jimmie's house, have been travelling in). The audience is here cued to the relationship between the two situations (Esmarelda/Butch, and The Wolf/Jimmie) via use of the 'wolf' nomenclature - the two scenes are, in a sense, 'opposites' of each other: In the first scene, 'wolf' (Esmarelda VillaLobos) is paid to help; whereas in the second, 'wolf' (The Wolf) pays for help. The (metaphorical) wolf has effectively switched, from being a person who accepts money, to a person who pays money.

Above left: Winston Wolf ('The Wolf'; seated on left) prepares to hand over some cash to Jimmie for the use of his blankets and bedspreads. Above right: Jules and Vincent wipe down the car in which they have been travelling, and inside of which a man was shot in the head, spattering blood (as well as brain and skull fragments) on the interior of the car (the body has already been removed from the car by the point in time depicted above). The blankets and bedspreads purchased by The Wolf, are to be used to cover over any bloodstains remaining in the interior of the car after Jules and Vincent are done cleaning it, so that it can be driven on public roadways without drawing suspicion.


      

Silence of the Lambs analysis - part 61: The meaning of the suit of skin

CATEGORY: MOVIES

From Confessions 13.15 (Outler translation):

"Now who but you, our god, made for us that firmament of the authority of your divine scripture to be over us? For 'the heaven shall be folded up like a scroll';[Isa. 34:4] but now it is stretched over us like a skin. Your divine scripture is of more sublime authority now that these mortal men through whom you dispensed it to us have departed this life. And you know, lord, you know how you clothed men with skins when they became mortal because of a sin.[Gen. 3:21] In something of the same way, you have stretched out the firmament of your book as a skin - that is to say, you have spread your harmonious words over us through the ministry of mortal men. For by their very death that solid firmament of authority in your sayings, spoken forth by them, stretches high over all that now drift under it; whereas while they lived on earth their authority was not so widely extended. Then you had not spread out the heaven like a skin; you had not yet spread abroad everywhere the fame of their death."

This passage reminds us of Gumb's (Satan's/Lecter's pupil) 'suit' of skin. The idea of Gumb's physical body being enclosed by a suit of skin assembled from patches obtained from his female victims, must therefore be an allegory for the construction of a firmament 'surrounding' Satan's pupil, i.e. an 'evil firmament', keeping in mind that in the passage from Augustine above, 'firmament' means scripture. Thus, the formation of the suit of skin represents the unfolding of Satan's (Lecter's/evil hermaphroditic Jews') evil word (i.e., scripture) over mankind. And, 'fame of their death' refers to the fact that the killings of the women have become widely known among the public largely due to Catherine Martin's mother, a U.S. Senator, appearing on national television to address her daughter's plight (specifically, to plead with Buffalo Bill so that he will not kill Catherine).

Above left: Jame Gumb, wearing his almost-completed suit of skin. Above right: Catherine Martin's mother, Senator Ruth Martin, pleads with Catherine's captor (Gumb, aka Buffalo Bill) on national TV, to be merciful with Catherine and to release her unharmed.


This completes the 'abstract' analysis phase 3, which consists of parts 51-61.

The Confessions of Saint Augustine (Outler)

[If you are only interested in viewing the explanation of the film's hidden plot, continue on to part 63 of the analysis. Otherwise, use the buttons below to navigate the analysis.]


      

Silence of the Lambs analysis - part 60: Aurelius's tripartite divisions and the Trinity

CATEGORY: MOVIES

The "Shield of the Trinity" or Scutum Fidei diagram of traditional medieval Western Christian symbolism, since 12th-century CE. [Image from the Wikipedia 'Trinity' page, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.]



Marcus Aurelius discusses what one could think of as certain tripartite divisions in his Meditations which, upon close examination, seem to be matches for the Christian Holy Trinity, which consists of three persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit. First, some preparatory material:

In the bible's Gospel of John, chapter 20, verses 20-23, a correspondence is drawn between breath, and the Holy Spirit:

20. [T]hen the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
21. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you."
22. When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit."
23. "If you received the sins of any, they are forgiven them..."
[New Revised Standard Version; emphasis not in original.]

There are several ways in which the entities of Aurelius's division are put into words by him. From the Hammond translation of Meditations:

[2.2] "Whatever it is, this being of mine is made up of flesh, breath, and directing mind..."[a]

The correspondence with the Holy Trinity here seems to be, 'flesh = God the Son (Jesus), breath = Holy Spirit, directing mind = God the Father.'

[3.16] "Body, soul, mind. To the body belong sense perceptions, to the soul impulses, to the mind judgments..."[b]

'body = God the Son (Jesus), soul = Holy Spirit, mind = God the Father.'

Aurelius's other formulations are, 'directing mind, sensual soul, body' [7.16], which corresponds to 'God the Father, Holy Spirit, God the Son (Jesus)', and 'body, breath, and mind' [12.3], corresponding to 'God the Son (Jesus), Holy Spirit, God the Father'.


a. Marcus Aurelius. Meditations. Trans. with notes Martin Hammond. London: Penguin Group, 2006. p. 10.
b. Ibid., p. 22.


      

Silence of the Lambs analysis - part 59: More from St. Augsutine; rel. to Gumb

CATEGORY: MOVIES

Continuing with the topic begun in the previous post, in Confessions Book 13, chapter 9, Augustine says,

"... The body tends towards its own place by its own gravity. A weight does not tend downward only, but moves to its own place. Fire tends upward; a stone tends downward. They are propelled by their own mass; they seek their own places. Oil poured under the water rises above the water; water poured on oil sinks under the oil. They are moved by their own mass; they seek their own places. If they are out of order, they are restless; when their order is restored, they are at rest. My weight is my love. But I am carried wherever I am carried. By your gift, we are enkindled and are carried upward. ..."

The above suggests the idea of the placement of Gumb's victims' bodies in flowing water, and their subsequent movement through it. Recall that Gumb weighted down the body of his first victim (Frederica Bimmel), and that therefore she was found third - thus, 'out of order' with respect to the later victims.

A photo of Frederica Bimmel from the FBI Buffalo Bill case file.


The Confessions of Saint Augustine (Outler)


      

Silence of the Lambs analysis - part 58: Augustine and the waters; rel. to Gumb

CATEGORY: MOVIES

The red arrows on this FBI map, show where the bodies of some of Gumb's female victims were discovered by the authorities. Each body was found in a different river.


In this post, we connect some of Augustine's writings on 'the waters', with the fact that Jame Gumb places his victims' bodies in rivers. Book 13, chapter 7 of the Confessions says,

"Now let him who is able follow your apostle with his understanding when he says, 'Your love is shed abroad in our hearts by the holy spirit, which is given to us'[1 Cor. 12:1] and who teaches us about spiritual gifts and shows us a more excellent way of love;[1 Cor. 12:31 ff.] and who bows his knee to you for us so that we may come to the surpassing knowledge of the love of Christ. Thus, from the beginning, he who is above all was "moving over" the waters.

"To whom shall I tell this? How can I speak of the weight of concupiscence which drags us downward into the deep abyss, and of the love which lifts us up by your spirit who moved over the waters? To whom shall I tell this? How shall I tell it? For concupiscence and love are not certain places in which we are plunged and out of which we are lifted again. What could be more like, and yet what more unlike? They are both feelings; they are both loves. The uncleanness of our own spirit flows downward with the love of worldly care; and the sanctity of your spirit raises us upward by the love of release from anxiety - that we may lift our hearts to you where your spirit is 'moving over the waters.' Thus, we shall have come to that supreme rest where our souls shall have passed through the waters which give no standing ground."

The ideas here of being "plunged" and of flowing downward, are suggested by Gumb's placement of his victims' bodies in rivers: Each body is 'plunged' into the water, then 'flows downward' through the water.

The Confessions of Saint Augustine (Outler)


      

Silence of the Lambs analysis - part 57: Augustine on movement of the Holy Spirit

CATEGORY: MOVIES

In the previous post, we began to discuss the importance of bodies of water in the movie. In the Confessions, Augustine speaks of the Holy Spirit 'moving over' the waters at the beginning of creation, as told in the biblical book of Genesis. From Book 13 of the Confessions (Outler translation):

[13.5] "See now, how the trinity appears to me in an enigma. And you are the trinity, my god, since you, father - in the beginning of our wisdom, that is, in your wisdom born of you, equal and coeternal with you, that is, your son - created the heaven and the earth...And now I came to recognize, in the name of god, the father who made all these things, and in the term 'the beginning' to recognize the son through which he made all these things; and since I did believe that my god was the trinity, I sought still further in his holy word, and, behold, 'your spirit moved over the waters.' Thus, see the trinity, my god: father, son, and holy spirit, the creator of all creation!"

Recall that Clarice Starling's green clothing in certain scenes, indicates that she represents the 'presence' of the Holy Spirit.



The Confessions of Saint Augustine (Outler)