Surrealism and 'True' Reality in Quentin Tarantino's Films - Essay Example

Surrealism and 'True' Reality in Quentin Tarantino's FilmsSurrealism is the usage of numerous techniques and games that were developed in the 20th century in art, poetry and literature in order to provide inspiration. They stress the subconscious significance imagery arrived at by automatism or the misuse of chance effects. The film, “Reservoir Dogs” by Quentin Tarantino, depicts the events that took place before and after a failed diamond heist but not the heist itself. While, Pulp Fiction (1994) is a film that is directed in a highly stylized manner connecting multiple stories of mobsters from Los Angeles, small-time criminals, fringe players and a mysterious briefcase.

The conversations devoted to most of the screen time reveal the characters' sense of humor and life perspectives. Tarantino directed the films in such a way that they were explicitly more or less about redemption. Also artistically, they are postmodern. Such that they tend to blend genres and are also highly allusive. In both the films, the characters struggle to become “real” people and live a “real” life without succeeding. This is because the redemption they seek is achieved through suffering and even death, as in the case of the gangsters in Reservoir Dogs.

Hence, there is no desire to shed the uniforms and become “real” people. Tarantino aims at reflecting a postmodern sensibility about an ability to know and understand the world and also, about the value and significance that every person’s life has and also their actions. The films illustrate the “real” world as the civilian world, one without struggle and any need for redemption. In order for one to become a “real” person, they needed to shed their uniform. However, some removed their uniforms without any intentions of redemption.

Work citedTop of FormConard, Mark T. The Philosophy of Neo-Noir. Lexington, Ky: University Press of Kentucky, 2007. Print.Bottom of Form