----------------------------Original message---------------------------- It would seem that T's use of the 'N' word has as much to do with class as it does race. In this sense then it may well be construed as racist. Despite the nature of their 'business', all the central characters of PF aspire to (Butch) or have acquired (Marcellus most evidently) a 'higher' class status in the sense that they would certainly equate class with money. Hence their use of the 'N' word, with its racist connotations, is ,IMO, used to mark those class differences and to provide these characters with a sense of self-assurance. In this way the film actually seems to be echoing current (and ongoing) issues within society where in harder economic times racism becomes more firmly entrenched. Those who suffer often seem to place the blame on race as a means of asserting some superiority. One only needs to consider the success of Proposition 187 in California, or the rise of the anti-immigration Reform party in Canada to suggest that this may be true. The characters in PF are not suffering economic hardship (Butch excepted) but their status is extremely tenuous due to the nature of their work. I was disturbed by the repeated use of 'nigger' within the film but I would hesitate to label Tarantino racist as a result. He seems too aware of the implications of using the word. In Reservoir Dogs it is easier to identify the racism of the central characters. In Pulp Fiction it would seem more difficult. The characters think of themselves as 'better' because of their possession of wealth and power (which at least from a Canadian point-of-view works nicely as a metaphor for American society). Therefore it seems to make sense, IMO, that the most redeeming/redeemed character in the film is Samuel L. Jackson's, who is willing to walk the earth free of worldly possessions. Scott Henderson [log in to unmask]