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March 1995, Week 2

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Sender:
Film and TV Studies Discussion List <[log in to unmask]>
Subject:
From:
"Rex B. Hannah" <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Thu, 9 Mar 1995 15:12:53 CST
In-Reply-To:
<[log in to unmask]> from "[log in to unmask]" at Mar 8, 95 07:41:22 pm
Reply-To:
Film and TV Studies Discussion List <[log in to unmask]>
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----------------------------Original message----------------------------
I would agree with the person who essentially stated that the key to
Tarantino's appeal is his ability to blur the lines between good and bad
and the use of violence by both forces.  However, I take exception with
the following statement:
 
 
|> Those other films with partial Tarantino credits ("True Romance" and
|> "Natural Born Killers") I don't see as part of this discourse. For me,
|> they are > blatantly violence-exploiting, titillation, and pornography.
 
 
While neither of these films were as accepted or as good as the two QT
directed himself, both exhibited the very same themes.  To say that "True
Romance" exploited violence and "Reservoir Dogs" did not is a ridiculous
double standard.  First off, QT received sole writing credit on that
film.  Additionally, "True Romance" and "Reservoir Dogs" are extremely
similar.  The former is simply a sick, twisted, dark, comic fairy tale.
Our "heros" (namely Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette) are not good
people, but we root for them anyway AND they get away in the end.  The
police in the film are the scum of the earth.  If you want to compare
"True Romance" to "Unforgiven" (which was also, very correctly, stated as
having this quality), you get two stories with the same themes.
 
I don't know -- just one person's opinions.  I just seem to see that
there are a lot of people out there who automatically dismissed "TR" and
"NBK" more because Quentin did not direct them.  The simple facts are,
the styles are different, the stories are different, but the basic themes
and treatment of violence in today's society are all the same.
 
 
 
RBH <--> AMD
 
 
----------------------+-------------------------------------------------------
Rex B. Hannah         |----------->"Speak to me softly ...
[log in to unmask]  |----------->     Talk to me gently ...
                      |----------->          Just don't leave me alone."
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