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March 1994

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Subject:
From:
Joshua Lenius <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Film and TV Studies Discussion List <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Sun, 6 Mar 1994 09:23:00 CST
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  Here are some of my theories on the violence impact from Reservoir Dogs...
 
  For one, the ear-cutting scene was so powerful because that was a
situation with no way out for poor Marvin Nash (the cop)...  It made me
think "Oh FUCK, what would >I< do in that situation??"  And the answer is,
of course, nothing.  There was absolutely NOTHING he could have done...  To
quote Mr. Blonde:  "I'm not gonna bullshit you, OK.  I don't give a big fuck
what you know or don't know.  But I'm gonna torture you anyway.  Regardless.
Not to get information.  It's amusing to me to torture a cop.  You can say
anything you want, cos I've heard it all before.  All you can do is pray for
a quick death.  Which, you ain't gonna get..."  What would YOU do???
  I also consider the blood-drenched Mr. Orange to also be "violence"...
Although he usually just sits there and bleeds, it's still very powerful
because his life is a ticking clock, and by the end of the movie the pool of
blood around him is so immense, you KNOW he's gotta be on the verge of
death...  And we really WANT him to live, after all the devotion that Mr.
White has shown to saving the life of a man he doesn't even know.
  On that note, it's interesting how Mr. White can heartlessly gun down two
cops and not blink an eye, and yet he feels this intense devotion to Mr.
Orange, a man whose name he doesn't even know.  And it's a devotion that he
sacrifices his life-long ties with Joe for, and eventually his life.  (Only
to be shown that his devotion was uncalled for...  Damn!)
 
INTERESTING DIALOGUE:
 
  Mr. Pink: "You kill anybody?"
 Mr. White: "Couple cops."
  Mr. Pink: "No real people?"
 Mr. White: "Just cops."
 
 Mr. White: "A choice between doin' ten years, and takin' out some stupid
motherfucker, ain't no choice at all."
 
  Josh obsessed in Madison, WI
 
 PS: What do people think about Mr. Orange telling Mr. White that he's a
cop?  Should he have done it or not?

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