----------------------------Original message---------------------------- <comments regarding use of the "n" word in Pulp Fiction> I disagree....I think Tarantino used the word appropriately because it was totally contextual....If you notice, *all* the characters, black and white, use the "n" word for particular situations ... it's a "mobster" word, a "term of art" of the underworld. There are so many instances that show this, imo. For instance, early on when Travolta's character is at Marsellus Wallace's bar, Marsellus (a black man), says, "Vincent Vega's in the house. My main 'n'." The banter between Jules [Samuel L. Jackson] and Vince [Travolta] makes regular use of the "n" word -- by both parties. It is a word used to describe someone close to them, to the organization. Note in particular the conversation between Jules and Marsellus when they're trying to fix the situation with Marvin [dead body minus a head]. The "n" word is used copiously by both black men, then Jules says, after Marsellus has said he's sending "the Wolf" to solve the problem, "Well, why didn't you say so, *Negro* [his emphasis] ..." Yet *another* use of the word, here meaning something slightly different ... Now, to the point raised earlier, when Jules and Vince go to see the Tarantino [QT] character, QT goes on at some length about, "*Is* there a sign outside my house that says, 'dead "n" storage'?" .... then [more emphatically], "*IS* there a sign outside my house that says, 'dead "n" storage'?" And he asks again. Now, *that* scene is funny because the question is so ludicrous, not because it's "racist." These guys (Jules and Vincent) aren't "racist" -- after all, they both work for a black man, and one is black [Jackson] and another white [Travolta]. BTW, it would *not* have been even remotely funny, imo, if the QT character had just asked, "Is there a sign outside my house that says 'dead body storage'?" That is most definitely NOT funny. Again, in "Pulp Fiction," "n" has a special meaning. This is in contrast to "Reservoir Dogs," imo, where the all-white cast *is* racist, and the racism card is played very well because it gives an additional insight into these tough guys. In "Pulp Fiction," the "n" word is not "racist" because it doesn't *mean* the same thing it does in "Reservoir Dogs." Brian