If we think about the title, "Pulp Fiction", and forget about all the *film history* references in the film, it would seem that Tarantino intends to make a *pulp* film like *pulp* novels. So I take the strange, unexplained glow to be a literary device realized visually: "The theif opened the briefcase to find money so beautiful that it glowed like gold." I think there's money in there, but Tarantino has decided to make it appear to be more than that. The characters are so greedy that money is the most awe-some thing to them and we get an almost subjective, imaginary view of their admiration. dunno... garret savage uc santa barbara