WHAT YOU CAN LEARN FROM PULP FICTION
WARNING.......SPOILERS....... AND WHY HAVEN'T YOU WATCHED THIS YET? LIKE HOW?
Top 5 movie for me personally. It’s the first film I watched that gave movies a deeper meaning for me. It wasn’t just movies to me anymore. I never watched movies the same after seeing Pulp Fiction. It was the film that made me give a fuck about the art of storytelling and character development. It turned me into that annoying guy that just can't enjoy movies anymore.
Pulp Fiction teaches you a lot about life and takes you on this ride through heaven and hell that’s what makes it a special film. Here are the things you learn from Pulp Fiction.
BE PROFESSIONAL
Vincent and Jules are 2 hitmen that work for a crime boss in Los Angeles named Marcellus Wallace. The weird thing about Vincent and Jules working together after seeing this movie hundreds of times is how completely opposite they are. Vincent is very carefree, a heroin addict, and doesn’t take his job seriously. Jules on the other hand takes his work very seriously to the point he has a bible verse as his calling card for his murders. Jules doesn’t do drugs, he’s an aspiring vegetarian thanks to his girlfriend, and he’s a punctual when it comes to his jobs. Jules is the ultimate professional. I think Jules is more feared than Vincent not because of his jherri curl but because of his professionalism. He also more respected because of it. Take the scene with “The Wolf” for example. Vincent disrespected “The Wolf” because Vincent is an unprofessional emotional man who is careless. Jules is professional and showed “The Wolf” nothing but respect and you could tell “The Wolf” respected Jules more than he did Vincent. Always be professional in everything you do. You’ll be taken more seriously.
ACCEPTING THINGS AS THEY ARE
This is Vincent’s personality. He takes everything as it is which can make you go with the flow on almost everything. He literally is the example of “It is what it is” and is unapologetic about it. You see this during Jules explanation of “Divine Intervention” where Jules is amazed at a miracle but Vincent sees it as nothing but luck. Now that mindset hurts him in the end but sometimes it’s best to accept things and situations as they are. Some shit just not changing and doesn’t have any meaning to it despite us trying to find meaning within it. Just accept it for what it is.
DO WHAT’S RIGHT
This is the moral of the story. The lesson I take away from Pulp Fiction is simply “Do what’s right.” On Butch’s story he’s asked to throw a fight for a huge amount of money from Marcellus Wallace. He does what’s right and not only wins the fight but he accidentally kills his opponent. The reason it’s right is because he would be fucking over the people who bet money on him and believes he can win. While he’s on the run from Marcellus his girlfriend forgets his Grandfather’s watch, a family treasure at their apartment. Butch puts his life on the line to retrieve the watch despite being on the run. He shows selflessness and righteousness in doing that. Butch later stops Marcellus from being killed when he could’ve easily left him and left L.A and his problems are solved. He instead does the right thing and saves his life. Butch is granted a deal from Marcellus and he’s able to leave with his life intact and a new bike. The people who do the right thing have fortunate endings. Butch was the most morally good character in the movie. The only bad thing he did was screw over Marcellus Wallace which one could argue was justified. Do what’s right kids.
TIME IS YOUR GREATEST ASSET
Winston Wolf was the ultimate professional. Even more professional than Jules Winfield. One thing The Wolf did not fuck around with was time. He wrote things down and was on time to everything he did. Every second matters in his world. The fact he said it’s a 30 minute drive to Vincent and Jules destination and he’d be there in 10 says it all. His appreciation and respect for time was why he was so great at his job. He truly lived like he knew he only had one life to live. He was a surgical kinda guy. I mean the guy had on a tuxedo at 8am. A person in a tux at 8am knows what the fuck to do with time. Time is your greatest asset and if you don’t treat it as such then time will turn into your greatest enemy.
LISTEN TO GOD/THE UNIVERSE
Jules and Vincent are shot at with a magnum at point blank range and are not shot once and kills the guy who attempted to kill them. Jules immediately realizes that him and Vincent should be dead. Jules realizes that the moment was “Divine Intervention” where God stop the bullets from harming him and Vincent. He believes that the divine intervention is God telling him to quit his job as a hitman. Essentially he believes it’s a warning. Jules listens to God and takes heed to the warning and vows to tell Marcellus that he’s quitting. He has no clue what he’s going to do with his life but he knows it won’t be killing people anymore. Fast forward to the breakfast scene between Vincent and Jules and we hear Jules explain why he’s quitting. He explains that it doesn’t matter if he thinks what happened was a miracle or not and what matters is that he felt the touch of God. God got involved. This moment is critical for both men because Jules retires and lives. Vincent doesn’t listen to God and retire and is killed by Butch. When God or the Universe gives you signs you better pay attention to them. They’re given to us for a reason and if you don’t act accordingly disaster won’t be far behind.
REDEMPTION
If you notice. Every character in the movie has a chance to redeem themselves. Mia almost dies of an overdose by snorting Vincent’s heroin. She survives and now she has a chance at redemption but we don’t know if she takes the chance. We don’t know if she changes her behavior. Vincent and Jules chance at redemption was through divine intervention. Jules redeemed himself. Vincent did not. Butch redeemed himself in Marcellus eyes by saving Marcellus life despite Marcellus wanting to kill him and Marcellus would never save Butch’s life. Pumpkin (Ringo) and Honey Bunny try to rob Jules and Jules instead robs them of their pride and sense of power and Jules gives them $1500 and allows them to live. He helps them and basically becomes Divine intervention for them in human form. They now have some money and are allowed to redeem themselves. Marcellus now has a chance to redeem himself after Butch saved his life. We all do bad things. Some big some small but there’s always a chance for us to redeem ourselves. If you’re fortunate to redeem yourself please take the chance to do so. It’s a test you need to pass.
KNOW YOURSELF
Butch knew he wasn’t the kind of guy that would throw a fight so he didn’t do it. The Wolf knew his strengths and didn’t waste time with shit that went against his code. Jules gave a speech to Ringo about why he was letting him live and leave with his money and the interesting thing about that speech was that in that moment Jules was realizing what he was. He was breaking down the Bible verse (Ezekiel 25:17) he recited before he killed people and Jules ponders 3 different possible meanings to the verse. 2 of those meanings were very optimistic and puts Jules in a light as a hero or good person but he immediately thinks it’s bullshit even though he likes the idea of those meanings but the 3rd meaning explains that Ringo is a weak man that preys on the the defenseless and Jules is worse and the tyranny of evil men. The cruelest of the cruel. He not only kills people defenseless people (like Brad in the beginning) but he also kills the killers of the world. In that moment Jules knows what he is. He knows he’s evil personified and that’s what he tries to get Vincent to understand but Vincent fails to listen.
Jules rejecting the 2nd meaning was the zenith of his character development because he could’ve justified his sins believing the possible meaning of it and continued to live a plentiful life at the expense of hurting people but instead he took the road less traveled and the harder journey which he describes as "Walking The Earth." Jules chose the journey of truth. Sparring Ringo’s life and financially helping him was his first deed as the Shepard. It was a sign of repentance. The fact that he knows himself and knows he’s evil shows you that he has more of a chance of changing his life. If you lack self awareness you’re gonna lack growth and change. When you know who you are you can do amazing shit.
Top 5 Movie Ever. Peace.
