Presentation Script

Does the use of extreme violence make Quentin Tarantino an auteur?
Projector - Reservoir Dogs (Item 4), walking down street scene
Speaker - the research project I am doing is based on the American film director Quentin Tarantino and whether or not he needs violence in his films to be a successful auteur. I will be exploring through all of my different sources to help back up my points, for example from the book The Essentials: Teach Yourself by Warren Buckland (Item 14) it states that theory reflects on the auteur and their work they do on their films, showing that his work is popular will argue that he is a successful auteur, which will finally find an answer for my question, 'If Quentin Tarantino didn't have constant use of violence in his films, will he have been a successful auteur?'

Projector - Django Unchained (Item 1), blue suit scene
Speaker - This film is my main focus film, it is Quentin Tarantino’s latest film Django Unchained (Item 1). This film is a good representation of violence as it uses a lot of it within the film. The auteur uses different themes and one of those themes is revenge, Django goes across the country finding the person that has kept his wife locked up and is trying to avenge her. Revenge creates violence in the film and shows that this is defiantly one of Tarantino's main elements in the film. The actual narrative of the film is very generic and without the use of violence the film might not be successful, because this is Tarantino's latest film he is well known for his use of violence and it is to be expected that he will use it in his film, but if he didn't use maybe he will lose audience members. Tarantino had an interview with Krishnan Guru-Murthy (Item 5) on this film as well and argues about his film no linking to real life violence and says making violent films "is good cinema" and this tells me that the violence he uses in his films makes him a successful auteur. Tarantino also declares that people of the real world that aren't twisted or violent will still go and see his films or other violent films and will enjoy it as if it was a normal film. This film was made in 2012 and he also states that his opinion on film making hasn't changed a bit in the last 20 years of work he has done and tells the interviewer that he didn't like the question being asked and wanted to film the films how he like them. This could also tell us that he didn't have to use violence in his films to be a successful auteur but wanted to because it was his opinion.

Projector - Pulp Fiction (Item 2), Jules' speech scene
Speaker - Django Unchained (Item 1) was a very recent film so others can argue that he is trying a new style of filming, but as you know one of his most popular and one of his first films Pulp Fiction (Item 2) which was made in 1994 and also almost 20 years before has the same style. This shows that he relies on his styles like the use of violence and the key theme of revenge which is used a couple of times within this film. But this film also has the theme of crime as well which will always create violence in a film, this tells us that he only uses violence in all of his film but like a stated previously, he doesn't want to change his opinion on how to film. Pulp Fiction used violence in multiple different scenes that might not have needed violence, this argues that he didn't actually need the use of violence in his films which could mean that he would've been successful without it. But others will argue that they only watch his films because of his constant use of violence, this was filmed in a non-linear narrative which argues that he can use different techniques and if he changed the narrative so it didn't need as much violence, it might have still been successful because the techniques used.

Projector - Kill Bill Vol 2 (Item 3), The Bride killing all the ninja’s scene
Speaker - another very popular film of his was Kill Bill (Item 3). Kill Bill was slightly different as it had a woman as the main protagonist but it still had all of Tarantino's famous techniques and elements as well so it didn't seem too different. The narrative of this film uses the key theme of revenge again, The Bride used to be an assassin and is trying to avenge her late child and husband after it was murdered by her ex-lover, and ex leader of the assassination group, killed them. This always have the constant use of violence throughout both films and it also made a lot of people complain about the film and received a lot of negative reviews. But Tarantino also used different film techniques like an animated flash back which shows that he has more varied techniques as well. Another interview that Tarantino also argued in was with a reporter from Kron 4 (Item 6) and also explains in this that he doesn't care what other people think about his films. But he also said that the element of violence in his films is "what makes the films a lot better" and also states that it is a lot of fun making these violent films, this shows that he does need violence to be a successful auteur because Tarantino stated that violence is what makes his films good.

Projector - Pulp Fiction (Item 2), Tarantino coffee scene
Speaker - An article called Flavour wire (Item 12), stated that Tarantino thinks his films need violence and enjoys it, this tells us that if he does enjoy the film and the violence within the film he might think that his fans watch his films because of the violence, overall telling us that he needs violence to be a good auteur. It goes on to say that his reviews on violence in his films are always negative but is enjoyable to read, showing that Tarantino doesn't care once again about negative reviews and will make his films no matter what anyone else says so this argues that he doesn't have to use violence to be a successful auteur but wants to use it because it is fun. Another article called The Artificial states that "iconic movie directors will have different styles and those with different styles make the directors good at their job", this shows that they make successful films and if they make successful films then they will be successful auteurs.

Projector - Hollywood's boy wonder (item 13), intro sequence

Speaker - This documentary (item 13) is of Tarantino and was released very early when Tarantino just started his film career in 1994, this shows that the documentary can only be talking about a couple of his films. In the documentary it showed Steve Buscemi says that the film that Tarantino makes links Quentin Tarantino a lot, this argues that he was bought up by TV and with TV comes with TV violence, and understands the difference between real life violence and fake violence and how it is entertaining and that is why he uses it in his films to gain an audience, this will tell us that the reason he uses violence in his films is to be a successful auteur, it is shown in one of his most successful films Reservoir Dogs (Item 4), a popular scene showing Mr Pink torturing a police officer, a lot of the audience enjoyed this and will recognise Tarantino as a successful auteur. Also the book The Essentials: Teach Yourself (Item 14), this explain the auteur theory which reflect directly on the director and makes him more of an author of the film, this will show his work on the film and what Tarantino has done for the film, with Tarantino the auteur theory will show the different techniques he has used in the film to reflect on him and show if he is actually a skilled auteur or if he just uses violence in his films to become a successful auteur. It states that the auteur also needs various techniques and skills to be a successful auteur with one key iconic technique, this shows that he doesn't need violence to become a successful auteur.

City of God, Exam Question

What is the importance of mise-en-scene and/or sound in creating meaning and generating response in the films you have studied? (35)


In City of God when Knockout Ned gets shot by Otto it goes completely silent, unlike every other shot from a gun. This Scene was when Carrot's gang started a battle with Lil' Ze's gang and start shooting each other, in the middle of the battle the little boy Otto gets shot and is almost dying so Knockout Ned goes over to help him. It then enters a back story to Ottos past and his dad getting shot by Knockout Ned, Then it shows Otto shooting Knockout Ned using a silent gun shot to kill him. This shows that Knockout Ned was focussing the danger in front of him which was Lil' Ze when he got shot from behind by Otto. The reason why it was silent was because he will never hear it until it gets you, meaning the bullet was silent and he only noticed it when it killed him. The first time that Otto shot Knockout Ned it wasn't silent and sounded like a normal gun shot because it didn't kill him the first shot, but when Otto got another chance to shoot Knockout Ned he took it and it was silent because it killed him this time, this shows Ned wasn't focusing on the violence behind him and focused on the violence in front of him which is why he didn't hear the gun shot when it hit him. This use of sound shows us the theme of revenge and how even the small characters that aren't as important have a story behind them and are brought into this violent world of the favelas and will use violence to get what they want.

Another scene that I will be using is the beginning scene, it shows a knife being sharpened and very traditional music being played while they are having a fun time. The mise-en-scene in this scene shows a knife and tells us right at the beginning of the film that the people in the favelas are living on the edge of a knife. This shows us that because they are living on the edge of a knife everyone is in danger and there is violence around every corner so they have to keep safe. It then shows us almost straight after gangs pointing guns at the police and ready to start violence showing that it is very easy for people die quickly and everyone is living life on the edge of a knife. This means one slip and they will fall on top of the knife and could quickly end their life so everyone is as careful as possible when living in the favelas. Also it could show that because the knife is the first thing the film shows us so the film could be using mise-en-scene to make us think about the future of the film, is it going to use weapons and violence throughout the film, how are the people living in the favelas? This is making us think what the film will be like and generate a response, and shows us the main theme of the rest of the film. La Haine is very similar to this film with the amount of violence in the area they live and the people that live in that area are very unfortunate and live in the violence so they are also living on the edge of a knife and if they do something wrong then they could find themselves caught in the violence and get injured and killed.

Exam Question

What is the importance of mise-en-scene and/or sound in creating meaning and generating response in the films you have studied? (La Haine)

In the scene with youths that wanted to kill police officer because they injured his friend during the riots so they got a shotgun to try and attack him with it, I have used this scene because this uses diegetic sound to show the police cars/sirens to show this is a crime that the law had to get involved. The sound of sirens is used through out the whole film as a recurring theme and it shows a meaning towards the film. The three boys Said, Vinz and Hubert live in the Projects which is a rough area of Paris and because you can always here sirens through out the film it shows that the area will have a lot of crime within the area and they won't safe or brought up right. This is an important meaning because we, as the audience, we now know that they won't be in a safe environment and this could give us a different thought for the future of the film and what will happen to the three characters Vinz, Hubert and Said. The three characters see this crime and don't react as much as a normal person would and are desensitised to it, The sounds of the sirens doesn't make them curious but are more interested in the crime itself instead of the police, this shows that they have seen them a lot more and are more interested in the criminals instead of the police. The recurring sound of the siren, or the police in general, show what the real side of Paris looks like and shows the audience that, even though its a film itself, that Paris in all films are normally fake and it isn't that good all the time. The centre of Paris might look good in films but this film shows the Projects where the sound of sirens can be heard all the time and the youths aren't even fazed by the crime that happens there.

In the scene when one of the youths plays his mix through the window very loud so everyone in that area can here. The sound in this scene is one of the biggest meanings through out the film, it is a mix of NWA 'Fuck Tha Police' and Edith Paif 'Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien', this mix is a good meaning for the film because both songs a good representations of different cultures. Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien is a very traditional French song, the film is set in Paris so you expect to hear French songs throughout the film but this is the first time you hear it. Its also mixed with the American song Fuck Tha Police from NWA, because its also a mix it shows that the American culture is mixed in with the French culture. This scene also shows that the American culture is dominating their area because they use that song more than Non, Je Regrette Rien so the song dominates that as well. Also mise-en-scene in this scene shows that the youth who is mixing the song has a Cypress Hill on the back of his t-shirt, Cypress Hill is another American hip-hop band, this shows that the French culture is once again dominated by the American culture, instead of the boy wearing what the audience think should wear something that represents France, wears something that represents America. This shows that this film that is set in Paris but has very little representation of France and has more representation of America, which shows that Paris is changing the youth to the American culture and they are ruled by media where they find out the American culture, for example, the TV always on in the background or the songs playing. The TV is always playing in the background of the two main character's houses, Hubert and Vinz, this shows us that they watch a lot of TV and a lot of shows, films and media come from America which tells us that they are influenced by America and probably copy this in their normal life, showing the audience that America is dominating their normal life.

Quentin Tarantino, Research Project

Does the use of extreme violence make Quentin Tarantino an auteur?


Topic of study: Quentin Tarantino
Focus of study: Auteur


Films
Item 1 - Django Unchained, 2012
I have chosen this film as my main focus as this is one of Tarantino's most recent film, which uses the element of violence through out the film, this could be the reason why his fans call him a successful auteur rather the narrative and the filming techniques. The auteur uses consistent techniques within this film and revenge. Revenge is a key the theme in Tarantino's films and without the element this theme could make the film less successful, this is what creates the violence in his films, this is why I have chosen this film because it has explicit violence which is the focus of my question.

Item 2 - Pulp Fiction, 1994
Pulp Fiction also uses aspects of violence and killing and is one of Tarantinos most violent and popular films. The film follows main protagonist Vincent and his partner as well through out the film, Jules, two killers for hire set in 1994. The film also follows other characters' problems and they all resort to violence with very gory conclusions. The film has a non-linear narrative, so it shows the deaths of one character and later shows that same character from before. This suggests that Tarantino is a gifted autuer because he uses different techniques making the film different and better. This is also has the theme of crime, crime will always have element of violence because it won't complete the theme and improves the film, giving it better techniques.

Item 3 - Kill Bill: Volume 2, 2004
I chose this film because it is about a female protagonist who isn't named until the sequel and is just referred as The Bride or Black Mamba. The narrative of the film is, she used to be apart of an assassination group and they turned on her killing her child and putting her in a coma. She then spends the rest of the two films hunting down the group and violently murdering them using the same theme of revenge, this will once again use a lot of violence to achieve the main characters revenge. Tarantino also uses different cinematic techniques including animating flashbacks giving the film more varied techniques.

Item 4 - Reservoir  Dogs, 1992
The reason why I have chosen this is the amount of violence that is used in it. The narrative is about a gang of men stealing diamonds and one of them is an undercover police officer so they all get paranoid and turn on each other. There is one long shot of Mr Blonde just using extreme violence torturing someone for pleasure, This could give us an idea that Tarantino uses violence to amuse himself and needs violence in his films to make them succeed and gain fans. This genre of crime allows the Tarantino to use violence in his films, this is because crime creates the element of violence to make it realistic.


Interview
Item 5 - Channel 4 Interview, Django Unchained- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrsJDy8VjZk
I have chosen this interview because Tarantino actual argues with the interviewer Krishnan Guru-Murthy about his film not linking to real life violence and says making violent films "is good cinema" and this gives me the idea that the violence in the film makes him a good auteur and without it could he be a good autuer. He also says his fans who aren't twisted or violent in real life go to watch his films that are normally twisted and violent to enjoy it and watch it as a normal film. He later refuses to answer why its interesting to watch movie violence and not real life violence. He then around midway through the interview refuses to answer any of the questions saying that his opinion hasn't changed the whole 20 years of work he has done and says to the interviewer that he didn't like these questions and wanted to film the films how he likes them.

Item 6 - Kron 4 Interview, Kill Bill- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EEpTrPb0-c
In this interview Tarantino argues with a news reporter from Kron 4 about the film Kill Bill Vol 1. The news reporter discusses that he uses the element of violence too much and could affect the younger generation if they watch it, but Tarantino says that the element of violence makes the film a lot better and says that its fun to make the films with this element of violence. I can use this because it shows someone else arguing that Tarantino's films are not successful because of the use of violence all the time, showing he isn't a successful auteur.


Internet
Item 7 - The Telegraph - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/film-news/6975563/Quentin-Tarantino-violence-is-the-best-way-to-control-an-audience.html
In this newspaper article Tarantino said violence is good, this backs up my question asking if he actually uses violence to make himself a successful auteur rather than using actual cinematic techniques like a lot of auteurs do. He uses an incredible amount of violence in his films because he feels that it is good entertainment. But sometimes the amount of violence he does use actually loses audience members because these audience members won't think that Tarantino is a successful auteurs because he uses too much violence in his films, it says when Reservoir Dogs was released in 1992 audience members reportedly walked out during a torture scene.

Item 8 - Biography IMBD - http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000233/bio
in this biography it states that Tarantino uses an excessive amount of violence in his films and it is one of his trade marks. This webpage classes violence as one of his trade marks so it shows us that he uses a lot of violence through out all of his work and that could tell us that this element helps him makes his films more successful and they might not be as good without this element. It does also say his uses a wide range of camera shots which a lot of other directors do so it doesn't mean he is a skilled autuer but shows that he has the same skills as other autuers.

Item 9 - Blog on Tarantino being an Auteur - http://danielmichaelwhelan.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/quentin-tarantino-as-auteur-review.html
The Blogger states that the definition of an auteur shows similar styles throughout all of their films which will fit Tarantino perfectly because all of his films and very similar and uses the same themes and styles in almost all of his films. The blogger also states that the main styles Tarantino uses is black comedy and violence, he states that the violence brings out the brutal persona and shows what our violent society. this could answer my question because it shows that the violence does make his films successful but he uses them to shows a hidden meaning so he could be a different way of succeeding as an auteur. his films are so unique because his use of violence shocks the audience and it looks over the top, either entertaining the audience or shocking them.

Item 10 - The Wire - http://www.thewire.com/entertainment/2013/01/quentin-tarantino-violence-quotes/60900/
The reason why I have chosen this source is because Tarantino states that the violence in his films are the same as 20 years ago. This helps with my question because it shows he gets frustrated and this could say that he relies on violence to make his films successful. it is there for very useful because it shows that he will carry on with the same style and links to my question if he does need violence to be a successful auteur.

Item 11 - The artificial - http://the-artifice.com/work-of-quentin-tarantino/
This item states that iconic movie directors have different styles and those different styles are make the directors good at their jobs and make successful films. It states that Tarantino has three main styles in his work; witty dialogue, massive amount of violence and paying contribute to the old films he watched. It also states with these styles and his name could just sell a film which shows tells us he is a successful director but he will need these styles to help him become successful.

Item 12 - Flavourwire - http://flavorwire.com/482300/why-are-we-so-obsessed-with-tarantinos-violence-an-excerpt-from-pulp-fiction-the-complete-history-of-quentin-tarantinos-masterpiece
This article states That Tarantino thinks his films need violence and enjoys it, this shows us that because he enjoys violence he might think that his fans watch his films because of his violence. But it also states in this article that the reviews on violence are always negative for his films but also enjoyable to read, this shows that Tarantino doesn't care about negative reviews and will make the films no matter what anyway says so he doesn't have to use violence to be a successful auteur.


Documentaries
Item 13 - Hollywood's Boy Wonder - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejlRORZWui8
This documentary was released in 1994 which is the same time as his film 'Pulp Fiction' released. In the documentary Steve Buscemi says that the film links to Quentin Tarantino a lot, this shows us that because he was bought up with TV he was bought up with TV violence and understands the entertainment in it and uses it in his films to gain an audience. This could be why he uses a lot of violence in his films and why he thinks it makes him a successful autuer with it and entertains his audience.


Books
Item 14 - Film Studies: The Essentials: Teach Yourself By Warren Buckland
I have chosen this book to use for one of my items in my research project because it explains the auteur theory and how it links to my question. The auteur theory is a theory reflects directly on the director and makes him more of an author of the film, showing his work on the film and what he or she has done for the film they have made.

Item 15 - Tarantino A to Zed by Alan Barnes & Marcus Hearn
This item has an article all about Tarantino's violence which links to my question, does violence make Tarantino a good auteur? It states that Tarantino has a reputation in making films with a massive amount of violence within it, it also says that his violence differs within the films from just added violence to special choreographed violence that will improve his film more. This shows that the violence does improve the films but there are also some cases where the violence doesn't make a difference.


Rejected Items

Magazines
Slate magazine Sept 16, 2003 http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/assessment/2003/09/quentin_tarantino.html
In this magazine it says Tarantino is facing question asking about his skill as a director which is very similar to my question asking does violence make him a good auteur? This is a good source of information because it does ask a similar question to what I asked but it doesn't have anything to do with violence and asks questions about him doing film directly on his own, but instead of making successful films only if he works with another director.

Quintessential Tarantino by Edwin Page
This book states the different techniques within the films that Tarantino has done, I could use this because it tells me the different techniques that he is using so I could compare it to the element of violence. But the book doesn't show any research of the element of violence so this book could link to my question was related to this themes but it isn't.

Deadline - http://deadline.com/2013/01/quentin-tarantino-has-heated-exchange-with-uk-journalist-on-movie-violence-says-im-not-your-slave-video-401861/
The reason why I won't be using this article in my catalogue is because it doesn't or has very little about his style of violence and only discusses about slavery in Django Unchained, this has no use for and doesn't link to my question. I could twist it and it could help but it will be very hard to get this information to link with my question.