PROPOSED TITLE
PULP FRICTION
THEY ENTICE, EXCITE AND ENTHRALL THE PEOPLE AT THE GRASSROOTS...BUT THEY ARE BACKBENCHED BY THE HIGH AND THE MIGHTY...
ISN’T IT TIME TO RELOOK AT INDIAN PULP-FICTION...?
Pulp Fiction, replete with ‘Indian’ ethos and mainly in vernacular, has a huge cult-following in India. There used to be a time when these eminently affordable tearjerkers and tales of ridiculously impossible adventures of super-spies and master-cops sold like hotcakes.
With increased access to global entertainment (much of which is pulp-fiction anyway, with a marketing gloss and a ‘aesthetic-refinement’ topping) these folk-thrillers have lost their market somewhat – but not entirely. There have been efforts to revive their appeal, some of them
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English novels with similar pulp content continue to sell in good numbers. Pirated copies of western pulp fictions sell good on streets and railway stations. So in English it is acceptable, but in Hindi it is trash. Is this a mindset problem? This probably results from the colonial hangover, which does not seem to wear off, even after close to 70 years of independence. Our infatuation with the English language is reflected in the mentality associated with the readers of such novels. Carrying and discussing English language novels makes many feel associated with a particular social …show more content…
According to a survey conducted by Amazon across India, the English translation of ‘Colaba Conspiracy’ by Surendra Mohan Pathak, a Hindi pulp fiction novel was the most popular Indian book of 2014. But the works of Surendra Pathak and the likes of his such as Ved Prakash Sharma or Om Prakash Sharma has never been reviewed by any critics and published in magazine and newspapers. There was a time they didn’t care – but now they do, and with a little help from fans and loyal publishers, they are trying to reverse the tide. We believe, if we follow the efforts of at least one such eminent best-selling writer in our film, follow his trials and tribulations over a period of time as and when it happens – we might have a story at hand that has a universal appeal because it represents the ‘situation’ that popular (read non-mainstream if you like) writers are facing worldwide.
People do make films inspired by their content – they even blatantly pick up characters and situations without their permission – a large number of recent Hindi films are being scripted and directed keeping their huge market in mind – but is anyone actually doing anything ‘tangible’ to conserve this form of pop-art? This source of unadulterated entertainment is likely to die a dusty death if it doesn’t get its due share of media space – considering
There are movies that make you laugh, that make you cry, that blow you away with jaw-dropping, ever-so-satisfying action sequences. And there is Pulp Fiction, Quentin Tarantino’s masterpiece, an homage to the old Pulp Magazines and crime novels popular in the 1950s. Known for their incredibly dense and complex dialogue and excessive violence, Tarantino adds his trademark nonlinear chronology and thorough character development to create a movie that celebrates the fact that chance governs all of our lives. The film consists of multiple stories that tell of the criminals, gangsters and outliers of Los Angeles, the underbelly of society. It follows Vincent Vega and Jules Winnfield as they embark on their mission to recovering a briefcase that
The only real way to truly understand a story is to understand all aspects of a story and their meanings. The same goes for movies, as they are all just stories being acted out. In Thomas Foster's book, “How to Read Literature Like a Professor”, Foster explains in detail the numerous ingredients of a story. He discusses almost everything that can be found in any given piece of literature. The devices discussed in Foster's book can be found in most movies as well, including in Quentin Tarantino’s cult classic, “Pulp Fiction”. This movie is a complicated tale that follows numerous characters involved in intertwining stories. Tarantino utilizes many devices to make “Pulp Fiction” into an excellent film. In this essay, I will demonstrate how several literary devices described in Foster's book are put to use in Tarantino’s film, “Pulp Fiction”, including quests, archetypes, food, and violence.
While I am an avid critic and a skeptic of the Indian “Hindi” film industry, it is hard for me to ignore the cultural significance that Bollywood holds. While pop-culture is a representation of the society, films also hold the responsibility of perpetuating, and in some cases exaggerating, long held beliefs. Much like the film industry in the
High heels click on wet pavement, shady detectives stand in the shadows, shots ring out through the cold, dark city night-just another moment in film noir. These seedy, almost underground films are considered to be some of the best and most influential pictures in the history of Hollywood by anyone's standards, most certainly some of the darkest. Even though the glory days of film noir have long passed and given way to big budget productions, their influence and effect on the industry can be felt and seen throughout the movies of today.
In recent times, such stereotyped categorizations of films are becoming inapplicable. ‘Blockbusters’ with celebrity-studded casts may have plots in which characters explore the depths of the human psyche, or avant-garde film techniques. Titles like ‘American Beauty’ (1999), ‘Fight Club’ (1999) and ‘Kill Bill 2’ (2004) come readily into mind. Hollywood perhaps could be gradually losing its stigma as a money-hungry machine churning out predictable, unintelligent flicks for mass consumption. While whether this image of Hollywood is justified remains open to debate, earlier films in the 60’s and 70’s like ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ (1967) and ‘Taxi Driver’ (1976) already revealed signs of depth and avant-garde film techniques. These films were successful as not only did they appeal to the mass audience, but they managed to communicate alternate messages to select groups who understood subtleties within them.
Amidst all the hype and allure of Hollywood, many often forget the presence of yet another powerhouse in cinema-Bollywood. The exponential rise of Bollywood can be attributed to the vast number of films produced which far outnumber those of Hollywood. The viewership of Bollywood films has surpassed the 3 billion mark in contrast to Hollywood’s 1.3 billion viewers (Mcbain, 2012). In an ever-growing market, in order for Bollywood to surpass Hollywood’s hegemonic international appeal, Indian films must compete with their contemporary counterpart. Western influence and globalisation has paved the way for Indian cinema over the last decade and despite India emerging to be a political and economical power, there has been little or
Since the creation of films, their main goal was to appeal to mass audiences. However, once, the viewer looks past the appearance of films, the viewer realizes that the all-important purpose of films is to serve as a bridge connecting countries, cultures, and languages. This is because if you compare any two films that are from a foreign country or spoken in another language, there is the possibility of a connection between the two because of the fact that they have a universally understanding or interpretation. This is true for the French New Wave films; Contempt and Breathless directed by Jean-Luc Godard, and contemporary Indian films; Earth and Water directed by Deepa Mehta. All four films portray an individual’s role in society using sound and editing.
It is undeniable that India, whose charmingly enthusiastic dances and timeless values have been made a strong impression on people all over the world, is considered as one of the cultural trendsetter in the Southern Asia with a diverse and distinctive culture which geographically differs from the South, the North and the Northeast. Currently, the rise of Bollyhood drama has offered people new insight into the mysterious beauty of Indian culture. Many critics assume that “English Vinglish” (2012) is one of the most successful movies which effectively conveys the unique Indian culture as well as precisely reflects many interculcultral communcation patterns. From my own perspective, this essay is going to analyze the glorious film to clarify
The film Pulp Fiction was an immediate box office success when it was released in 1994 and it was also well received by the critics, and celebrated for the way it appeared to capture exactly a certain pre-millennial angst and dislocation in Western capitalist societies. The term post-modernist, often used to refer to art and architecture, was applied to this film. The pulp fiction refers to popular novels which are bought in large numbers by less well educated people and enjoyed for their entertainment value. The implication is that the film concerns topics of interest to this low culture, but as this essay will show, in fact, the title is ironic and the film is a very intellectual presentation of issues at the heart of contemporary western culture and philosophy.
Bollywood movies are entertaining the global now.it is the one of largest film industry in the world, the term Bollywood coined in a journalistic column in India and contested and commended in almost equal measure. The word is a derivative, imitative and low quality version of the world richest film factory –Hollywood but in terms of the production of feature films and viewership, India leads the world: every year on average 1,000 films are produced and a billion more buy tickets for Indian movies than for Hollywood films. Bollywood helped to make an attractive, exotic and colorful, tourist and investment destination. In addition
Film is a form of art that is formally used as a means of entertainment. Yet, through time making films are now a part of a massive industry. This paper will explore the importance of entertainment, specifically films that are made in India. The focus of this paper will be to introduce the arrival of film in India through different time periods and how several historical events have impacted the Bollywood industry. Moreover, once a general idea of how Bollywood development through time is explained, we will then establish why the Bollywood industry is unique and different from any other film industry in the world. This will also include the different factors which have influenced the Bollywood industry. Lastly, this paper will demonstrate how the modernization of Bollywood has had an impact on India. The approach of this paper will be through a historical retrospective, in addition to economic and anthropological aspects which will be used to demonstrate several concept within these disciplines. The economical concepts include capitalism, marketing and commercialisation. Furthermore, anthropological concepts such as social class, traditions and gender will also be discussed throughout this paper. Alfred Adler’s Inferiority Complex will be used specifically as a psychological theory as an explanation to an impact that has been resulted through the Bollywood film industry.
Themes based on globalization in Hindi cinema have been happening throughout the decades. During the 1960s and 1970s period of Hindi cinema, movies were more nationalistic, as Indian politics was going through a period of isolationism. The 1990s was when the nation opened up to international investments. Its economic dependence on the diaspora started to slowly increase. There was a string of big budget films in Bollywood that were also known as the “KJo” films. They consisted of some of Bollywood’s biggest stars, had lavish sets, big houses and expensive cars. Examples of such movies were Diwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (1995) and Kabhie Khushi Khabie Gh...
India as a nation has evolved tremendously over the course of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Due to the effects of colonization, economic liberalization and globalization, India has been influenced by western principles of politics, society and commercialism. One of the major ways in which western influence has affected India is through its films. While Indian cinema encompasses a wide variety of film genres, this paper will be primarily focusing on Bollywood which may at times be referred to as Hindi films or masala films. In this paper I will be discussing how western influences are existent in film advertisement, film settings and brand placement in Hindi films and how these influence have all attributed to the westernization of Bollywood films. In order to understand how these three factors have attributed to the westernization of Bollywood films, I will provide historical background on India and Hindi films. Then I will provide information regarding what role each factor had on westernizing Hindi films.
Saleem in Midnight’s Children makes an accurate evaluation of India when he states, “Nobody from Bombay should be without a basic film vocabulary” (Rushdie 33). Bollywood, the capital of the film industry in India, is the largest manufacturer of motion pictures in the world. A large percentage of the films are either mythical romances or musicals and often they last longer than three hours in length. While watching Indian cinema would be a painful ordeal for Western audiences, Indians embrace the industry and are very proud of their cinema heritage. Indians would argue that it is the distinct differences in Bollywood filmmaking that sets India apart from the Western world. It is the desire to separate themselves from Western culture that makes the Bollywood film industry so successful and accounts for India’s obsession with film. However, while film is a major part of Indian society, cinema does have its origins in the Western world. Salman Rushdie uses intertextuality to portray how Indian society changes the Western influence of cinema to express Eastern culture and how cinema depicts the narrator Saleem as unreliable.