FREE ESSAY ON THE CONFLICTING COMMUNICATION IN PULP FICTION

THE CONFLICTING COMMUNICATION IN PULP FICTION

Many movies tend to lean more toward the interest of a single gender rather than everyone
as a whole. For instance, some may argue that the movie Pulp Fiction was created for the
entertainment of the male persuasion. Director and creator Quentin Tarantino is notorious
for his harsh, almost gory entertainment. Pulp Fiction seems to match Debra Tannen's
description of a male affiliated movie to the tee by the way Tarantino ties the action
with the suspense of certain rough characters. It is a rough movie that deals with the
lives of several kingpins and gangsters and their daily struggles. Yet, pervading through
all these hard-core gangsters is a woman of greater character, Mia
Wallace; she is the brave and confident wife of the kingpin Marcellus Wallace. She plays
a character that contains great confidence and portrays a woman who, in short, is not to
be messed with. In her own devious way, she seems to control the scene whenever she is
around. Whether it is her relationship to her husband or just her strong will, Mia has a
way about her that inspires and intimidates others that surround her. Even though Mia's
independence might seem to appeal more to a female audience, it also works to reinforce
to the male dominance appeal. It is interesting to watch her reactions and compare then
to the other main characters of the movie. There are predominantly different reactions in
the way that the kingpin, the gangsters, and Mia handle and control different
situations.
There, in Pulp Fiction, is a character that possesses the utmost of confidence and
calmness about him. His name is Marcellus Wallace, and he is the kingpin of all the crime
and action that takes place in the flick. Everything, from the clout that he carries to
his physical build, portrays a large man that contains the knowledge and the power to win
any conflict. Marcellus knows the awe that he possesses, and he uses this knowledge to
his advantage. Butch was the name of the boxer that failed to throw a fight after
Marcellus had paid him to do so. In a gun battle between Butch and Marcellus, both men
are captured and are taken to be beat by a random storeowner. Butch then finds a way to
save his and Marcellus's lives by escaping. Even after receiving such a harsh beating,
Marcellus still carries a sort of scary calmness about him. To keep his reputation
straight gets revenge not only on the man who beat him but all the store owner's family
and friends also. This display of how Marcellus expresses his anger and stress is enough
to almost petrify any man. It was shortly there after when one of Marcellus' gangsters
called him in a panic because the gangster in their car shot a man and had no means of
cleaning it up. Being relaxed and cool Marcellus responds to the call sending one of his
best men to take care of the problem. The way Marcellus reacts to the situation also
helps to calm the nerves of Jules, the gangster. It seems his leadership springs from his
confidence, like Debra Tannin describes in the articles "You Just Don't Understand." Her
research proves that poor questions, comments, or commands are not as likely to be
executed as well as those that are firm and confident. Through his power Marcellus is
able to gain followers that are loyal and true, weather be the fact that they also are
scared.
It seems almost ironic the way the main gangsters act throughout this movie. Vincent and
Joules are the two main gangsters and they both possess split personalities. Even in the
crime world, there seems to be a change of command; the gangsters are under the kingpin.
Jules and Vincent do the dirty work that is passed down to them by Marcellus. One would
be surprised in the way these two men react to truly difficult problems. It was Vincent
who almost had a heart attack on the night he took Mia out on the town, as orders from
the boss. She overdosed on heroin and came near death. Panicked, he rushed her to
Chiastic, the drug dealer's, house in order to give her an adrenaline shot straight to
her heart. That was not the time only that Vincent and Jules had to call on the help of
Marcellus. It was a mistake when Vincent shot a kid that was taken hostage. For fear of
their safety and discovery the two men had to call on the assistance of Marcellus, who in
his typical manner got on top of it and took care of the problem. I believe that Deborah
Tannen's description of men fits the role that these men play. It seems that these men
act truly as Marcellus puppets. Everything they do he is in control of and runs. When the
men venture off the course they fall in a state of insecure ness and have to fall back on
the knowledge and help of their boss. This also reflects the studies Deborah has
organized on how when certain people lose control in a situation they seem also to lose
their self-confidence and must rely on the help of another. The way Joules and Vincent
must rely on Marcellus in order to perform his orders the way instructed.
In another light, there is Mia. However minor her role is, it is still interesting. This
attractive lady possesses some mystery, and is very hard to figure out. Only the audience
realizes her true side of being a drug user. When Vincent takes Mia out on The date as
mentioned earlier, he seems to carry that nervousness typical of someone on their first
date with a member from the opposite sex. Therefore, Mia controls the night. She chooses
where and what they eat, and what they talked about. She manages to maintain her cool
even when Vincent questioned her about her involvement in a murder. Her actions seem to
contradict the research that Tannin found about the communication styles for women.
Instead of being the "shady girl," she portrays a male's communication style. Her strong
will is a characteristic that anyone would love to posses. Even though Mia may have only
played a small role, what she instilled in us was much greater. 
It seems that Pulp Fiction compliments and contradicts Debra Tannin's research on
communication skills and techniques. Marcellus and his controlling, confidant
communication style agrees with the statement that a more firm communication can get you
farther. On the other hand, the lack of self-confidence, as displayed by the gangsters
would disagree with the observations made by Tannen. She is also contradicted in her
statements when the character Mia is observed. Despite the expected quiet nature of
females, Mia, instead, remains bold and unsurprised by society. By not conforming to such
typical standards, Mia proves that women can and do possess an influence, equivalent to
that of the opposite, supposedly more powerful sex.