Pulp Fiction is arguably Quentin Tarantino’s best movie. The iconic crime caper has a star-studded cast in some of their all-time time greatest roles, including Samuel L. Jackson, John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Bruce Willis, and Tim Roth.
It’s still a great watch, but right now, Twitter is debating whether Pulp Fiction could be made today. The discussion originated with The Atlantic writer Tom Nichols:
Nichols’ later replies indicate that he doesn’t think the extreme violence, drug-taking, and rape scene are an issue, but does think Tarantino’s use of the N-word means he couldn’t have made this in 2022. One of the most liked replies points out that it’d be very easy to make Pulp Fiction now, as the N-word isn’t exactly fundamental to the story:
Nichols disagrees, saying that removing the N-word would “totally sanitize the movie”, later confirming that he believes the movie would be unrecognizably altered without it. He also goes on to posit that the film using the N-word may be the specific reason it won the Palm d’Or in 1994. Odd hill to die on, but there you go.
Fortunately, many of the replies give Nichols’ tweet the mockery it deserves:
Bubbling under all of this is a jab at supposed cancel culture coming for classic movies. But as I can’t see that anyone is campaigning to ban or censor Pulp Fiction, this seems to be a typical case of inventing a non-issue and then getting mad about it online.
It also goes without saying none of this will matter in the slightest. Quentin Tarantino will continue to be among the most highly regarded directors working today, his movies are lodged firmly in the cultural canon, and Pulp Fiction remains a cinematic icon.
Published: Feb 7, 2022 05:43 am