The Use of Nonlinear Narrative in Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Ficition

The Use of Nonlinear Narrative in Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Ficition

From the silent era of movies to present year, the way films have been scripted has changed. The storylines have changed and the technology has changed. One significant development is changing events in film out of chronological order. This technique is called nonlinear narrative. This technique has been used in films, television, and even books. The technique has been thought to be used to mimic the human memory. However, recently it has been used to make a movie more exciting. This technique is not used often because it requires patience from the audience. However,Quentin Tarantino is a director that has used this technique has received great praise for it.In a film a nonlinear structure may be achieved through flashbacks or flash forwards. This is how it was portrayed in earlier days. In the modern age, nonlinear structure is often times hard to notice because of the sophistication in film making and storylines. This technique has been used since the silent era of films to present day films. It was used in Intolerance by D.W. Griffith in 1916. Like movies today, Intolerance used a nonlinear storyline by telling four different stories then connecting them at the end. A nonlinear storyline is usually presented by a confusing or over the top beginning. This is to force the audience to connect the dots throughout the film. This is usually done by the audience making cause and effect connections while scenes go back and forth.

Writer and director Quentin Tarantino has made is career on this technique and two of his films stand out the most. Reservoir Dogs the first film he director and Pulp Fiction was his second film. Both films use nonlinear narrative and have been two of his most popular and well known films. These films became popular because of their nonlinear storylines even though it is not a popular technique.

Reservoir Dogs was Quentin Tarantino’s first film. It was released in 1992. The film was not popular in mainstream but became well known after Quentin Tarantino’s second film was released. The film is about a group of men organizing a diamond heist. The heist does not go as planned. The film shows the before and after of the heist, as well as what is going on in during the heist. However, the film never shows the heist itself. The film uses nonlinear storyline by showing how the characters got to the present situation and how the heist got messed up. The film begins with the characters having a conversation at a diner. It then skips to one of the thieves bleeding and screaming in the back seat of the car. From here the film goes back and forth from the past to the future. We see how the injured man and the other thief figure out what to do about the injured man. During this dilemma, the flashbacks show how the heist began, and where the men were when they were chosen. Other flashbacks include how the heist went wrong.

As the film continues the audience finds out that the injury thief is a police officer. This is where the audience figures out why the heist went wrong. This technique works very well in this film because of its radical beginning. This keeps the audience’s attention, and unravels the story in a creative yet simple way. Reservoir Dogs use of nonlinear narrative is perfect. Even though this technique is not common because of audience’s patience, but Quentin Tarantino has perfected the technique. His second film Pulp Fiction also used nonlinear storyline and has become famous for it.

Pulp Fiction was released in 1994. This was Quentin Tarantino’s second film. This film uses nonlinear storyline by presented characters one at a time throughout the film. Some of the events are repeated but in the perspective of different characters. For example the movie begins with a couple at a diner that plan to rob everyone in it. Another story includes John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson working as hit men. At the end of the film Travolta and Jackson end up at the same dinner as the couple in the beginning. The recurring event in nonlinear storylines is that a film begins the same way it ends. As mentioned, nonlinear storylines often show different stories which become connected at the end.Pulp Fiction has become Quentin Tarantino’s most popular movie. It is considered one of the best films in the past 20 years. This film’s popularity has made Reservoir Dogs popular as well.

Although both Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction use nonlinear narrative there is are a couple of differences. In Reservoir Dogs the transition from flashbacks is very simple. They are noticed by texts on the screen like a chapter book. This same is done in Pulp Fiction but it is done more elaborately because this is how characters are introduced not just flashbacks. Also in Reservoir Dogs, the ending is pretty straight forward. It is pretty clear there is only one survivor. However, the opposite occurs in Pulp Fiction. When it comes to the ending of this film it is unknown of the ending because the ending is the beginning. In the context of these differences, it is safe to say, Pulp Fictionhas a better use of nonlinear narrative. This could simply be because Reservoir Dogs was only Tarantino’s first film.

Nonlinear narratives are mostly used in books, but are now being used in films. This technique is not common because it requires patience and understanding from the audience. Although it is not a popular technique, when done right it can become a big success. Writer and director Quentin Tarantino has not only used this technique, but has made his career from it. Just the fact that his most popular film uses a risky technique proves that he is a highly talented director. His hit films that use this technique are Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction. Both of these films are very popular and very unique. They have now become cult classics and an influence on many films being made today.

 

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