Film Studies Revised SSRP Proposal

The films that I have chosen to study for my Small-Scale Research Project are Django Unchained, Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs which were all directed by Quentin Tarantino. I will be studying how Tarantino uses the same actors in some of his films and how most of the actors he chooses are high profile and well established actors. I will also discuss how Tarantino uses repeated themes within his films.

I have chosen these films because I am not only a fan of the films but I also enjoy Tarantino’s work as the director. Quentin Tarantino multi-roles in the films he makes. For example, he not directed but also acted in Django Unchained, Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs and Inglorious Bastards. This is something that as a fan I admire about Tarantino’s film work. This is something I would like to further explore during the small-scale research project.

The films are all related through the fact that they are all directed by Quentin Tarantino and feature some of the same actors and themes throughout his films. Samuel L Jackson features in Pulp Fiction, Django Unchained and Inglorious Bastards. Uma Thurman is an actress who is in Kill Bill and Pulp Fiction. Finally Steve Buscemi is in the films Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs.

I am going to be studying Tarantino’s use of themes that he covers in his films including drug use, race and racism, crime and relationships. For example, in Pulp Fiction Quentin Tarantino covers the themes of crime, drug use and relationships. In my opinion Pulp Fiction doesn’t have a main theme it instead uses a few themes. For instance, there is a lot of drug dealing and taking within the film which touches on the subject of drug abuse. Additionally Samuel L Jackson went to rehab due to drug addiction therefore I think Tarantino made a wise choice casting him in the film. However Django Unchained focuses more on the racism used in the western period of time when the film is set. Although Tarantino also covers themes such as crime in the film Django Unchained. Finally in the film Reservoir Dogs Tarantino mainly uses the theme of crime as the film is based on a group criminals/gangsters planning a bank robbery.

I bought the DVD of Django Unchained for when I make notes on it, I already own Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction so I am currently ready and prepared to start making notes on the films ready for my SSRP. I will also be ordering a selection of books to use as source materials to back up my points in the SSRP. I also plan to have a look on YouTube for interviews with Quentin Tarantino.