September 11, 2008: Pulp Fiction

Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction is known for its subtle and sometimes blatantly obvious pop culture references. One interesting reference that I missed on first viewing of the movie a couple years ago suddenly came to my attention this last time I watched it. During the scene where Vincent has to give Mia the adrenaline injection, you can see two board games in the background: Operation and Life, two iconic games that most people have either played or at least heard of. Tarantino used them deliberately to make comment on the fact that Vincent is basically “operating” on Mia’s body and, in essence, he’s working to save her life. To add to this, he has chosen a children’s game to comment on a “grown-up” situation involving a drug overdose. This is just one of the many ways that Tarantino took something from pop culture and used it to add depth and irony to Pulp Fiction.