There are many signature traits that make up Quentin Tarantino’s idiosyncratic style of dialogue – namely, lots of profanity, lots of Seinfeldian banter, and lots of references to popular culture. He uses mundane conversations about pop culture staples like Madonna and McDonald’s to ground gun-toting genre archetypes in a relatable reality.
In Tarantino’s dialogue, much like in the real world, discussions and debates about familiar hallmarks from the pop culture landscape are a shared language among strangers. The thieves in Jackie Brown, Jackie and Max first bond over the Delfonics.
Who Played Christie Love? (Reservoir Dogs)
In the middle of a stakeout in Reservoir Dogs’ extended flashback segment, the thieves bond over their shared fandom of Get Christie Love!, a short-lived blaxploitation police procedural from the 1970s. Teresa Graves played the titular undercover cop in Get Christie Love!, which lasted just one season. They quote her catchphrase: “You’re under arrest, sugar!”
When one of the thieves erroneously names Pam Grier as the actor who played Christie Love, Mr. Orange corrects him: “Christie Love was like a Pam Grier TV show without Pam Grier.” It’s a pretty accurate assessment of the show.
Gun Advertising (Jackie Brown)
Tarantino never uses real product placement in his movies – plugging fictional corporations like Big Kahuna Burger and Red Apple Cigarettes instead of giving airtime to existing companies – but he has discussed and dissected traditional advertising within his dialogue. In Kill Bill, the Bride and O-Ren quote the Trix commercial before their blood-drenched climactic showdown.
In Jackie Brown, gun runner Ordell Robbie gives his partner-in-crime Louis Gara a rundown of all his favorite firearms. When he brings up the TEC-9, he discusses the slogans used by the manufacturer to it: “They d this TEC-9 as the most popular gun in American crime, like they’re proud of that s**t!”
The Best Car Chase Movies (Death Proof)
When the second set of protagonists takes the spotlight in the second half of Gone in 60 Seconds (the original, “not that Angelina Jolie bulls**t”).
The group is on their way to test-drive a 1970 Dodge Challenger, the same car seen in arguably the ultimate car chase movie, Vanishing Point. This discussion of classic chase movies is a great meta way to set up the climactic car chase. These characters are so adept at stunt driving (and so familiar with vehicular-based action films) that they’ll easily be able to fight back against Stuntman Mike when he comes after them.
The Subtext Of King Kong (Inglourious Basterds)
One of the tensest sequences in the name taped to his forehead – King Kong – and surmises that it’s the story of American slavery.
This is a famous interpretation of the classic monster movie. The producers of the original masterpiece denied that these parallels were intentional, making this an interesting example of Roland Barthes’ “Death of the Author” theory.
CD Vs. Vinyl (Jackie Brown)
When Max Cherry goes over to the title character’s place to pick up his gun in Jackie Brown, Jackie plays the Delfonics’ “Didn’t I Blow Your Mind This Time” on her record player. Max asks why she never “got into the whole CD revolution” and Jackie explains that she’s “invested too much time and money” into her vinyl collection.
Max counters, “You can’t get new stuff on records,” but Jackie reasons that all the best music – like the works of the Delfonics – has already been released on record, and that “new stuff” doesn’t compare.
The Differences Between American And European McDonald’s (Pulp Fiction)
After the opening credits of Pulp Fiction, Tarantino introduces mob hitmen Jules and Vincent on their way to a job. They’re so accustomed to driving to apartments to kill everybody inside that they casually discuss their pop-cultural observations on the journey.
Vincent just got back from a trip to Europe and tells Jules about the McDonald’s menus in European countries. Thanks to the metric system, a “Quarter Pounder with Cheese” is called a “Royale with Cheese” in . According to Vincent, the other highlights of European travel are drinking glasses of beer in movie theaters and smoking pot legally in Amsterdam.
The True Meaning Of “Like A Virgin” (Reservoir Dogs)
Tarantino’s first pop culture debate can be heard in the opening scene of his debut movie. The director himself, in the role of Mr. Brown, delivers a verbose monologue about what he perceives to be the hidden meaning of Madonna’s “Like a Virgin” at the beginning of Reservoir Dogs.
Mr. Brown doesn’t believe “Like a Virgin” is a simple love song about a single woman looking for “a nice fella.” He has a much different take that almost everybody else at the table disagrees with: “the whole song is a metaphor for big d**ks.”
