Symbols and Tropes

Symbols and Tropes

The Briefcase

Welcome to one of the most Googled props in cinematic history.Even decades years later, people are still debating what's in the briefcase. We've all seen the astonishment of Jules and Ringo as they...

Ezekiel 25:17

The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through...

The Gold Watch

Christopher Walken (er, the character he plays) may not play a major role in Pulp Fiction, but he has the honor of delivering a very important (and hopefully recently sanitized) item to the young B...

The Katana

No, it's not the same sword from Kill Bill—sorry, Tarantino conspiracy theorists. But the Japanese sword that Butch chooses to dispatch Maynard still has some symbolic significance. In fact, it's...

Confederate Flag

Confederate flag? What confederate flag? Well, it's just a quick shot in a very busy scene; it's easy to miss. But right as Butch pauses, halfway out the pawnshop door, we see behind him a confeder...

Bathrooms

There's a lot of bathroom action in Pulp Fiction. There's even more speculation about why there's a lot of bathroom action. It's one of Tarantino's favorite settings in his films. Vincent seems to...

Pop Culture and Philosophy

We apologize in advance to anyone who's ever made relationship decisions based on Seinfeld reruns or switched to GEICO because of the gecko or bought a skirt you saw Kim Kardashian wearing. It hasn...