Quentin Tarantino's Use Of Ultra-Violence In Neo-Noir Films

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The use of ultra-violence in films is a common thing in modern films and it is mostly used as an attraction to make a film action packed. In neo-noir films, however, the use of ultra-violence signifies a deeper meaning. It is used to portray a very surreal environment in which we live in. The violence in films such as Kill Bill by Quentin Tarantino might seem excessive to most, but it only serves to illustrate just how horrifying the reality can be in patriarchal hierarchical societies ruled by a single “god”. In this essay, I will discuss how the attempted murder of The Bride by Bill, the rape of The Bride by the male nurse in the hospital, and the rape and murder of O-Ren Ishii’s mother by Boss Tanaka shows how Tarantino wants us to understand how women are treated by men in the traditional realist world. The opening scene of the film shows Bill crashing The Bride’s wedding in a chapel in El Paso. Having killed all the guests, he then proceeds to step on The Bride’s throat and shoots her. This opening scene is very important in Tarantino’s portrayal of the oppression of women in the traditional realist world. Bill stepping on The Bride’s throat, making it hard for her to speak, shows …show more content…

This shows how the oppression continues beyond women being deprived of a voice of their own. The Bride was rendered helpless by the actions of Bill and is being treated by a hospital. But even in the hospital where The Bride is supposed to recover, her state of helplessness was taken advantage of by the man in charge of her recovery to benefit himself. Tarantino is showing that if we make women powerless in our world, men will take advantage of it and use to their own benefit with no regards to the women’s