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Tarantino's People: Deconstructions in Postmodernism

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Tarantino's People: Deconstructions in Postmodernism TARANTINO’S PEOPLE: DECONSTRUCTIONS IN POSTMODERNISM by Amer Akhtar NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF MODERN LANGUAGES May 2018 Tarantino’s People: Deconstructions in Postmodernism by Amer Akhtar MA TESOL, University of Sunderland, UK, 2010 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In English Literature To DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH FACULTY OF LANGAUGES NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF MODERN LANGUAGES, ISLAMABAD © Amer Akhtar 2018 ii aa NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF MODERN LANGUAGES FACULTY OF LANGUAGESs DISSERTATION AND DEFENSE APPROVAL FORM The undersigned certify that they have read the following thesis, examined the defense, are satisfied with the overall exam performance, and recommend the thesis to the Faculty of Languages for acceptance: Thesis Title: Tarantino’s People: Deconstructions in Postmodernism Submitted By: Amer Akhtar Registration #: 432—PhD/ELit/Fall 12 Name of Student PhD English Literature Name of Discipline Shaheena Ayub Bhatti, PhD ______________________________ Name of Supervisor Signature of Supervisor Prof. Dr. Muhammad Safeer Awan ______________________________ Name of Dean (FoL) Signature of Dean (FoL) Maj. Gen. Zia Uddin Najam HI (M) (R) ______________________________ Name of Rector Signature of Rector 22.5.2018 iii CANDIDATE DECLARATION FORM I, Amer Akhtar, Son of Ali Akhtar Registration # 432—PhD/ELit/Fall 12 Discipline English Literature Candidate of Doctor of Philosophy at the National University of Modern Languages do hereby declare that the dissertation Tarantino’s People: Deconstructions in Postmodernism submitted by me in partial fulfilment of PhD degree, is my original work, and has not been submitted or published earlier. I also solemnly declare that it shall not, in future, be submitted by me for obtaining any other degree from this or any other university or institution. I also understand that if evidence of plagiarism is found in my thesis/dissertation at any stage, even after the award of a degree, the work may be cancelled and the degree revoked. ________________________ Amer Akhtar 22 May 2018 iv ABSTRACT Thesis Title: Tarantino’s People: Deconstructions in Postmodernism The present study analyzes Quentin Tarantino’s characters in three of his films in the light of Fredric Jameson’s theorization of postmodernism to show that Tarantino’s characters are postmodern. The study looks at the characters in Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, and Inglourious Basterds, and contends that they illustrate the death of the subject through their lack of uniqueness and depthlessness. The subjects that Tarantino creates are ordinary, if not less than ordinary, individuals who strive to raise themselves above the ordinary. They may pick up fights or pretend to be somebodies but they fail to make any impression on the world around them. Tarantino’s characters lack depth and hide the lack of depth by putting on elaborate masquerades. Despite the power of the simulacra they create and are surrounded by— strong enough to make the characters believe it to be real—the reality remains that there is no reality to the subjects and thereby shows the waning of affect. The characters are also products of pastiche whereby they are modelled after images of the past and their meaning is actually a carryover from the meanings of the relatively original creations. The characters occupy hyperspaces that turn them into consumers of not just appliances but also the media, information, and knowledge. v TABLE OF CONTENTS THESIS/DISSERTATION AND DEFENSE APPROVAL FORM………………ii CANDIDATE DECLARATION FORM ……………………………………........iii ABSTRACT…….…………….…………………….…….……………….…………iv TABLE OF CONTENTS……………………………………………………………v GLOSSARY…………………………………………………………………………xii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS…………………………………………………….….xiv DEDICATION…………………...………………………………………………….xv CHAPTER 1 ..................................................................................................................1 INTRODUCTION .........................................................................................................1 1.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Postmodernism: Origin, Terminology, and Link with Modernism ....................................... 4 1.3 Key Theorists ...................................................................................................................... 21 1.4 Postmodernism and Literature .......................................................................................... 29 1.5 Jameson on Postmodernism .............................................................................................. 33 1.6 Delimitation ....................................................................................................................... 42 1.7 Research Objectives: .......................................................................................................... 42 1.8 Research Questions: .......................................................................................................... 42 1.9 Significance ........................................................................................................................ 42 1.10 Chapter Breakdown ......................................................................................................... 44 1.11 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 44 CHAPTER 2 ................................................................................................................45 LITERATURE REVIEW ...........................................................................................45 2.1 Jameson's Significance ....................................................................................................... 45 2.2 Films as Texts for Scholarly Discussion .............................................................................. 47 2.3 Tarantino as a Director ...................................................................................................... 49 2.4 Research Methods Employed by Previous Studies ............................................................ 78 2.5 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 86 CHAPTER 3 ................................................................................................................87 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ...............................................................................87 3.1 Theoretical Framework ...................................................................................................... 87 3.1.1 Features of Postmodernism ............................................................................................ 87 vi i. Death of the Subject ............................................................................................................. 87 ii. Erasure of Boundaries between High and Mass Culture ..................................................... 93 iii. Depthlessness and Waning of Affect .................................................................................. 96 iv. Pastiche ............................................................................................................................... 99 v. Hyperspace ......................................................................................................................... 104 3.2 Research Method ............................................................................................................. 108 3.2.1 Textual Analysis ............................................................................................................. 108 3.2.2 Tarantino’s Works and Analysis .................................................................................... 111 Chapter 4 ....................................................................................................................114 Zed is dead, baby. Zed is dead. (Butch Coolidge in Pulp Fiction) ........................114 4.1 Lack of Uniqueness.......................................................................................................... 114 4.2 Schizophrenia ................................................................................................................... 149 4.2.1 Fragmentation ............................................................................................................... 149 4.2.2 Temporally Stuck in the Present ................................................................................... 157 4.2.3 Schizophrenic Language ............................................................................................... 160 i. Depthlessness of Language ................................................................................................. 161 4.3 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 174 Chapter 5 ....................................................................................................................176 Waning of affect, depthlessness, and simulacra .....................................................176 5.1 Depthlessness, Surfaces and Simulacra ........................................................................... 176 5.2 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................
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