Dana Polan, �BFI Modern Classics� (title censored)
Okay, let�s play a little game, shall we? Sure we shall! Read the next paragraph very slowly. By that, I mean one word at a time with breaks and everything. See how many words it takes before you can figure out what movie I�m quoting from:
�It ain't no fuckin' ballpark either. Look, maybe your method of massage differs from mine, but touching a lady's feet and sticking your tongue in her holiest of holies, ain't the same fuckin� ballpark, it ain't the same league, it ain't even the same fuckin' sport. Foot massages don't mean shit.�
So how long did it take before you knew what I was talking about? Ten words? Twelve? That�s the idea behind this book. Polan knows you�ve seen the movie, I�ve seen the movie � hell, my dad�s even seen the movie, and he doesn�t have a VCR. I don�t think he�s gone to a movie since he took me to see The Empire Strikes Back, but he�s seen Pulp Fiction.
So this book discusses the cultural icon behind the film � those who worship it, those that imitate it, and the full circle of pop cultural references that it relishes and therefore spawned.
Written six years after the movie has come and gone, Polan is able to move past the simple dismissal of the film its so-called violence � Bob Dole cited it as a �nightmare of depravity� during his bid for the presidency, instead concentrating on why it made such a lasting impression.
These factors are both good and bad. It�s a slim volume, so Polan is able to avoid having to rehash material that most of us know by heart, instead only discussing the cultural ramifications, such as the glamorization of drugs and the implication of racism through imitation. But there are things that I would like to know his opinion on. Like why does Butch mutter, �Sorry about that, Floyd� to himself when he learns he killed the other boxer, yet only minutes later states, �I don�t feel the least bit bad about it�? What�s with all the shots of women�s naked feet? And what the hell is in the goddamn briefcase?!?
Fortunately, having read a lot of critical study pieces for classes, covering everything from the Simpsons, to Independence Day, to The Young Ones, Polan manages to keep is comments entertaining.
Not as entertaining as the movie itself, but hey, thanks for trying.
The comments for the rating won�t fit in my Rating area, so let me say this here. This came into the store without a price tag, so I don�t know how much it sells for. It is, however, on glossy paper, and it�s chock full of color photographs, so it�s probably expensive. So, based on that assumption, I�d say it�s worth...
