Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill Vol. 1 tells a blood filled story of revenge staring Uma Thurman, who plays the role of the bride who's family get slaughtered by the skilled Deadly Viper Assassination Squad. Despite receiving some criticism that the film is about nothing but blood and violence, the film contains multiple elements that make it Postmodern, and Tarantino seems to have made it to reminisce over films from his youth and create something enjoyable, that also meant something to him.
One way in which the film is postmodern, is Tarantino's eclectic approach to making the film. He brings together a combination of different genres, including Action, Western and Kung Fu Cinema. In some scenes he uses a black and white filter, leaning towards classic horror films, which then changes to colour in following scenes. There's also an extreme change in genre/style as part of the film is shown in a full Japanese styled animation.
Kill Bill is very pastiche in the way that it uses all of these genres to set a tone whilst also mixing them up with another. It isn't exactly true to an individual genre fluently throughout, so it partly imitates some of the secondary genres that it does use in certain scenes and shots. This is why the film shouldn't be taken too seriously, as it is more of a bricolage of various styles that do not traditionally crossover, and it is made more for the enjoyment.
Another way in which the film is postmodern lies with the non-chronological structure in which the story is told. The audience sees the most recent events of the story closer to the beginning of the film, whereas what they see at the end of the film is closer to a halfway point of the story with everything that is seen. It isn't until the end that all of these events begin to flow and come together, but within the first fifteen minutes of the story we witness the heroine's most up to date fate that we can see, which already assures her safety for whatever is yet to be seen. Nevertheless, the rest of the film has to be watched in order to know what happened between the time jumps, and for the fragmentary structure to link together fully.
The departure from reality makes it very postmodern, especially as this keeps popping up throughout the entirety of the movie. When the film begins, the bride is shown on the ground defenseless and feeble, she is then shot. At first glance this can suggest that her character is irrelevant, not only because she is supposedly dead, but because her state, body language and dialogue implies that she lacks the courage and strength to be the merciless killer that her character is meant to be. Somehow she survives the bullet, then wakes up about four years later after being unconscious ever since the event. Even more so, she gets back to her feet, and takes on a whole army of skilled warriors by herself in Japan, a country that she herself is not from, lacking full knowledge of the culture or society yet still prevailing to come out on top and be the last one standing. So although the film's thrill comes off the action of revenge, it sticks very closely to the character's "truth" and ambitious aims, making it correct.
As well as Kill Bill incorporating a lot of different genres and styles, it also contains a lot of strong references to other films. These are referenced through shots and staging, along with the right timing which matches shots and scenes from other films. A lot of elements are borrowed from other films, this exceeds shots to also reference sets, costumes and composition. A lot of the films it references are classic favourites of Tarantino, as well as some of his own films. He has a huge respect for cinema and it is obvious in Kill Bill, as he takes a mixture of personal nostalgia and crafts it in a way that still manages to tell a successful and compelling story.
Kill Bill is very pastiche in the way that it uses all of these genres to set a tone whilst also mixing them up with another. It isn't exactly true to an individual genre fluently throughout, so it partly imitates some of the secondary genres that it does use in certain scenes and shots. This is why the film shouldn't be taken too seriously, as it is more of a bricolage of various styles that do not traditionally crossover, and it is made more for the enjoyment.
Another way in which the film is postmodern lies with the non-chronological structure in which the story is told. The audience sees the most recent events of the story closer to the beginning of the film, whereas what they see at the end of the film is closer to a halfway point of the story with everything that is seen. It isn't until the end that all of these events begin to flow and come together, but within the first fifteen minutes of the story we witness the heroine's most up to date fate that we can see, which already assures her safety for whatever is yet to be seen. Nevertheless, the rest of the film has to be watched in order to know what happened between the time jumps, and for the fragmentary structure to link together fully.
The departure from reality makes it very postmodern, especially as this keeps popping up throughout the entirety of the movie. When the film begins, the bride is shown on the ground defenseless and feeble, she is then shot. At first glance this can suggest that her character is irrelevant, not only because she is supposedly dead, but because her state, body language and dialogue implies that she lacks the courage and strength to be the merciless killer that her character is meant to be. Somehow she survives the bullet, then wakes up about four years later after being unconscious ever since the event. Even more so, she gets back to her feet, and takes on a whole army of skilled warriors by herself in Japan, a country that she herself is not from, lacking full knowledge of the culture or society yet still prevailing to come out on top and be the last one standing. So although the film's thrill comes off the action of revenge, it sticks very closely to the character's "truth" and ambitious aims, making it correct.
As well as Kill Bill incorporating a lot of different genres and styles, it also contains a lot of strong references to other films. These are referenced through shots and staging, along with the right timing which matches shots and scenes from other films. A lot of elements are borrowed from other films, this exceeds shots to also reference sets, costumes and composition. A lot of the films it references are classic favourites of Tarantino, as well as some of his own films. He has a huge respect for cinema and it is obvious in Kill Bill, as he takes a mixture of personal nostalgia and crafts it in a way that still manages to tell a successful and compelling story.
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