When it came to our PowerPoint presentation we split the article into categories, I looked over the reflection of the article and how it wasn’t in a literal sense of “cartoon violence”, but the satire of Tarantino’s films. I looked back at Chris Pallant’s article that Barker references and chose to anaylse it in depth, alongside Tarantino’s intentions when producing his films, to understand Barker’s argument.
Research:
Through Pallant’s Lens:
In Chris Pallant’s article relates the exaggerated violence to cartoon’s, discussing through some of Tarantino’s works there is evidence of idiosyncratic live action cartoonism, to imitate the or utilize the conventions of a cartoon NAMELY through 3 main methods: Comic, novel and toons.
The Origin of O-Ren adopts such an cartoon aesthetic, the style of sequence reflecting O’Rens Japanese ancestry through anime influence and supposedly follows the aesthetics of Akira and Ghost in a shell. He divides the screen into 3, reinforcing O-Ren’s ancestry by utilizing space that see’s ren at the centre of the disconnected frames. Comic strips exerts control over narrative, unconventional method but almost novel.
Cartoon framing: 2 narrative functions, cardinal (determines events of stroy, chronological order) and catalyster (inciting incident- accelerating or slowing down an event without alliterating it’s course. Cartoonism = no consequence).
Animation is Tarantino’s way of rewarding spectator- detailed passage of anime which common “cardinal” functions are used. Violence contained in O-Ren flects Tarantin’s inflicting nerve when betraying blood stained action, demonstrates the creators (Kaysuju with Tarantino) precursory violence exhibited in some modern Japanese animation. “Most press accounts during Tom and Jerry’s era did not castigate cartoons for their violent content…. REAL violence and fantasy actions of animation.” (Mitell, 2003).
Kill Bill- daughter and mother watching a violent cartoon, director highlights criticism of his own works. “Animation in all forms, not merely those played for laughs, has served to operate as a distorting and repositioning parallel genre both to establish live action and tv texts.” This highlights the inequities between cartoon and live action, as live action can come with limitations.
In the Kill Bill fight sequence “Bride vs the crazy 88” a lot of the blood physics fail to replicate real life situations, implementation of slow action stunts and the music juxtaposes the violent acts, with the subversion of expectation and unrealistic graphic violence Tarantino intends to prove his intention for violence for comedic purpose.
Reservoir Dogs torture scene intends to invoke a similar scene, a cop is tortured while the kidnapper dances around to a backing track, showcasing an extreme lack of empathy, but the extreme contrast intends to through off the audience with the sudden tonal change. With the likes of Tom and Jerry there is extreme violence through the likes of light hearted slap stick, knowing the clear differentiation of fantasy for comedy, but through Tarantino’s works a lot of the time this can be lost. Constant violence – lack of empathy with intention to remind the viewer it’s fantasy.
Barker Overview.
Although “Cartoon Violence” in Tarantino’s works is a satire method for narrative Barker outlines the social principles and the undermining of plot through violent acts. He argues that the directors viewpoint on violence is belittling and has no adverse consequences for the world it depicts or the horrors the characters live through. The more it strives from reality – the less seriously it will be taken by the viewer in question.
Barker discusses the mortality of characters, having nothing to do with their physical integrity or person, rather the self-consciousness or recognition that confirms their mortality for them, e.g Wile E. Coyote getting crushed by a boulder, reappearing untroubled or traumatized by his own death.
Wolf’s suicide in Avery’s Red Hot Riding Hood (1943) show’s the wolves skulduggery is transparent at the beginning as it is the end. The cartoon is developed to compensate for his lack of character, acts as an agent to repeat the characters stupidity. If the character is absent through plot the audience is owed something in return, ending with a punchline or one that makes them the butt of the joke.
As Barker States, “Once Upon a Time in Holywood” and “Reservoir Dogs” indulges in such violence, but more attuned to suspending the audience in disbelief which leads the audience up the path of suspense, only to reveal the plots characterless façade, one he agrees to be the diegetic convention of the cartoon short. Characters absence- violence becomes hyperbolic, visual cliché, includes nonsense for narrative drive.
Passion for art deprives audiences of the power of discrimination. Barker refers to Kant’s fanaticism, rendering any intimate sensation (private reading viewed as an intimate experience, translated to film) as incoherent and incommunicable, for the justification of “aesthetics”. Barker states that comic book templates freeze frames agony, meant to have readers linger on the impact, relating to Tarantino’s technique of replaying events (repeated shot sequence, as if it’s a looped animation). Sound of Katie’s skull cracking, pow bubbles, replicating the sounds that visually are found in comic books- apparent in it’s gruesomeness and brutality.
Conclusion: I enjoyed the aspects discussed by Pallant relating to a stylized approach to filmic violence and how it can relate to animation conventions and techniques, however I also agree with Barker’s viewpoint. Where there’s violence there needs balance, as Tarantino makes the defence of mindless fun and shock factor to string along the audience it begins to lose it’s impact. Looking through a moral lens when watching film can be a strange area as many serve to offer different experiences but also can create social indifference. Fantasy elements of cartoon can offer a wide scope of creativity, but in Tarantino’s works it can be viewed by many as insensitive. Even still reading the original article offered insight on how animation can have a massive influence on live action, indirectly and directly. However the violence which occurs in his works being fantasy we begin to lack the empathy in characters these acts are opposed upon, detachment to hardship.
The above research was condensed down to these slides:
Bibliography:
Articles:
Chris Pallant, July 2007, ‘Tarantino the Cartoonist’, SageJournels.
Jason Barker, July 15 2021, ‘Quentin Tarantin’s Cartoon Violence’, SageJournels.
Adrienne Tyler, FEB 9 2022, ‘Why Quentin Tarantino’s Movies are so Ridiculously Violent’, ScreenRant.
Videos:
Dan Rather, 22 Nov 2015, ‘Quentin Tarantino & violence’, Youtube.
The Discard Image, 4 Oct 2016, ‘How Quentin Tarantino Uses Violence’, Youtube.
RottekoJanpu, 25 July 2018, ‘Kill Bill: Volume 1 | The Bride vs The Crazy 88’, Youtube.
Stoycho Ganev, 3 April 2013, ‘Reservoir Dogs- Mr.Blonde cop torture scene’, Youtube.