Kill Bill (2001) - Postmodernism

Figure 1. Kill Bill Movie Poster (2003)

Written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, Kill Bill (2003) is a crime and mystery film that is iconic for it's postmodern film design due to the use of many different film types combining together to create the film. 


1. Intertextuality - Kill Bill is created using film conventions from many different films. This is shown through Tarantino's use of Japanese style fighting scenes and mystery.

Figure 2. Fight scene 

2. Non-linear narrative - There is a strong use of non-linear narrative through the film, meaning that the film's story line and narrative are disjointed. This is shown in the film with flash backs, for example, when 'The Bride' (Uma Thurman) see's Vernita Green (Vivica. A. Fox) and the siren sounds.

Figure 3. Flash back 

3. Challenging gender stereotypes - The main character in action films are usually muscular men with a woman as either their love interest or side kick. In Kill Bill the main character is 'The Bride' who has become a strong, independent woman, and is able to single handily take down highly trained assassins.

Figure 4. 'The Bride' fighting  

4. Aestheticization of violence - Throughout the film Tarantino likes to focus on the violent tendencies of his characters through the use of excessive blood special fx, makeup and props. A lot of blood is shown on the main character's clothing after having emphasised fighting scenes with other characters.

Figure 5. Bloody face 

5. Hyper realism - In the film a lot of scenarios seem very unlikely to happen and unrealistic. An example of this is when we are first introduced to 'The Bride' who is instantly shot. The film then progresses to see that she is alive and has no physical changes, then as the film continues, we find that she was in hospital and, using a metal plating in her skull, has managed to recover completely from her life threatening injuries.  

Figure 6. Shooting scene

Illustrations:

Figure 1. (2003) Kill Bill Movie Poster. 
https://store.steampowered.com/app/426470/Kill_Bill_Volume_1/ 

Figure 2. (2003) Fight scene. https://www.fandor.com/films/kill_bill_volume_1

Figure 3. (2003) Flash back. https://sites.tufts.edu/karynnecinema/kill-bill-vol-1/

Figure 4. (2003) 'The Bride' fighting. https://www.amc.com/talk/2009/01/classic-ten-g-19

Figure 5. (2003) Bloody face. https://uproxx.com/filmdrunk/20-things-you-might-not-know-about-kill-bill-vol-1-2/

Figure 5. (2003) Shooting scene. http://niaswonderland.blogspot.com/2013/09/kill-brown-eyed-girls.html