# Forget Pulp Fiction! I wanna know what was in the case in RONIN! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 12, 2000, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forget-pulp-fiction-i-wanna-know-what-was-in-the-case-in-ronin/25356 "2000-07-12T21:05:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MagicalSilverKey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@MagicalSilverKey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MagicalSilverKey)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2000, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forget-pulp-fiction-i-wanna-know-what-was-in-the-case-in-ronin/25356/1 "2000-07-12T21:05:29Z")
So, what was inside? My WAGS are: [li]nuclear fuel for a bomb[/li][li]the infamous US Presidential “football” that has the big red button for nuking the world[/li]I have no idea! arrgh ---
**Author:** ![pldennison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9fc29f/32.png) [@pldennison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pldennison)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2000, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forget-pulp-fiction-i-wanna-know-what-was-in-the-case-in-ronin/25356/2 "2000-07-12T21:11:44Z")
I’m pretty sure it was the case from “Pulp Fiction.” Think about it. ---
**Author:** ![MagicalSilverKey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@MagicalSilverKey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MagicalSilverKey)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2000, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forget-pulp-fiction-i-wanna-know-what-was-in-the-case-in-ronin/25356/3 "2000-07-12T21:24:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by pldennison \* > \*\*I’m pretty sure it was the case from “Pulp Fiction.” > > Think about it. \*\* LOL 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2000, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forget-pulp-fiction-i-wanna-know-what-was-in-the-case-in-ronin/25356/4 "2000-07-12T21:26:19Z")
That was the first movie I ever fell asleep during. Was it any good? My roommate hated it. I had had a tough week teaching, and just couldn’t stay awake. Fill in a fellow…person… ---
**Author:** ![MagicalSilverKey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@MagicalSilverKey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MagicalSilverKey)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2000, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forget-pulp-fiction-i-wanna-know-what-was-in-the-case-in-ronin/25356/5 "2000-07-12T21:30:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Connor \* > \*\*That was the first movie I ever fell asleep during. Was it any good? My roommate hated it. I had had a tough week teaching, and just couldn’t stay awake. > > Fill in a fellow…person… \*\* Was it any good? Hell yes, but is best seen on the big screen during the car chase. That was the best damn car chase scene to come out of Hollywood in probably 20-30 years IMHO ! ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2000, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forget-pulp-fiction-i-wanna-know-what-was-in-the-case-in-ronin/25356/6 "2000-07-12T21:55:26Z")
Doesn’t matter what’s in the case. It’s just a McGuffin. As defined in the [Jabootu Glossary](http://www.jabootu.com/glossary.htm): > [@](#): > > McGuffin (n): (Coined by Alfred Hitchcock) A McGuffin (also MacGuffin or Maguffin) is a term for whatever generic whatsis is driving the plot of an action or suspense picture. EXAMPLE: In the espionage flick Ronin, the characters are chasing a briefcase. We never learn the what’s in it, but its existence drives the film. For a more concrete example, the mystical Ark of the Covenant is the McGuffin in Raiders of the Lost Ark. ---
**Author:** ![mazirian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@mazirian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mazirian)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2000, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forget-pulp-fiction-i-wanna-know-what-was-in-the-case-in-ronin/25356/7 "2000-07-12T21:56:27Z")
The next Harry Potter… ---
**Author:** ![SisterCoyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@SisterCoyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SisterCoyote)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2000, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forget-pulp-fiction-i-wanna-know-what-was-in-the-case-in-ronin/25356/8 "2000-07-12T22:11:16Z")
so I don’t have my references to hand, but it seems to me that the Ark in Raiders **couldn’t** be a Maguffin, since it was a known item. IIRC, Maguffins are never revealed, because they don’t really matter to the plot, except to give the characters something to desire, and therefore a reason to do something. The briefcase (both in Pulp Fiction and in Ronin) isn’t a Maguffin, by that definition, but the **contents** are. Fun with plot devices. oh, and maz - ROFL