# Picking Nits with Pulp Fiction **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 23, 2010, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picking-nits-with-pulp-fiction/565192 "2010-12-23T17:10:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picking-nits-with-pulp-fiction/565192/21 "2010-12-24T06:46:11Z")
> [@DWMarch](#): > > As for what he would have said to her, I speculate that Jules is actually the one who introduced him to Bonnie in the first place. Bonnie as such knows exactly who Jules is. So Jimmy is going to say “Jules dropped by today… he needed our best linens. He gave us $5000 and he would appreciate it if we didn’t ask any questions.” She would raise an eyebrow and go on with life. I highly doubt it. Otherwise they wouldn’t have been freaking the fuck out to begin with. ---
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picking-nits-with-pulp-fiction/565192/22 "2010-12-24T06:55:10Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > The bigger inconsistency to me is that Jimmy, who is married to a black woman, would throw around the word nigger so much. Look, I’m the biggest critic of political correctness there is, but did the movie _really_ benefit from having Quentin Tarantino’s character uttering that word so much? The scenes with Jimmy were the weakest part of the movie. Maybe it shows that Jules respects Jimmy? Jules is a hitman, and he lets Jimmy get away with using the N-word, so it’s safe to assume that Jimmy is either just as dangerous as Jules, or he’s a really good friend of Jules. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picking-nits-with-pulp-fiction/565192/23 "2010-12-24T08:24:54Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](#): > > When The Wolf is giving Jules and Vincent their instructions on how they’ll be transporting the Marvinized car, he says to Vincent that he is to drive the Wolf’s Acura, and make sure that you keep up, cause I drive real fast. He also says something like “don’t do shit until I do it first”. While No Cops would be better than Cops, driving really fast in early morning traffic probably minimizes rather than increases the odds of being stopped, besides which I’m pretty sure Winston knows how to handle cops. A sober middle aged guy in a tux in the morning doesn’t really say “check under the quilts to see if the upholstery is covered in blood” so if he’s stopped he can probably talk his way out of anything but maybe a speeding ticket. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picking-nits-with-pulp-fiction/565192/24 "2010-12-24T08:30:43Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > The bigger inconsistency to me is that Jimmy, who is married to a black woman, would throw around the word nigger so much. Look, I’m the biggest critic of political correctness there is, but did the movie _really_ benefit from having Quentin Tarantino’s character uttering that word so much? The scenes with Jimmy were the weakest part of the movie. I’ve wondered if the reason they cast Bonnie (non-speaking and on-screen for about 5 seconds if that) with a black actress was to short-circuit the gratuitous racial slurs in that. I don’t think he mentions anywhere that she’s black so it did seem a bit non-sequitur. I loved the movie, but I think if Tarantino and Eric Stoltz had swapped roles it might have worked better. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picking-nits-with-pulp-fiction/565192/25 "2010-12-24T08:34:02Z")
His movies would be better if he swapped an orangutang with Tarantino. He can’t act. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picking-nits-with-pulp-fiction/565192/26 "2010-12-24T09:29:28Z")
When Vincent gets killed, he’s dressed in his black suit, but at this point in the movie he should have been wearing the shorts and tee shirt that Quentin gives him at his house. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picking-nits-with-pulp-fiction/565192/27 "2010-12-24T09:48:07Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > When Vincent gets killed, he’s dressed in his black suit, but at this point in the movie he should have been wearing the shorts and tee shirt that Quentin gives him at his house. He got changed after breakfast. That was easy. ---
**Author:** ![Wakinyan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wakinyan/32/352_2.png) [@Wakinyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wakinyan)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picking-nits-with-pulp-fiction/565192/28 "2010-12-24T10:13:18Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > The bigger inconsistency to me is that Jimmy, who is married to a black woman, would throw around the word nigger so much. Look, I’m the biggest critic of political correctness there is, but did the movie _really_ benefit from having Quentin Tarantino’s character uttering that word so much? The scenes with Jimmy were the weakest part of the movie. I agree, but I would take it one step further: Not the “weakest”, but the only “weak”, period. It is simply not entertaining, it adds nothing to the movie, and Tarantino’s makes a very tiresome character. ---
**Author:** ![Ichbin\_Dubist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/51bf81/32.png) [@Ichbin\_Dubist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ichbin_Dubist)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picking-nits-with-pulp-fiction/565192/29 "2010-12-24T13:31:15Z")
> [@DWMarch](#): > > I see two possibilities regarding Jimmy’s casual use of the N-word. Either Bonnie lets him get away with it or he was intentionally trying to offend Jules for putting him on the spot. A third possibility is that, for Tarantino, a white guy who casually talks like that is the ultimate in cool. ---
**Author:** ![Teufelblitz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@Teufelblitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teufelblitz)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picking-nits-with-pulp-fiction/565192/30 "2010-12-24T13:34:04Z")
I always thought that the holes already present in the apartment walls indicated that the obviously novice criminals they were busting in on didn’t know the difference between real ammo and blanks. I know nothing about guns, of course, and don’t remember what the kid was using, but that was always my thought on it. Blank. ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picking-nits-with-pulp-fiction/565192/31 "2010-12-24T14:25:40Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > I do love this movie, but it always bothers me when The Wolf has Jimmie get a bunch of sheets/linens/blankets to mop up and cover up the blood in the car. Jimmie says that some of it was a wedding present from Bonnie’s relatives. The Wolf gives Jimmie money to replace it all. > > The problem to me is that, if the whole point of what they’re doing is to head off The Bonnie Problem, get it all cleaned up and everyone out of there before Bonnie comes home so that she doesn’t divorce Jimmie, how do they think she’ll react when she finds her best linens gone, her wedding presents gone, and how will Jimmie explain their absence? No one who has addressed this point has gotten it right. _These are not the best linens nor a gift from their beloved relatives_. Possible the linens really were a wedding present- but not a cherished wedding present. Jimmy wants a big pay-off. He want to make it clear to The Wolf that he wants a BIG pay-off. But he’s not going to be tacky about it. He is going to gently prompt an offer of a big pay-off. The Wolf is a classy guy and, more importantly, he’s a _serious_ player. Jimmy knows to show respect in this situation, that showing respect to The Wolf will be rewarded with reciprocal respect. He knows that showing class will be met with reciprocal class. It would be way out of line to just say to Winston “Hey, man, I expect to get real _paid_.” So instead, he presents the linens- makes a show of his helpfulness- with a sentimental story of the value of the linens. He gets exactly the response he was going for. Winston _knows_ what Jimmy is getting at, but recognizes and appreciates Jimmy showing class and respect. Thus, he is generous in the compensation. Basically: “Respect. Respect for one’s elders shows character. Just because you _are_ a character doesn’t mean you _have_ character.” ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picking-nits-with-pulp-fiction/565192/32 "2010-12-24T15:24:17Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > I’m guessing adding the line may have been an afterthought. It was an homage to _The Flintstones_. > [@madmonk28](#): > > When Vincent gets killed, he’s dressed in his black suit, but at this point in the movie he should have been wearing the shorts and tee shirt that Quentin gives him at his house. No. Vincent, in t-shirt and shorts, arrives at the bar with the briefcase and has to wait while Marcellus is talking to Butch and giving him his payoff to throw the fight. That scene is in the morning. Butch’s fight is at night and he doesn’t go back to his apartment for the watch until the day after. Also, Vincent has his non-date with Mia after delivering the briefcase. When Marcellus finds that Butch has skipped out, and is starting to send people to look for him, Mia says something to Vincent like “I never thanked you for the other night.” A few days, at least, must have passed between Vincent getting the clothes from Jimmy and him getting killed at Butch’s apartment. ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picking-nits-with-pulp-fiction/565192/33 "2010-12-24T16:15:48Z")
> [@DWMarch](#): > > Another nit, although apparently it was intentional: When Honey Bunny gives her robbery speech in the diner she changes the order of her words around the second time we see it (from “every motherfucking last one of you!” to “every one of you motherfuckers!”). Almost every movie that has ‘bookend’ scenes, subtly changes the dialog. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picking-nits-with-pulp-fiction/565192/34 "2010-12-24T16:38:08Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > The bigger inconsistency to me is that Jimmy, who is married to a black woman, would throw around the word nigger so much. Look, I’m the biggest critic of political correctness there is, but did the movie _really_ benefit from having Quentin Tarantino’s character uttering that word so much? The scenes with Jimmy were the weakest part of the movie. IIRC, although it was 1994, the word didn’t have the extreme negative connotation that it has today. Many white rednecks would casually use the word in public when conversing with each other, and I’m sure gangster killers did the same thing. Unless it was directed in a harsh way TOWARDS a particular person, I don’t remember it being that big of a deal. The word wasn’t censored in movies on network or cable TV. They used to play Blazing Saddles, for example, with all of the racial jokes left in. On TV today, they censor them all. The first time I ever heard the phrase “THE N WORD” was during the OJ Simpson trial a year later. And I remember people laughing about that phrase, wondering why you just didn’t say the word. Plus, I thought the word in the movie showed Jimmie’s frustration. Let’s say an Irish guy brings a blood soaked car to your house with a dead body inside some morning when your wife will come home in an hour. I’ll probably call him a Mick fifteen times to get my point across that I’m upset with him, even if I am not prejudiced against Irish people. ---
**Author:** ![rolandgunslinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cdc98d/32.png) [@rolandgunslinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rolandgunslinger)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picking-nits-with-pulp-fiction/565192/35 "2010-12-24T20:15:40Z")
Jimmy is related to Marcellus by marriage (Bonnie’s Uncle). So I guess Jimmy thinks he can say anything he wants because Marcellus is Vincent and Jules boss. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picking-nits-with-pulp-fiction/565192/36 "2010-12-24T20:26:42Z")
> [@rolandgunslinger](#): > > Jimmy is related to Marcellus by marriage (Bonnie’s Uncle). Well, Winston does refer to “your uncle Marcellus” when talking to Jimmy, but I never figured he meant it literally. Jimmy is describing how the linens were a wedding gift from Aunt Ginny and Uncle Conrad. Winston says something like “Let me ask you this, your Uncle Conrad and Aunt Ginny, were they millionaires? Well, your Uncle Marcellus is a millionaire, and I’m sure that he would love for you to have a whole new bedroom set.” I figured it was just the Wolf’s rhetorical flourish to describe the money as a gift in return for Jimmy donating the linens to get them out of the jam. ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2010, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picking-nits-with-pulp-fiction/565192/37 "2010-12-25T06:46:07Z")
> [@bienville](#): > > No one who has addressed this point has gotten it right. > > _These are not the best linens nor a gift from their beloved relatives_. Possible the linens really were a wedding present- but not a cherished wedding present. > > Jimmy wants a big pay-off. He want to make it clear to The Wolf that he wants a BIG pay-off. But he’s not going to be tacky about it. He is going to gently prompt an offer of a big pay-off. > > The Wolf is a classy guy and, more importantly, he’s a _serious_ player. Jimmy knows to show respect in this situation, that showing respect to The Wolf will be rewarded with reciprocal respect. He knows that showing class will be met with reciprocal class. > > It would be way out of line to just say to Winston “Hey, man, I expect to get real _paid_.” > > So instead, he presents the linens- makes a show of his helpfulness- with a sentimental story of the value of the linens. He gets exactly the response he was going for. > > Winston _knows_ what Jimmy is getting at, but recognizes and appreciates Jimmy showing class and respect. Thus, he is generous in the compensation. > Basically: “Respect. Respect for one’s elders shows character. Just because you _are_ a character doesn’t mean you _have_ character.” I never looked at it this way but I really like this interpretation. I thought Jimmy was dumb enough to just grab the first linens he could find, only later realizing he’d just sacrificed the sentimental ones. Your idea makes more sense though. ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2010, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picking-nits-with-pulp-fiction/565192/38 "2010-12-25T12:07:31Z")
> [@DWMarch](#): > > I never looked at it this way but I really like this interpretation. As is the fashion in Cafe Society, I presented my interpretation as if it were indisputable fact- but that is how the scene read to me the very first time I saw it. Read it this way the next time you watch the scene. Since you kinda see my point in discussion, I think it will really click as you watch the scene unfold. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2010, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picking-nits-with-pulp-fiction/565192/39 "2010-12-25T22:31:31Z")
I love this movie, some random thoughts, The **most** unbelievable part of that scene is that Bonnie is a night shift nurse who buys shit coffee, please, what is she, mormon? Jules lame ass kissing about how good the coffee is shows that he knows he’s in deep, and has to put up with a lot from Jimmy. I can easily see that: replacing the linens with an exact duplicate, replacing them with a near duplicate and hoping it never comes up, inventing a story in which they got ruined, or ‘look at this, oak is nice, don’t ask’ are all much better positions to be in than having her walk in on bloody gansters with a dead body. I’m skeptical of the related by marriage proposal. Marcellus asks Jules if Bonnie’s going to freak out a little or a lot because ‘you know her, I don’t.’ ‘Oak is nice,’ and, ‘oh, you feel better now, motherfucker’ have both found their way into my personal vocabulary. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2010, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picking-nits-with-pulp-fiction/565192/40 "2010-12-26T06:30:28Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > His movies would be better if he swapped an orangutang with Tarantino. He can’t act. In fairness, how many movie roles _wouldn’t_ be better if acted by an orangutan? They’re just so damned adorable and funny. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picking-nits-with-pulp-fiction/565192.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picking-nits-with-pulp-fiction/565192.md?page=3)