# Pulp Fiction - plot nit I noticed (spoilers, I guess) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 27, 2012, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-plot-nit-i-noticed-spoilers-i-guess/632809 "2012-08-27T12:47:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-plot-nit-i-noticed-spoilers-i-guess/632809/1 "2012-08-27T12:47:06Z")
Watched it for the first time in years with my son. So Bruce Willis’s Butch is driving away from recovering his father’s watch. At a stop sign he sees Marcellus Wallace crossing the street - and M also sees him and starts to walk up to Butch’s car, since Marcellus wants Butch dead for reasons I won’t go into here. Butch rams Marcellus and tries to drive away, but gets hit himself. Marcellus pulls a big gun and tries to shoot Butch even though he (Marcellus) is woozy (didn’t realize Kathy Griffin was one of the citizens trying to help him until now). He hits a civilian, then follows Butch into a pawn shop. From there, without going into a lot of details, both Butch and Marcellus are roped up and at the mercy of Zed, the pawn shop guy and The Gimp - for a while anyway 😉 Here’s my point: There was a hit and run, then that car (Butch’s) got hit and then a random shooting of a civilian. Butch and Marcellus don’t go far - they end up in the pawn shop which is right there. So where are the cops? wouldn’t they come into the pawn shop after other citizens pointed out that the two guys with blood all over them ran in there? If I missed some throwaway line where Zed’s security guard character mentions that he got rid of the cops or something, okay, maybe. Overall a great movie for a lot of reasons - that hole just jumped out at me this time… ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-plot-nit-i-noticed-spoilers-i-guess/632809/2 "2012-08-27T12:53:21Z")
There are no police in _Pulp Fiction_. They would have been all over the place for a number of reasons yet never are seen, only mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![Pitchmeister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pitchmeister/32/3459_2.png) [@Pitchmeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pitchmeister)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-plot-nit-i-noticed-spoilers-i-guess/632809/3 "2012-08-27T12:55:01Z")
I don’t think the plot has to make sense on every level - it’s an hommage to trashy paperback novels, after all. What is the Wolf doing at a black tie cocktail party at eight in the morning? Why aren’t Jules and Vincent concerned about neighbors hearing the gunshots in a populated apartment building? It’s just one of those things you’re not supposed to think about too hard, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![oft\_wears\_hats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7993a0/32.png) [@oft\_wears\_hats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oft_wears_hats)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-plot-nit-i-noticed-spoilers-i-guess/632809/4 "2012-08-27T13:02:41Z")
You’re right that it appears to be a plot hole, but judging by the rest of the movie, I’m not sure cops truly exist in this alternate version of LA. Sure, they’re mentioned, but there’s several scenes where you’d expect some sign of police intervention, and it never comes. ---
**Author:** ![Coustralee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Coustralee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coustralee)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-plot-nit-i-noticed-spoilers-i-guess/632809/5 "2012-08-27T13:38:02Z")
I couldn’t make any sense of it. I think im the only person who doesnt like this movie. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-plot-nit-i-noticed-spoilers-i-guess/632809/6 "2012-08-27T14:18:47Z")
Of all the possible nits in that movie, that’s the one that has at least some possible explanation. Wasn’t the partner rapist a cop? Maybe he called in and told the dispatchers that he had the situation under control. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-plot-nit-i-noticed-spoilers-i-guess/632809/7 "2012-08-27T14:36:44Z")
I think Zed is a security guard. His uniform isn’t LAPD. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-plot-nit-i-noticed-spoilers-i-guess/632809/8 "2012-08-27T14:40:18Z")
And where can you get a decent milkshake for only five dollars? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-plot-nit-i-noticed-spoilers-i-guess/632809/9 "2012-08-27T14:46:52Z")
Steak 'N Shake - $2.99 to $3.49. ---
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-plot-nit-i-noticed-spoilers-i-guess/632809/10 "2012-08-27T14:53:45Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > And where can you get a decent milkshake for only five dollars? The early to mid 1990s. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-plot-nit-i-noticed-spoilers-i-guess/632809/11 "2012-08-27T15:08:46Z")
> [@Coustralee](#): > > I couldn’t make any sense of it. I think im the only person who doesnt like this movie. You’re not the only one. I didn’t see this movie until several years after it came out, and I found myself very underwhelmed by it. The violence, which was considered “edgy” at the time, is really the only thing Pulp Fiction had going for it. Good writing has never been Quentin Tarantino’s strong suit 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-plot-nit-i-noticed-spoilers-i-guess/632809/12 "2012-08-27T15:13:07Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > I think Zed is a security guard. His uniform isn’t LAPD. Got it. Thanks. For the most part, I only watch movies (or anything) once so I do miss some things. All this time, I thought Zed was the shop owner. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-plot-nit-i-noticed-spoilers-i-guess/632809/13 "2012-08-27T15:13:50Z")
Zed’s dead, baby. Zed’s dead. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-plot-nit-i-noticed-spoilers-i-guess/632809/14 "2012-08-27T15:24:44Z")
One would think the cops would have shown up during the restaurant robbery too, yet Vincent and Jules waltz out of the restaurant, guns tucked in their waste bands, as if they owned the streets. I never understood how the part about Vincent getting wasted on the crapper fit in. It seems that occurred in the time line before the end of the movie, which I take to be them leaving the restaurant. Yet Vincent had recovered by then. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-plot-nit-i-noticed-spoilers-i-guess/632809/15 "2012-08-27T15:29:25Z")
Maybe in the confusion they both got into the pawn shop without anyone noticing, or maybe the witnesses just didn’t want to get involved. But a lot of police should have arrived a while after the crash and shooting. Really in action movies police involvement is usually minimal, incompetent, or at least very late. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-plot-nit-i-noticed-spoilers-i-guess/632809/16 "2012-08-27T15:40:36Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > I never understood how the part about Vincent getting wasted on the crapper fit in. It seems that occurred in the time line before the end of the movie, which I take to be them leaving the restaurant. Yet Vincent had recovered by then. The scenes in the movie are not in sequential time order. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-plot-nit-i-noticed-spoilers-i-guess/632809/17 "2012-08-27T15:46:44Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > I never understood how the part about Vincent getting wasted on the crapper fit in. It seems that occurred in the time line before the end of the movie, which I take to be them leaving the restaurant. Yet Vincent had recovered by then. A few points: - Yes, I guess that “assume there are no cops in this pulpy story” is probably the best way to go - As stated earlier, Zed is wearing a Security Guard uniform, not a cop’s. - \*\*Diceman \*\*- I would beg to differ about Tarantino - in general, his writing is considered, by far, to be his strongest appeal. He takes builds off genre film writing and “looks” - and his writing makes the difference. The fact that Jules and Vincent were having Seinfeldian discussions about Royale’s with Cheese and the sexiness of foot massages are what made PF so well-received… - \*\*Morganstern \*\*- Vincent didn’t recover; he died. Tarantino wasn’t sure how to drop in the 3rd piece - the return to the diner robbery - given how the first two pieces worked together. He ultimately decided to just put it at the end and allow time to wrap around. So Jules and Vincent walked out, with Jules apparently giving up the life, and Vincent getting into a new suit and going on a new job for Marcellus, which turned out to be casing Butch’s apartment… ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-plot-nit-i-noticed-spoilers-i-guess/632809/18 "2012-08-27T15:50:33Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > The scenes in the movie are not in sequential time order. Aaargh! :smack: Now it all makes sense. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-plot-nit-i-noticed-spoilers-i-guess/632809/19 "2012-08-27T15:55:06Z")
I saw a theory online somewhere that suggested that since Pulp Fiction takes place in the same timeline as “Inglourious Basterds” (apparently there is a character that is implied to be the father of another character, I forget who), the world of the movie is a more vicious, less law abiding place which also explains why Vincent and Jules have no problems arming themselves on the street in broad daylight in the beginning of the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-plot-nit-i-noticed-spoilers-i-guess/632809/20 "2012-08-27T16:17:35Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > I saw a theory online somewhere that suggested that since Pulp Fiction takes place in the same timeline as “Inglourious Basterds” (apparently there is a character that is implied to be the father of another character, I forget who), the world of the movie is a more vicious, less law abiding place which also explains why Vincent and Jules have no problems arming themselves on the street in broad daylight in the beginning of the movie. [Cracked.com](http://Cracked.com) had an article about it recently. You might have read it elsewhere though since Cracked usually takes other people’s ideas and wraps them in a layer of jokes. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-plot-nit-i-noticed-spoilers-i-guess/632809.md?page=2)