# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![sco3tt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@sco3tt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sco3tt)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-plot-nit-i-noticed-spoilers-i-guess/632809/61 "2012-08-28T18:26:07Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > It would be great to see the movie in correct chronological order, wonder if it would diminish it? > [@silenus](#): > > I’ve seen it - it does. The non-linear structure is part of what makes the movie so good. Chronological PF recuts must be a favorite project of budding film editors, as I’ve seen two of them (different, I assume) online. If you google “pulp fiction chronological arthursucks” you’ll find one that’s currently available for online viewing. I actually prefer the chronological narrative. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-plot-nit-i-noticed-spoilers-i-guess/632809/62 "2012-08-28T20:34:36Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > I think you meant Earl McGraw, not Earl Warren. Though that would be hilarious. You mean it wasn’t Earl Warren who said about Loving v. Virginia that “It would appear someone objected to this union and wasn’t able to hold their peace.” ---
**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 29, 2012, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-plot-nit-i-noticed-spoilers-i-guess/632809/63 "2012-08-29T02:46:28Z")
> [@sco3tt](#): > > Chronological PF recuts must be a favorite project of budding film editors, as I’ve seen two of them (different, I assume) online. If you google “pulp fiction chronological arthursucks” you’ll find one that’s currently available for online viewing. > > I actually prefer the chronological narrative. Yeah, that was good. It even started at the very very beginning, with the young Butch getting the watch from his father’s friend. I think the dialog is what makes PF so good. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-plot-nit-i-noticed-spoilers-i-guess/632809/64 "2012-08-29T02:53:08Z")
My theory is that everyone in the movie was a cop. There were boxing cops, hit man cops, gangster cops, strong arm robber cops, etc. ---
**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 29, 2012, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-plot-nit-i-noticed-spoilers-i-guess/632809/65 "2012-08-29T15:48:39Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > My theory is that everyone in the movie was a cop. There were boxing cops, hit man cops, gangster cops, strong arm robber cops, etc. I don’t understand. You mean undercover cops? That kill people? The paperwork must be hell. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-plot-nit-i-noticed-spoilers-i-guess/632809/66 "2012-08-29T15:56:17Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > I don’t understand. You mean undercover cops? That kill people? The paperwork must be hell. You ain’t kiddin’. I tells ya’, writing up a justification for ball gags that will get approved by the captain is not an easy thing. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-plot-nit-i-noticed-spoilers-i-guess/632809/67 "2012-08-29T16:19:37Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > You ain’t kiddin’. I tells ya’, writing up a justification for ball gags that will get approved by the captain is not an easy thing. You’re in my home. White people who know the difference between good shit and bad shit, this is the house they come to. Now, my shit, I’ll take the Pepsi challenge with that Amsterdam shit, any day of the fuckin’ week. ---
**Author:** ![Moe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moe/32/2972_2.png) [@Moe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moe)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2012, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-plot-nit-i-noticed-spoilers-i-guess/632809/68 "2012-09-01T23:47:29Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > Yeah, that was good. It even started at the very very beginning, with the young Butch getting the watch from his father’s friend. > > I think the dialog is what makes PF so good. Yeah, I saw it too, though it seems the link I watched has since been removed. At first I started watching it just for kicks, but I ended up watching the whole thing. It was actually very interesting to see it this way. The movie becomes about Butch (it opens with him as a young child getting the watch from Walken, and closes with the long sequence with Marcellus and eventually him leaving with his girl on the chopper), while J&V get reduced to minor characters we sorta meet along the way. It becomes very apparent (if it wasn’t already) just how purposeful and effective the non-linear structure is to the film. In the linear version, most of it completely lacks any sense of suspense or dramatic tension. Anyway, I have no problem accepting that in this universe the cops just don’t figure in to the on-screen action. But there are a few _character_ nits that seem to bother me more now than they did in the past. IIRC Vincent had just come back from a 3 year stay in Amsterdam, yes? This I just don’t buy. Living in a foreign country broadens your perspective in profound ways. But there’s nothing in his character that suggests this. The “royale with cheese” dialogue was brilliantly written and is a classic scene but I could buy that conversation from Vincent if it was a 3 week trip, not a 3 year one. Also does anyone else have trouble seeing Winston Wolf as a “lots of cream, lots of sugar” type of coffee drinker? That’s the way I drink my coffee. The Wolf takes it black. And I probably don’t even need to go into the flaws of QT’s character. In fact that whole scene is problematic. If the whole point of the Wolf going in was to deal with the “Bonny Situation” in such a way as to not arouse any suspicions that there was “gangsters doin’ gansta-shit”, how is Jimmy supposed to explain to his wife that the linens (or whatever it was) which were a special wedding gift from a family member disappeared but surprise! we got a whole new oak bedroom set??? … from, er… somebody who… ummm… really needed our linens. How could that be the Wolf’s brilliant solution? Anyway, still a masterpiece of a film and in my top 10. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2012, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-plot-nit-i-noticed-spoilers-i-guess/632809/69 "2012-09-02T01:01:58Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > My theory is that everyone in the movie was a cop. There were boxing cops, hit man cops, gangster cops, strong arm robber cops, etc. No real people? Just cops? ---
**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:** [September 2, 2012, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-plot-nit-i-noticed-spoilers-i-guess/632809/70 "2012-09-02T01:17:25Z")
> [@Moe](#): > > how is Jimmy supposed to explain to his wife that the linens (or whatever it was) which were a special wedding gift from a family member disappeared but surprise! we got a whole new oak bedroom set??? … from, er… somebody who… ummm… really needed our linens. How could that be the Wolf’s brilliant solution? I wish I could remember the brilliant Doper who came up with this theory. Basically his take on the scene was that there were no special sentimental linens. Jimmy’s story was just a very polite and tactful way of asking for a payoff for his part in this. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2012, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-plot-nit-i-noticed-spoilers-i-guess/632809/71 "2012-09-02T01:18:59Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > No real people? Just cops? Cops aren’t real people? ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2012, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-plot-nit-i-noticed-spoilers-i-guess/632809/72 "2012-09-02T02:38:27Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > No real people? Just cops? > [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Cops aren’t real people? pssst! It’s a line from _Reservoir Dogs_, another QT movie. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2012, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-plot-nit-i-noticed-spoilers-i-guess/632809/73 "2012-09-02T05:03:14Z")
> [@DWMarch](#): > > I wish I could remember the brilliant Doper who came up with this theory. Basically his take on the scene was that there were no special sentimental linens. Jimmy’s story was just a very polite and tactful way of asking for a payoff for his part in this. Hey, that serious gourmet shit coffee ain’t free. ---
**Author:** ![Sr\_Siete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@Sr\_Siete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sr_Siete)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2012, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-plot-nit-i-noticed-spoilers-i-guess/632809/74 "2012-09-02T08:41:54Z")
> [@Moe](#): > > IIRC Vincent had just come back from a 3 year stay in Amsterdam, yes? This I just don’t buy. Living in a foreign country broadens your perspective in profound ways. But there’s nothing in his character that suggests this. Well, it was Amsterdam, not a Tibetan monastery. It’s basically Portland with slightly more pot. > [@Moe](#): > > Also does anyone else have trouble seeing Winston Wolf as a “lots of cream, lots of sugar” type of coffee drinker? That’s the way I drink my coffee. The Wolf takes it black. I actually quite liked this. The Wolf is so sure of himself, he doesn’t feel the need to ask for a “tough guy” coffee. He could dress in a pink dress if he wanted to, and nobody would dare say anything. ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2012, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-plot-nit-i-noticed-spoilers-i-guess/632809/75 "2012-09-03T15:22:09Z")
> [@DWMarch](#): > > I wish I could remember the brilliant Doper who came up with this theory. Basically his take on the scene was that there were no special sentimental linens. Jimmy’s story was just a very polite and tactful way of asking for a payoff for his part in this. I’ve said it before, but not here. When the Wolf asks what kind of wood Jimmy likes, it’s his way of asking “how much for you to keep quiet?”. “Oaks nice.” Jimmy aims high and is not disappointed. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2012, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-plot-nit-i-noticed-spoilers-i-guess/632809/76 "2012-09-03T17:55:21Z")
> [@DWMarch](#): > > I wish I could remember the brilliant Doper who came up with this theory. Basically his take on the scene was that there were no special sentimental linens. Jimmy’s story was just a very polite and tactful way of asking for a payoff for his part in this. I didn’t realize it could be interpreted any other way. If his wife is the big hardass he says she is, a payoff after ruining linens would never cut it. So it figured that he was looking for a payoff and could handle his wife, ball buster or no… ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2012, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-plot-nit-i-noticed-spoilers-i-guess/632809/77 "2012-09-03T18:17:07Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > I didn’t realize it could be interpreted any other way. If his wife is the big hardass he says she is, a payoff after ruining linens would never cut it. So it figured that he was looking for a payoff and could handle his wife, ball buster or no… My take on that scene was that Jimmy was going to make up a reason for the linens to be missing. “I’m so sorry, honey, I spilled a big pot of coffee on them. And then they caught fire. Can you ever forgive me?” He spends a week in the doghouse, and then, “Honey, guess what? The other day I was at the mall and they had a raffle for a new bedroom set. Just for the hell of it, I entered… and we won!” Basically, like a con taking the fall for a job with the promise that when he gets out, he’ll have a nice reward waiting for him for keeping his mouth shut. Except instead of going to Joliet for two years, he’s sleeping on the couch of a couple of days. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2012, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-plot-nit-i-noticed-spoilers-i-guess/632809/78 "2012-09-03T19:24:01Z")
There is indeed quite the explanatory gulf between missing linens and dead nigger storage. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2012, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-plot-nit-i-noticed-spoilers-i-guess/632809/79 "2012-09-03T19:35:51Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > You’re in my home. White people who know the difference between good shit and bad shit, this is the house they come to. Now, my shit, I’ll take the Pepsi challenge with that Amsterdam shit, any day of the fuckin’ week. That’s a bold statement. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2012, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-plot-nit-i-noticed-spoilers-i-guess/632809/80 "2012-09-04T13:17:41Z")
So is there any connection between the QT universe and Killing Zoe? There really should be. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-plot-nit-i-noticed-spoilers-i-guess/632809.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulp-fiction-plot-nit-i-noticed-spoilers-i-guess/632809.md?page=5)