the rumors of a ghost

Mise en Scéne in Pulp Fiction: Jackrabbit Slim’s Diner

Pulp Fiction is a classical example of postmodern film that forgoes special effects in favor of intriguing characters, unique settings and smart dialogue to achieve mainstream success. Quentin Tarantino uses myriad techniques to create his unique style, which conveys endless information about the characters, plot and ideology that is beyond what is found merely in the dialogue. His use of mise-en-scene, in the form of the setting, character behavior and costumes during the dinner and dancing scene at Jackrabbit Slim’ 50’s style diner, delineates the strange and uncertain situation that Vincent Vega is in; he must take out a notoriously ruthless gangsters wife out on what increasingly seems like a date. Tarantino uses dense set design and cutting during the Jackrabbit Slim’s scene in Pulp Fiction to develop Mia Wallace’s character, examine her relationship with Vincent Vega and to exemplify his postmodern style.

Just prior to the Jackrabbit Slim’s scene, Vincent Vega had been given the task of taking Marcellus Wallace’s wife out while he was out of town. When they arrive at the restaurant, the camera smoothly tilts up and the two are framed facing the camera in the classic 1950’s over-the-hood shot of a couple at a drive thru movie. This sets up the nature of the night from the very beginning as full of pop culture references and kitsch–a world that Mia seems to fit right into. As they walk up to the diner, it appears to glow from the inside through the use of high contrast lighting to give the sense that the two are entering a zone of wild entertainment. The inside of the diner is chock full of every imaginable 1950’s American icon, from Marilyn Monroe and the Rat Pack to 50’s movie posters and milkshakes. However, the use of low-key lighting at the entrance creates a high contrast, chiaroscuro feel making it hard to tell if Jackrabbit Slim’s is a wholesome family establishment or something sleazier. This mirrors Mia’s nature up until this point. The contrast between her white shirt and dark hair and eye makeup creates a film noir aesthetic, adding to Vincent and the audience’s uncertainty about her character.

Additionally, Jackrabbit Slim’s itself is exemplary of Tarantino’s postmodern style and aesthetic. Much like the plot of Pulp Fiction, which is disjointed and draws from many sources, the different waiters dressed as past celebrities and random memorabilia throughout creates a sense of disorientation of time and space. This is certainly true as Vincent Vega first walks through the restaurant, glancing from side to side and making a large circular loop trying to get to his table. This effect is achieved by dollying the camera behind Vincent and panning side to side fluidly as he walks through at the beginning of the scene, mimicking his woozy view.

By the time they sit down, the scene moves to a more neutral restaurant lighting but the paradoxical feel of sleazy-wholesomeness remains. There are multiple layers of depth within this scene, as activity continues out of focus behind the two as they talk. The entire restaurant remains alive in the background through the entire scene—surely no simple feat. Most of the scene consists of Tarantino style dialogue that develops the relationship between Mia and Vincent in the context of the restaurant. Early in the conversation, the two a shown in a shot/reverse shot manner using medium shots. At this point they hardly know each other and it is not until they begin to feel more comfortable together that the medium shots become medium close ups. By framing Mia and Vincent to take up more screen space, it creates a sense of closeness that the two are beginning to share. However, each time one of them says something that strikes a bad chord, the camera moves back out to medium shots. This constant back and forth from medium shots to medium close ups, such as when Vincent reveals that he believes that Marcellus threw Tony Rocky Horror out of a window because he massaged Mia’s feet, displays the uncertain nature of the two’s relationship.

This feeling is capitalized when Mia goes to the restroom to “powder her nose” with cocaine. The bathroom is a bland area with old washed out pink and green walls and several somewhat unsavory looking women applying makeup that reflect this shadier side of both Mia and the restaurant. In the mean time, Vincent observes men cat calling the Marilyn Monroe waitress as her skirt is blown up in classic style, an inept waiter and other darker sides of American culture in the 20th century (pinup girls, smoking and drinking). The detailed characters, costumes and bustling activity in Jackrabbit Slim’s all correspond to the yearning for excess (cocaine, eating, drinking, dancing) within Mia that nearly gets her killed later in the film and leave Vincent wondering.

Nonetheless, by the end of the scene, Vincent and Mia have clearly become friends as Mia demands they enter a dancing contest, which they do. On the stage, an Ed Sullivan impersonator stands with the Marilyn Monroe waitress to introduce the contest. They are aglow with toplighting that gives them a surreal straight-out-of-TV-history look that goes along with all of Jackrabbit Slim’s aesthetic. As Mia and Vincent dance the camera begins at a distant long shot of the entire stage, but as the dancing intensifies and the two become ever more involved in the moment and each other, the shot soon moves in to a medium and eventually medium close up with a handheld camera. The camera smoothly follows them around the stage, while the background is alive and dancing with them as the scene and music fades to black at the whirling culmination of their night out.

Certainly, the Jackrabbit Slim’s scene is crucial to understanding both Vincent Vega and Mia Wallace. While Vincent is placed into a treacherous situation in taking out a married woman, Mia wants to have fun and is shown to have many sides. The elements of mise-en-scene are selected to show the dual nature of Mia, the uneasiness spiked with intrigue of Vincent and the culture junkie view of America that permeates each Tarantino movie.