It’s Hard Being The Shepherd, by Tyler Smith

PULP FICTION (1994)
Directed by: Quentin Tarantino
Written by: Quentin Tarantino and Lawrence Bender
Starring: John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis

It’s frustrating writing about movies like Pulp Fiction, because everybody has an opinion on it, so why are they going to listen to what I have to say?

With Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, I can be confident that very few, if any, of the readers have seen it, so it frees me up. Hell, I can just make stuff up, if I wanted, and no one would be the wiser.

Not possible with this one, though.

Because everybody’s seen Pulp Fiction. It’s a milestone film. It changed the way modern films are made. Pop culture never seemed very cool, until Vincent and Jules started talking about quarter pounders and Arnold on “Green Acres.” Then, all of a sudden, you couldn’t watch a movie without the characters, regardless of the situation they’re in, discussing the most inane things in American culture.

The movie established Quentin Tarantino as one of the most talented- and perhaps one of the most important- filmmakers working today. His earlier film, Reservoir Dogs, had already developed a following, but Pulp Fiction made him into a celebrity (at least, as much of a celebrity as a director ever can be). He subsequently made Jackie Brown, a film that many view as boring, but I actually regard as his best work, but more on that in a moment. He followed that up, several years later, with the Kill Bill films, which were very popular and reestablished Tarantino as a powerhouse director.

But, back to Pulp Fiction.

It is a bit cliche to say that a film is about the choices we make. It’s such a vague answer, that it has sort of become the film review equivalent of “Because I’m the parent and I said so.” When you think about it, almost every film, in one way or another, is about the choices we make. I view it as the kind of film analysis that basically shows that the person talking doesn’t actually know what the movie is about. If ever you ask me about a movie, and I start talking about “the choices we make,” it’s probably best to assume that I haven’t a clue as to what the filmmaker was trying to do.

All that said, as reluctant as I am to say it, Pulp Fiction is a film about choices.

All the main characters are faced with such clear-cut, life-or-death, one-or-the-other options that it is a definite theme of the film. Jules has to make a choice about a change of career, as does Vincent. Butch has to choose between integrity or money. Each of these choices carries very dire consequences, as we see with the eventual result of Vincent’s career decision.

The film is also about redemption. However, Tarantino manages to intertwine this with the other theme, thus making a film in which redemption is a conscious choice that we have to make. Jules, for example, chooses to heed the word of God and give up his career as a hitman. Instead, he will “travel the world” and “get in adventures.”

Jules has a new lease on life, a better outlook. But, he soon realizes that redemption is not just a single decision, but a series of choices. It requires one to be actively involved in the choice. Near the end of the film, Jules is once again put in a position where he can kill somebody. In the past, this wouldn’t even be an issue; he would pull the trigger and that would be that.

Here, he chooses not to. And, we feel, this is not an easy choice. He is going against his instinct; an instinct that he has spent years developing. As he analyzes a Bible verse, previously his segue into killing someone, he comes to grips with who he is, and who he wants to be.

You’re the weak, and I am the tyranny of evil men. But, I’m trying, Ringo. I’m trying real hard to be the shepherd.

It’s a powerful scene, and features the best acting Samuel L. Jackson has ever done. This is the key scene of the film, and it speaks loud and clear.

If you want your life to change, then you’re going to have to be the one to change it. And, it’s not easy, but it will be worth it.

It’s a message that I, as a Christian, have had to learn over and over again. As we first accept Christ, we think (and hope) that we are instantly cured of our sinful impulses, and that everything is going to be great from now on. Much sooner than we would like, we find out we’re wrong, and that the decision to follow Jesus is a constant, active choice that we must make every minute, every hour, every day of our lives.

Sometimes it’s easier, sometimes it’s harder, but, in the end, it’s worth it.