Blog 8 - Dr. Massie - Mass Communication

*this is a spoiler alert for those who have not seen Pulp Fiction*

Pulp Fiction is a movie one needs to keep up with. It holds the attention of the viewers by placing scenes of the movie out of order. The movie opens with the last scene. There is a couple discussing how they will rob a restaurant instead of a liquor store. After this scene, it cuts to Jewels and Vince who are retrieving the brief case. Next, shows Butch making a deal with Marcel (The Mob boss) where he will throw the boxing match; this is where Jewels and Vince drop the brief case off. The following scene is where Vince takes Marcel’s wife, Lia, out to dinner upon Marcel’s request. After dinner, Vince takes Lia home where she finds his heroin, snorts it, and overdoses. He rushes her to a friend’s house and saves her life. The next scene is Butch as a child. Here his father’s friend is giving him Butch’s father’s watch which is something extremely close to him. After this scene Butch wakes up, as an adult sweating, looking back on this event. Continuing, Butch does not throw the match. He goes to the hotel where his girlfriend is and asks for his watch. She does not have it so he freaks out and drives back to his apartment to find Vince, Marcel’s guy, there to kill him. Butch kill 

Vince and retrieves his watch. Next, Butch is driving back to his girlfriend; at a stop sign Marcel is walking by, see’s Butch, there is a big scene and Butch and Marcel end up in a shop where Marcel is raped and Butch ends up saving him. (I know weird scene, it is hard to explain). After this Marcel gives him a pass and tells him to leave LA and never come back. 

The movie jumps back to where Jewels and Vince are retrieving the mysterious brief case and kills the three kids who are watching it. They get there middle man and leave. In the car, Vince is talking to the middle man and accidently shoots him. Jewels gets mad and has to call his friend Jimmy to help clean up the mess. It takes some time but the mess is cleaned up and Vince and Jewels walk out in Jimmy’s clothes because theirs are covered in blood. The scene then goes back to the beginning scene that we see. Vince and Jewels are eating breakfast after the long crazy morning they have and the couple attempts the robbery, fails because of Jewels and Vince, and then they leave. This is the last scene.

Pulp Fiction is a great movie to watch. It is something that keeps you thinking throughout the movie. If I did not watch it with my friends I do not think I would have completely understood it right away. The annoying point about this movie is it never shows what is in this important brief case. I also like this part because it keeps the movie alive after.

I think if the plot was put in a traditional way it would lose its unique theme and identity really. I do not think it would be a popular movie if the scenes were not mixed up.

If I were to grade this movie on an A – F scale, I would give it a B+. It is a good movie but it is not something that I am usually interested in. I liked the story line to a certain point. I am not a fan of mobs and killing to be honest. I did enjoy the humor in the movie. There were a few time where I was laughing because of the stupid funny stuff the characters would say.

Overall Pulp Fiction was a decent movie and I would recommend it to others. I do not think I would add it to my movie collection, but I do believe it is a one-time movie watch.

The link provided here is a timeline of Pulp Fiction in chronological order and in its actual version side by side. It is something that helped me understand the movie.

Blog 6 - Dr. Massie - Mass Communication

For this blog I chose to watch, “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”. In the episode, The Gang Recycles Their Trash; there was plenty of product placement. The argument that will be made is what was placed on purpose and what was just there.

This episode is roughly twenty minutes long. In the very beginning the group is walking through a garbage dump. In the garbage dump there is a Staples and Sony box laying in the piles. I do not think either one was placed on purpose. I believe they was thrown there just to put the scene together. They did not pop out, but they were noticeable. Next (thirty-six seconds into the show), the group walks into the bar, where most of the scenes are, and to the left there is a Coors Light led light hanging on the wall behind the actors. Here, I believe that this could be product placement. The show could have used any other sign to display. Maybe Coors Light is a sponsor for the show. Forty-three seconds into the show there is another Coors Light logo. It is behind the bar as one of the taps. The other taps are not labeled. This is what brought me to believe that they are a sponsored item and this is why they are placed noticeably. One minute and seven seconds in, there is a Coors light bottle next to one of the characters chatting to the group. I believe this was placed because the logo is pointed out towards the camera which makes it noticeable.

Roughly two minutes in, the Eagles Stadium appears in the introduction. Since the show is in Philadelphia, this could or could not be considered product placement. I am going to lean towards that it is because they could have shot the intro anywhere else in Philadelphia. Next, some of the guys went to a car rental shop to try to get a vehicle so they can collect trash. At this rental place an Express, Chevy, and Lincoln were presented. I do not think these are considered product placement. I believe these vehicles were already in the lot where the scene was shot. If all the vehicles were one brand or one type, then I believe it would be considered product placement. The logos were not easily seen.

After the product placement that was mentioned already, there was a gap throughout the episode where no products were seen. Sixteen minutes into the episode a few more were noticeable. Behind the bar Bombe Sapphire, Jose Cuervo (margarita mix), and a Coors Light drainer were seen as the characters were having a conversation. Lastly, with roughly two minutes remaining, one of the characters is wearing a Diamond Cutter t-shirt. I believe this is product placement because all of the other characters are wearing plain shirts. It is tricky to wear a shirt that has a logo on it or that is not plain without it being considered product placement.

Throughout the whole episode, there was a fair amount of product placement, not too much, but enough. It seemed that the product placement is surrounding, and in, all of the bar scenes.