Essay about Pulp Fiction - a Sociological Debate

Words: 1386
Pages: 6

Sociology 2XX

Critically anlayse a popular culture ‘text’ utlising relevant theories and debates

In sociological theory there are many concepts discussed that are utilized in the analyses of society and culture. Some of the main concepts are Postmodernism, Historical Materialism, Structuralism, Interpretive Sociology and Poststructuralism to name a few. These theories are relevant to the research of understanding certain or specific cultural texts. These concepts provide problems and solutions associated with some of the research approaches fore-mentioned. Analysing the main dimensions will be covered by discussing the appropriate concepts separately and by individually contrasting the classical and modern theories with Quentin
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Mills however acknowledges its pejorative sense in that they mobilized the term to describe a general slackening of commitment to the political ideals embodied in the notions of communism and socialism. It is generally agreed upon that postmodernism doesn’t have a single or straight forward definition. It is arguably more of an idea or concept rather than a definite term. As a result it has become easier to define the postmodernism concept through examples rather than a worded explanation. Postmodernist film attempts to subvert the mainstream conventions of narrative structure and characterization and attempts to destroy the audience's suspension of disbelief where the viewer has to ignore the reality that they are viewing a two-dimensional moving image on a screen and temporarily accept it as reality in order to be entertained. Typically, such films also break down the cultural divide between high and low art and often upend typical portrayals of gender, race, class, genre, and time with the goal of creating something different from traditional narrative expression. Pulp Fiction is a popular example of a postmodernist film. The film tells the interweaving stories of gangsters, a boxer, and robbers. The film breaks down chronological time and demonstrates a particular fascination with intertextuality: bringing in texts from both traditionally "high" and "low" spheres