Don’t buy Quentin Tarantino’s new book.
I recently heard on the radio that Quentin Tarantino has a new book coming out. In the next sentence they said he now has a wife and a newborn son. My guess is that this was shared to redeem his reputation after the terrible things he’s said and done. It’s like when Steelers’ quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was accused of rape. To revamp his image he found Jesus, got a wife, and a baby. It’s the concept of a “family man” being a “good man.” I’m not falling for this cockamamie bullshit.
Honestly, I admit that I liked some of Quentin Tarantino’s movies. Kill Bill, Pulp Fiction, and Inglourious Basterds have all been favorites of mine. But there was always something a little off. Knowing what I know now, I can’t watch them anymore.
Quentin Tarantino likes to choke women. But it’s for artistic reasons. He insisted on choking and spitting on Uma Thurman in Kill Bill himself. In making that movie he also pushed her to do a scene where she drives faster than she wanted to. She was uncomfortable with it, but he convinced her to do it. She crashed and went to the hospital. But hey, he regrets it so why crucify the man? He also insisted on choking Diane Kruger with his own hands in Inglourious Basterds because…well…y’know. You can’t get those bulging eyes unless she’s actually, physically asphyxiating. But no one questioned him because…y’know…no one wants to be the one who spoils the artistic vision of the delicate genius. But he got their permission first. I could go on about that statement but I’ll just leave it at this: consider the power dynamic.
Quentin Tarantino likes the “N” word. He seems to cast himself in his movies for the sole purpose of being able to say it. Nothing wrong with that if it’s done tastefully and helps maintain artistic integrity. In Quentin’s world, you can do pretty much anything you want if you can justify it. Don’t question the work of the gifted artist — even if his methods are fucked up. The ends justify the means.
There’s this social etiquette in Hollywood; a denial I’ve heard in the phrase, “Separate the artist from his art.” And let me be clear on my choice of the artist’s gender in that statement. Hollywood is just a bloated bubble where powerful and wealthy people have had control over the stories that are most dominant in America. Storytelling is all about making sense of the world around you. In this way it reflects the collective sewage that is American society — a caste system based on race, sex, assimilation, and privilege.
To be fair, Tarantino doesn’t compare to Harvey Weinstein or Woody Allen. But it’s people like him that help create a culture where predators not only survive but thrive. People like Quentin Tarantino are apologists who normalize criminals because they love them. Whether they have been good friends or father-figures, these patriarchal and racial structures have been sustained because of unhealthy relationships involving power, money, and influence.
Still on the fence about Quentin Tarantino? Back in 2003 he defended Roman Polanski. If you forgot about that guy or are not familiar, he’s a pedophile who moved to France to escape prison in America. See, he was convicted in America for drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl. He defended himself saying, “Everyone wants to fuck young girls!” People still came out to defend him. What a brilliant director! Creator of The Pianist, Rosemary’s Baby, and Chinatown. (Come to think of it — it makes sense he did Rosemary’s Baby — that movie is fucked up.) But he’s European! Their culture is different! They’re not a bunch of prudes like Americans; they’re more free sexually and artistically. We should be able to separate the artist from his art!
Yes. They did.
Anyway, in 2003 on the Howard Stern show, Tarantino was asked about his previous statements about Roman Polanski. The following is from an article from Time:
Tarantino doubled down on his defense of Polanski when further questioned by Stern and co-host Robin Quivers.
Tarantino: He was guilty of having sex with a minor.
Quivers: That she didn’t want to have.
Tarantino: No, that was not the case at all. She wanted to have it and dated the guy and —
Quivers: She was 13!
Tarantino: And by the way, we’re talking about America’s morals, not talking about the morals in Europe and everything.
Stern: Wait a minute. If you have sex with a 13-year-old girl and you’re a grown man, you know that that’s wrong.
Quivers: Giving her booze and pills…
Tarantino: Look, she was down with this.
Still think Quentin should get a second chance? Here’s a quote from the New York Times in 2017 about the allegations of sexual misconduct regarding his “father-figure” Harvey Weinstein:
“I chalked it up to a ’50s-’60s era image of a boss chasing a secretary around the desk,” he said. “As if that’s O.K. That’s the egg on my face right now.”
Wow. So, chasing an employee around the office for a bit of grab-and-squeeze is ok? But wait, he acknowledges that it’s not ok. But wait, it only matters because he is the one suffering from making that statement?
Seriously!?
And what’s up with Once Upon a Time in Hollywood? That movie is garbage. It’s obviously Tarantino’s vision of a “better time,” when men could be men. Men didn’t have to worry so much about what they said or did to women. This was a place where you could choke a bitch and call it art. Film it, then jerk off in the closet later.
I’d like to say that Quentin Tarantino should go fuck himself or that he can suck my left one. But he’d probably enjoy that. He’d scurry off to the closet to write his latest, greatest screenplay that the real Hollywood will love. I can see the story: a gruff, weathered middle-aged man (played by Brad Pitt) who’s seen better days — life has not been kind to him — a man who has made some mistakes, but what man hasn’t? A man who has given up on big dreams and is just looking for a little peace and quiet. Oh wait. That’s the basic plot of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
I think the best way to punish Quentin Tarantino is to ignore him. Shun him. Like when a little kid is misbehaving for attention, you don’t give it to him. But he’s got a book coming out. He’s got a new wife and baby. Talk about a redemption story.
In a world without the powerful influence of Quentin Tarantino, we would be losing exciting action scenes and great revenge stories with memorable and quotable dialogue. We would also be losing a lot of scenes of women being abused. This would make more room for other writers — people whose stories haven’t been heard. New storytelling to reflect the growth of diversity and new perspectives; not just a deterioration of concepts like Whiteness and machismo.
But I’ll still watch John Wick. I do love a story about a man getting revenge because some punk kid killed his dog. Quentin Tarantino didn’t direct it, so I know the puppy’s head wasn’t actually, physically snapped to get that realistic gut-wrenching sense of the cracking of its spinal cord. Maybe there should be a story about John Wick kicking Quentin Tarantino’s ass. Eh, never mind. I’ve wasted enough time thinking about him. Moving on.
