Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Her Campus Hofstra or Her Campus Media.
Often lauded as one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, director Quentin Tarantino has received nominations for eight Academy Awards and has won two. Some of his most popular films include Pulp Fiction (1994), Inglourious Basterds (2009), and, his most recent release, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019), which was nominated for Best Picture at the 2020 Academy Awards. As a result, Tarantino has become a cult favorite among cinephiles and continues to receive praise for his work. However, are his films really that good? And more importantly, is Tarantino deserving of the consistent acclaim he receives?
Tarantino’s films are characterized by excessive, glorified violence. While this trope is certainly present in the work of other directors, Tarantino’s brand of violence is particularly appalling. Both male and female characters in his films are subject to violence, but the ways in which such violence is portrayed differs. As many of his movies are dark comedies, the abuse of women is often used as a punchline. For example, the plot of the western The Hateful Eight (2015) revolves mostly around the consistent torture and eventual murder by hanging (often brushed off as a joke) of Daisy Domergue (Jennifer Jason Leigh) by her captor John Ruth (Kurt Russell). Similarly, the plot of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is centered around the murder of actress Sharon Tate. One of the most famous scenes in Pulp Fiction involves Uma Thurman’s character being violently stabbed in the heart with a shot of adrenaline. The portrayal of violence against men in Tarantino’s films is vastly sympathetic and acknowledges the pain of the characters.
Tarantino’s seeming fixation on the degradation of women has caused many viewers, including myself, to feel that Tarantino’s films are rooted in misogyny.
Disturbingly, Tarantino’s sexism extends beyond the fictional realm of his films and into his behavior in real life. Recently, he has been accused of treating actresses in his movies poorly on set. He allegedly bullied Uma Thurman into driving an unsafe vehicle that resulted in a crash while filming Kill Bill (2003), while also choking her and spitting in her face. In an interview with Howard Stern from 2003, Tarantino defended director Roman Polanski’s inappropriate sexual relationship with a 13-year-old girl, saying that it was “not rape.” Additionally, Tarantino was very close with Harvey Weinstein, film producer and convicted sex offender, leading to suspicion that he may have been aware of Weinstein’s actions.
Ultimately, do Tarantino’s behavior as a human being, as well as his ideas as a film director, normalize abuse and violence against women? I would venture to say so, and that as a society, it is important for us to think critically about the art we consume and what values it endorses.
The next time you are scrolling through Netflix for a new movie to watch, consider choosing to view the work of a female director over that of men like Tarantino. Some of my favorite women directors are Greta Gerwig, Ava DuVernay, and Sofia Coppola, all of which have created films that empower and uplift female characters.