Page 239 - A Handbook Genre Studies in Mass Media

CHAPTER 9

to assert himself enough to make it clear to Bruno that he is opposed to
the idea. Thus, while Guy admits to thinking about murdering his wife,
Bruno simply acts on this impulse. At the conclusion of the film, Bruno
is arrested for the murder of Guy’s wife—the conventional ending for
a murder mystery. This happy ending is based on the notion of a clear
separation of good and evil. With this restoration of order, it is inferred
that Guy will marry the senator’s daughter and perhaps run for office
himself someday. However, the issue of Guy’s moral complicity in the
crime is never resolved, which undermines the film’s formulaic “happy”
ending.
This duality of good and evil in humans is also found in more current
films such as Batman Begins (2005) and Star Wars: Episode III—Revenge
of the Sith (2005). Caryn James observes that “the conflicts [in these films]
are not simply about good guys and bad guys, or even good versus evil,
always the elements of broadly framed fantasies. With spiritual overtones,
and an emphasis on an eternal struggle between equally matched forces
of darkness and light.” 17
Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction (1994) presents a worldview in which
evil has become normalized. In the film, Vincent (John Travolta) and Jules
(Samuel L. Jackson) are likeable fellows who are just doing their jobs as
hit men. Early in the film, the two men sit in a car, having a conversation
about Vince’s experiences in Amsterdam. In a conversational style, Vince
discusses the “little differences” between living in the United States and
Holland. He notes that the McDonald’s Quarter Pounder with Cheese is
called “Cheese Royale” in Amsterdam, since the Dutch operate on the
metric system of measurement. The two men then begin gossiping about
a “co-worker” who had given the boss’ wife a foot massage and then
had been pushed out of a window. They enter an apartment and stop at a
doorway. Jules checks his watch; they are early. The two men then walk
down the hall and finish their conversation. They then return, enter the
apartment, and proceed to slaughter everyone inside. Thus, normalcy has
been redefined; everyone in the film is evil.

Genre and the Transmission of Cultural Myth

Cultural myths are stories that tell a culture about itself. These sets of
beliefs may or may not be true, but nevertheless reveal how inhabitants
of a country see themselves, as well as how they are seen by others.
Cultural myths play a fundamental role in an individual’s socialization

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