“What if I’m in the movie?”: A reflexive analysis of Quentin Tarantino’s works from kill bill to once upon a time… In hollywood

• Main Author: Evangelista, Tyrone Renzo S.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2022
• Subjects: Motion pictures—Analysis; Quentin Tarantino; Film and Media Studies
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etdm_comm/6; https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1006&context=etdm_comm
• Institution: De La Salle University

Reflexivity has been one of the tenets in postmodern filmmaking, particularly in the realm of metacinema. Perhaps no director has been more cited as a postmodern auteur than Quentin Tarantino, whose career has earned countless awards, garnering critical and commercial acclaim. Through a qualitative textual analysis utilizing a modified version of the reflexive taxonomy of Fernando Canet (2014), this study presents a new dimension to the authorial oeuvre of Tarantino and “tarantinoesque” cinema, by identifying and examining the instances of reflexivity in his films from Kill Bill (2003) to Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood (2019). By highlighting these correlates, this research contributes to the debates on metacinema and reflexivity by positing the possibility of essayistic reflexivity, a concept that sees the filmmaker using his own directorial career and body of work as texts to refer to, which is exemplified in the majority of Tarantino’s filmography. The results of this study were translated into a 30-minute documentary on Quentin Tarantino and metacinema, which highlighted his authorship, reflexivity, and his contribution to the field of film.