A nonsensical narrative device, but everyone uses it except Tarantino

by Robert Scocchi
| Published 5 seconds ago

We all know that Quarter Pounder is called Royal Cheese in France for one very specific reason: Pulp Fiction It does not rely heavily on immediate speech. What is modern teleportation? This happens when characters in a movie or show start a conversation in one place and then end it in another without missing a beat.

Talking about teleportation is a necessary narrative device because without it there would be a lot of dead air. Nobody likes awkward silence. Well, yes, but my wife also thinks I’d better see someone about this.

Pulp Fiction has almost no immediacy

Traveling speech is used to convey an idea that begins in one place and ends in another. Crime procedurals on TV use a ridiculous amount of them to keep things going.

NCIS, Criminal MindsAnd both Law and order and Christian Solidarity International Use this device like tissue paper at a snot party. Just shoot any classic NCIS Episode and wait for the moment when Special Agent Jethro Gibbs and Field Agent Anthony DiNozzo realize they have a huge lead.

The scene transition usually goes something like this: “Hey, we have to go across town to meet this witness.” We then cut awkwardly to the two agents on the other side of town, one of whom says, “Yeah, I bet he’s our guy.”

What did they talk about during the car ride? Or were they just talking?

Maybe they can take a page from Pulp Fiction Playbook and actually have a conversation. I want to hear Agent DiNozzo arrogantly talk about why Burger King is called the Hungry Jack’s of Australia. Is it a licensing thing? Or perhaps this is just a clever rebranding in order not to appease the citizens of the constitutional monarchy. I need this kind of conversation every now and then because I refuse to believe that these characters are sitting in silence, stuck in a dead end, waiting for the line that continuity demands to be delivered to viewers at home.

Of course, not every show or movie can be relied upon Pulp Fiction Logic, that’s why we need to talk about teleportation in necessary view.

Talking about teleportation isn’t about bad art versus good art

It’s not just crime procedurals or bad TV shows that rely on instant talk; It’s everywhere. Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy contains countless examples of Batman (Christian Bale) and Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman) We move from the area to a random rooftop or alley, and I can’t help but wonder what kind of small talk we missed.

In 1995 heatRobert De Niro’s crew talks remotely between observers and cars. Chris (Val Kilmer) and Neil (De Niro) start talking about their latest score as they leave dinnerSeconds later, the same conversation continues in the car without acknowledging the time jump.

In bad movies, it’s even sillier. In 1999 Wild WestJim West (Will Smith) rides a solo horse alongside Artemus Gordon (Kevin Kline) and Rita Escobar (Salma Hayek), who travel by bus. They talk about meeting later and then separate, knowing that they will all meet later in the same place at the same time. They’re all moving at full speed, so if the camera zooms out, they’ll stay side by side for the entire duration of the flight, silently pretending that the conversation didn’t just happen.

It’s best to ignore this trope for the sake of continuity and sanity

Talk of teleportation, silly as it is, is a cinematic limitation we’ve learned to accept. But once you notice it, it’s hard to stop pointing it out and annoying everyone in the room.

I’m not saying that every movie or show needs to fill those quiet moments Pulp Fiction-Joking style, but when? Breaking bad walter white (Bryan Cranston) and Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) bicker before getting into the RV, then back a hundred miles later in the middle of the desert, and I can’t help but wonder: Did they stay silent the whole time, or did they spend the trip talking about the finer things in life?

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