Rosanna Arquette Critiques Tarantino’s Language in Pulp Fiction
Rosanna Arquette, known for her roles in Pulp Fiction and Desperately Seeking Susan, has expressed strong disapproval of Quentin Tarantino’s use of the N-word in the 1994 film Pulp Fiction. Arquette described the language as “racist and creepy,” despite acknowledging the film’s significant impact.
Regarding her role in Pulp Fiction, where she portrayed the tattooed and pierced wife of Eric Stoltz’s character, a drug dealer, Arquette stated:
“It’s iconic, a great film on a lot of levels. But personally I am over the use of the N-word – I hate it. I cannot stand that [Tarantino] has been given a hall pass.”
She further emphasized her stance by saying:
“It’s not art, it’s just racist and creepy.”
Context of Language Use in Pulp Fiction and Tarantino’s Career
Pulp Fiction, which was released in 1994, earned Tarantino the prestigious Cannes Palme d’Or and the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. The film includes multiple instances of the N-word, notably used several times by the character Jimmie, played by Tarantino himself.
Tarantino has faced ongoing criticism for his frequent use of this term in his films. In 1997, director Spike Lee commented on Tarantino’s language choices, stating that Tarantino was “infatuated with that word,” and questioned, “What does he want to be made – an honorary black man?”
In response, Samuel L. Jackson, who starred in both Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown, defended Tarantino during a press conference at the Berlin Film Festival:
“It’s not offensive in the context of this film … [Jackie Brown] is a pretty good black film, I don’t think Spike’s made one of those in a few years.”
Following the release of Tarantino’s 2012 period thriller Django Unchained, which starred Jamie Foxx, criticism intensified. A notable critique stated:
“American Slavery Was Not A Sergio Leone Spaghetti Western. It Was A Holocaust.”
However, Antoine Fuqua, director of Training Day, defended Tarantino by saying he did not believe the filmmaker had “a racist bone in his body.”
Arquette’s Reflections on Tarantino and Personal Experiences
In a 2015 interview with Bret Easton Ellis for the New York Times, Arquette reflected on the negative reception she received for her views on Tarantino’s work:
“In a lot of the more ugly pieces, my motives were really brought to bear in the most negative way. It’s like I’m some supervillain coming up with this stuff.”
In the same interview, Arquette also revealed her experience with Harvey Weinstein’s sexual advances in the early 1990s, which she rejected. She believes this refusal adversely affected her career:
“I was fortunate because I was not raped. But, boy, was it going there and I paid a price for saying no.”
Arquette was among the first to speak out in the exposés published by the New York Times and the New Yorker, stating:
“Later I paid a price for telling the truth.”
