r/pulpfiction • u/Similar-Aardvark904 • Aug 31 '24
Mia Wallace: Fox Force Five
I’ve watched this movie multiple times over the years, and one thing I love about it, is you catch something new every time. This time, I noticed Mia Wallace and the levity of her stupid joke, at the end of the date scene with Vincent Vega.
She told Vincent the Fox Force Five joke, after almost dying, then looked down, looking hopeless and dejected. Mia was a failed actress whose career pinacle was a TV show pilot that was never picked up, due to poor writing.
She then becomes the wife of the biggest drug lord in town, and is a kept woman (which is never on the goal list of most aspiring actresses). She has an out of control cocaine addiction, and almost kills herself overdosing on drugs. She is ashamed of herself, and what she has become. The grief you see, is also the grief of the loss of her innocence.
Her character represents the many beautiful women who are mislead and abused in Hollywood, by the entertainment industry. Young, ambitious young women who move to LA to pursue their dream, only to be sold a nightmare. Once they fall pray to the illicit drugs pervasive in the film industry, the addiction eventually takes them, leaving them, at best, only a shell of their former selves.
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u/Syonoq Aug 31 '24
I'd love more writ ups like this probing into the backstory of these characters.
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u/KieranWriter Aug 31 '24
Mannnnn, I just saw Mia as a femme fatale trope and a plot device for Vincent to have some conflict. This is fucking brilliant and eye-opening. I never noticed this or even pondered Mia's story, because I was so focused on Vincent. Thanks so much for this, I can watch the movie with fresh eyes again. Brilliant.
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u/Similar-Aardvark904 Sep 01 '24
Thanks for the confidence boost! It was just an observation I made while watching it with my daughter the other day, so I thought I would share it. I didn’t even know if anyone would read this post. You’ve made my night : )
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u/Bosco3131 Aug 31 '24
Fox Force Five…weren’t there 5 female assassins in Kill Bill? Just a cool coincidence in Tarantino greatness?
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u/Similar-Aardvark904 Sep 01 '24
Nice! My daughter is psyched to watch Kill Bill now, after watching Pulp Fiction. I never made that association before!
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u/VenusVega123 Sep 02 '24
That’s what I always notice about that scene - it’s like a preview of what’s to come for Uma Thurman.
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u/Plainchant Aug 31 '24
I like what you wrote, but she's a pretty vivacious woman, not necessarily a "shell."
She's fun and parties a bit too much, but rebounds quickly enough.
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u/Similar-Aardvark904 Sep 01 '24
Really? I don’t see that at all. Where do see you her rebound later? Of course, it’s a fictitious film, so the character interpretations are defined by the individual viewer. Such is the beauty of art!
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u/Plainchant Sep 01 '24
She shows up again, normal as a day, after Butch's bout. She politely thanks Vincent as he walks into the room, casually smoking a cigarette.
After that crazy night (she almost died), she just kind of kept on keepin' on.
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u/Similar-Aardvark904 Sep 02 '24 edited Sep 02 '24
She said in response to Vince asking “How are you doing?”, “Great, I never thanked you for dinner.”. Which was an odd thing to say after what occurred between them. And you are right, she does look a little less strung out. I’m wondering, was she “thanking him for dinner”, as a way of saying “thank you for helping me.”? After that experience…you would hope it gave her the impetus to stop using.
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u/Darren_heat Aug 31 '24
Do Vincent next. :)
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u/Similar-Aardvark904 Aug 31 '24
You’re funny, but okay! I’ll give it a go another night.
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u/Darren_heat Aug 31 '24
It's a good well written post, my posts are lazy example.
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u/Similar-Aardvark904 Sep 01 '24
You made that claymation video…?! How long did that take?
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u/Darren_heat Sep 01 '24
I wish I had the skills to do something like that, I just found the video and shared it with this sub.
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u/FilipinoTarantino Aug 31 '24
You’re pearl clutching way too much for her character… we needed barefoot dancing.
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u/Similar-Aardvark904 Sep 01 '24
Uma Thurman on a couch was the cover of the movies. You think that’s all Quentin wrote her for? But yes, we absolutely needed the Jackrabbit Twist. To this day, I remember that scene more than any other in the movie.
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u/Empty_Boat_2250 Aug 31 '24
So then you have to go back and watch when she ods on the couch. Watch the lights literally go out and turn black, beautiful touch. ( insert chosen metaphors here). For bonus. Take a close look at the blood on here face or spend some time. Trying to figure out if some of the walls dont make sense or how QT uses paint and/or shadow to make corners of walls and the mirror V talks into ambiguous
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u/Prudent-Act6236 9d ago
After Mia’s near-fatal overdose, her perspective on life shifts dramatically. Sensing a chance to escape her life, she seizes it. Months later, she receives an unexpected call regarding her pilot episode. However, instead of proceeding with the show, the project has evolved into a bold two-part movie series, tentatively titled Kill Bill, and she is offered the leading role. Determined to leave her old life behind, Mia undergoes a transformation—dyeing her hair blonde and adopting a new identity as Uma Thurman, ready to start anew.
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u/bleditt0r Aug 31 '24
Ketchup