"Revenge is a Dish Best Served Cold"

   "Revenge is a Dish Best Served Cold"

      The Hollywood film industry is stocked to the brim with vengeful movies full of war, drugs, violence, betrayal, and the ever-famous love affair gone wrong.  Every day, hoards of movie goers flock to see these films, which are soaked in action and violence.  When thinking of violent films that are hell bent on revenge and are coupled with the expected blood and gore scenes which supposedly provide entertainment, the top name that comes to mind would be the most influential director of the revenge genre, the King of Gore:  Quentin Tarantino.  Many praise his movies as being creative genius because they combine humor and violence as well as unique and influential style.  However, many critique the characters in his films because of the eerily unnatural way they kill with ease.

       Just the very mention of the famous Tarantino's name is enough to invoke a smile on the faces of some of society's more carnage-hungry men, while causing many a delicate soul's stomach to churn.  While not all of his movies are centered around revenge, people can be sure that as soon as the credits start to roll, they will be faced with some of the most violent scenes imaginable encased in a movie that sometimes lasts for three hours or more.  The three most popular revenge flicks of Tarantino's are Kill Bill (volumes 1 through 87...), Inglorious Basterds, and his most recent creation, Django Unchained.  The main purpose of all the main characters in these films is to kill the ones who have done them wrong without any remorse or qualms whatsoever.  Kill Bill is a story that surrounds an assassin, who is known to the audience as "The Bride," and her plot to kill her ex-lover in a vengeful escapade that started the day he attempted to murder her on her wedding day (Kill Bill vol. 2).  Viewers are well informed in the beginning of the movie that the story will be purely based upon revenge (as seen in the very first line: "Revenge is a dish best served cold").  

        Many critics rave about Tarantino's quirky style which combines humor, violence, and modern day settings with out-of-place elements and soundtracks, such as spaghetti western themed music and comic book scenes.  However, there are also those who criticize his works saying he has gone too far.  Film critics comment on Tarantino's overwhelming use of violence and the almost soullessness of his characters.  In his movie, Inglorious Basterds, (Inglorious Basterds) a band of Jewish U.S. military men, who are fueled by  revenge, go on missions to kill Nazi officers.  Many have seen this work as over the top and offensive because they believe it paints a bad picture the Jewish people (Tarantino Analysis).  Jeffery Goldberg, journalist of the Atlantic, says that oftentimes Quentin Tarantino's works take revenge to the next level where people enter into the realm of  inhumanity.  

        To counter Tarantino's main characters (who are often described as soulless, vicious killers), one can compare Inglorious Basterds to the unforgettably timeless play, Hamlet, by William Shakespeare.  The Jewish military men in Tarantino's films viciously scalp and mark their victims with swastikas with no feelings of remorse while having fun.  This characterization makes this band of men seem almost inhuman.  On the other hand, in Hamlet, Shakespeare manages to convey scenes of bloody violence while still relating to his audience.  In the play, Hamlet is seen in many cases to have inner conflicting thoughts about killing his uncle and avenging his father's death.  He is afraid to take action against the King and makes it known in one of the most famous soliloquies in all of literature.  Hamlet says, "Thus conscience does make cowards of us all; /And thus the native hue of resolution/, Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought" (3.1.84-81).  The fact that Hamlet is voices these inner conflicts allows the reader to relate to Hamlet and even justify his decisions.   This contrast between Hamlet, who is plagued with uncertainty about committing murder, and Tarantino's main characters who coldly kill without batting an eye.   
       The uncontrollably disturbing violent acts committed by the characters in the works created by Quentin Tarantino take away from any kind of thematic elements used in films and literature.  Tarantino's movies are based solely on violence, and oftentimes do not go into much more depth.  Unlike Shakespeare's Hamlet, where the human nature is explored in the form of revenge, Tarantino's characters just take part in violence and critiques and audiences alike are unable to pull out much in the form of morally deep themes.

Sources:

Goldberg, Jeffery. "Hollywood's Jewish Avenger." The Atlantic. N.p., Sept. 2009. Web. 14 Jan. 2013. 
<http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2009/09/hollywoods-jewish-avenger/307619/>.