Natural Born Killers

How Quentin Tarantino and Oliver Stone use technical aspects of filmmaking to create and disseminate meaning in the film “Natural Born Killers”.

“Natural Born Killers is an overblown and fantastically creative commentary on violence and the complicity of the media and the public”. This is how the film critic Brian Webster described one of the most contraversual films of the 1990’s. In this essay I will be looking at how and why Quentin Tarantino (who wrote the film) and Oliver stone the director have used film to show that the media can promote, cause violence in the public.

Id like to begin by saying that “Natural Born Killers” is not a film without a sense of contradiction. The director and writer both claim they have created a film that shows how badly the media can manipulate our minds into causing acts of violence. However the film itself as media is quite ironic in the fact it also creates the potential for being a cause of violence. But i suppose with this sort of film contradiction cannot be a avoided. The film is primerally seen as part of the “art” genre, due to the points created and the fact that it’s not something a that relies on a narrative to be what it is. I’m also unsure if the film is even there to entert

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For instance many people would argue that Natural Born Killers is a film that shows a reflection of our society, meaning that the film is similar to a documantary and showing us how currupted our lives are by the media. The media in the film glammorises the things they are doing and turns them into celebrities. Similarly, there’s little suggestion that drugs or alcohol might have contributed to their rampage.

Mickey and Mallory take great pleasure in murdering dozens of innocent victims before they are captured, tried and sent off to prison. Everytime they kill their actions are over dramatised and put in an entertainment perspective which the public are currupted by. We see much less of Mickey’s background, which leaves us to attribute his lunacy to low self-esteem and little much else. ain as many asepcts of the film are very disturbing and confusing. Quentin Tarantino’s touch (he wrote the story) is evident, and there’s no denying Stone’s purpose here – to comment on America’s culture of violence and the disturbing links between violence and the media.

The film is centralised around two main characters Mickey and Malary knox, outlaw lovers who kill and rob from people they feel deserve it. But despite its success, I can’t shake my discomfort with the fact that, in his effort to make the film entertaining, Stone has crossed the line and is committing the same sin that the film purports to condemn.

Unfortunately, everything about Natural Born Killers is so overblown that there is no room for fine distinctions here. Through it all, their celebrity grows, culminating in a televised prison riot and breakout. He has ventured into cinematic territory that requires considerable daring – graphically portraying the exploits of mass murderers while simultaneously exposing the complicity of America’s media and popular culture in their brutality.

Approximate Word count = 877
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

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