For many, Quentin Tarantino's films, especially Pulp Fiction (1994), defined American cinema in the 1990s. The films are hard, fast, funny, stylish, and filled with clever allusions to other films and essential works of 90s chic postmodernism. In this book, Dana Polan sets out to unlock the style and technique of Pulp Fiction. He shows how broad Tarantino's points of reference are, and analyzes the film's considerable narrative accomplishment and complexity. In addition, Polan argues that the macho attitudes celebrated in the film are much more complex and fragile than they sometimes seem.