7. Pulp Fiction - The Briefcase Represents Rock And Roll
Pulp Fiction was nothing short of a major cinematic milestone at the time of its release and also a film that completely reinvigorated the state of mainstream film. I'm probably laying on the sentiment a little too thick here because Pulp Fiction is my favorite movie but you can't understate its importance to 90s, American cinema. It helped bring independent filmmaking to the forefront to the place it is now, while also inspiring an entire generation of new writers and directors. The biggest question that has always arisen when discussing the movie is what is in the Marcellus Wallace's briefcase? The majority of people who study the film seem to agree that the briefcase contains Marcellus' soul but I have always found a very different interpretation. My opinion is that, based on the evidence found in the movie, the briefcase's glowing light is a representation of rock and roll. Marcellus Wallace represents the blues, which started rock and roll. He wants the music back after it was taken from him by corporations. The commercialization of rock and roll in the 50s and 60 is manifested in Brett and his friends. Vincent and Jules represent Elvis and Jimi Hendrix. They were sent by the blues (Marcellus) to reclaim the soul of the music and bring it back to its roots in more traditional music.
Butch Coolidge is symbolic of the American hard rock generation of bands that were prominent in the 70s like Aerosmith, Bruce Springsteen and Lynyrd Skynyrd. He kills Vincent (Elvis) just as the 70s American bands took rock and roll from Elvis and reinvented it for American audiences. Zed and the gimp are symbolic of country music as it did rule the charts in the 70s and early 80s. Butch's (hard rock) murdering of the gimp (country) and Marcellus '(blues) slaying Zed (country) symbolize rock and roll and the blues reclaiming the charts and finally being able to coexist. Pumpkin and Honey Bunny represent the British Invasion that featured bands such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, The Who, Cream and Led Zeppelin. At one point they get their hands on the briefcase but it is then quickly reclaimed by Jules (Hendrix) and Vincent (Elvis) who were basically the sole American, rock and roll hit makers during the time of the British Invasion. The combination to open the briefcase is 666, the devil's number. Let's not forget that rock and roll, and the blues in a small capacity, has always been labeled "the devil's music".