Vistopia
Classics of Our Century: A Film History of the Twenty-First Century in the Making
Film Debate

Listening Guide

1. 00:23Kill Bill began as one long film and was later split into two theatrical volumes.
2. 01:36Why the story begins with the second name on the revenge list rather than proceeding in order.
3. 04:31Vernita’s sequence combines Blaxploitation, the Western, and domestic life.
4. 06:01When Vernita’s daughter appears, she and the Bride wordlessly put away their weapons.
5. 09:10The Bride apologizes to the child but does not believe killing Vernita was wrong.
6. 11:08Chapter Two divides the church investigation, hospital murder, and escape into three different genres.
7. 13:41How Tarantino borrows the rape-revenge formula while addressing its ethical danger.
8. 20:35Animation, black-and-white images, and ratings: how Kill Bill controls the display of violence.
9. 25:46The challenge of the House of Blue Leaves battle: giving one-against-many combat space and structure.
10. 29:44The battle mixes Japanese swordplay, Hong Kong choreography, and Shaw Brothers silhouettes.
11. 33:11Why the Bride and O-Ren’s snowy duel moves from exaggerated gore toward solemn revenge.

Selected Quotes

1. Lao Ma: Vernita gives a pleading look, and both women instantly put away their knives. The two killers share an understanding about a child’s presence.
Though both are killers, they recognize a rule above the killer’s code: do not continue violence before a child—in other words,respect motherhood.
2. Lao Ma: Tarantino reuses a common 1970s exploitation form, the rape-revenge film. A woman is brutally beaten and raped but survives;she remakes herself as an avenging goddess and answers violence in kind.The revenge gives viewers pleasure.
These films relate to the rise of 1970s feminism, yet exploit female empowerment as materialfor the male gaze. They have a double character.
Episode editor: 林深
2026.09.03
Audio in Chinese

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